First Date
A Sweet, Feel-Good YA Romance
-
- $11.99
Publisher Description
One hundred girls. One reality show. One date with America's most eligible teenage bachelor. Addy Davidson wants absolutely nothing to do with any of it. Perfect for fans of Lynn Painter.
Seventeen-year-old Addy has a plan: get good grades, earn a scholarship to an Ivy League college, and stay far away from the spotlight. So when her principal chooses her to represent their school on The Book of Love, a new reality show where one hundred girls compete for a prom date with the president's son, Addy is horrified. She didn't audition. She's never even been on a date. And unlike nearly every other contestant, she has no interest in becoming famous.
Her solution? Get eliminated as quickly as possible. But being the one girl who isn't desperate to impress Jonathon Jackson makes Addy impossible to ignore--especially when she discovers that the handsome First Son is far more genuine than she expected. Soon America is rooting for the reluctant contestant, the competition is getting ugly, and Addy is stuck in the spotlight she tried so hard to escape.
As cameras capture her every move, Addy begins to wonder whether she landed on The Book of Love for a reason. Loosely inspired by the biblical story of Esther, First Date is a funny, feel-good YA romance about an ordinary girl in an extraordinary situation, a swoony first love, and finding the courage to stand up for what you believe--even when the whole world is watching.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
McGee debuts with a contemporary Cinderella story featuring reluctant heroine Addy Davidson. When the principal of her small, struggling Christian school nominates Addy to be one of a hundred contestants on a new reality TV show, Addy is dismayed. She's shy and doesn't want the limelight. Her goal is to study hard and make it to an Ivy League college, not to compete on national television for a date with the son of the U.S. president. As a Christian, Addy feels out of place among the cutthroat contestants. Despite her lack of polish, Addy survives week after week, surprising herself and infuriating her ambitious competitors. Struggling to understand God's plan for her, Addy comes to see her role is to "show grace" to the others around her. Like the biblical figure Esther, on whom McGee bases the story, Addy must represent her religion in a hostile environment and sets herself the goal of winning over the show's angry producer, Hank, who hates Christians. Written in serviceable prose with sparks of wit, the story offers a positive message about being true to oneself, as well as a fairy-tale ending. Ages 12 up.
