Goodreads Review: "Size 12 and Ready to Rock"

Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Heather Wells is one of my favorite book characters to come along in a long time, so I was really excited to read another book in the series about her by Meg Cabot.

"Size 12 and Ready to Rock" follows Heather, a former teen pop star, as she works in the fabled "Death Dorm" at New York College. This time, it's summer and the dorm gets commandeered to hold the Tania Trace Rock Camp and film a reality show called "Jordan Loves Tania," starring Heather's ex-boyfriend, pop singer Jordan Cartwright, and his pregnant wife, singing sensation Tania Trace.

But when a member of the production crew dies under mysterious circumstances, Heather is thrown in the middle of a scary world - one where somebody apparently wants Tania Trace dead, and doesn't care who gets in their way.

To make matters even more complicated, Heather is now in close contact with her ex-boyfriend's family, and what they don't know is that Heather is not only dating, but is engaged to Jordan's semi-estranged brother, Cooper.

The No. 1 thing that makes "Size 12 and Ready to Rock" such a joy to read is the wonderful character of Heather Wells. Cabot did a fantastic job when she created this funny, snarky, caring, relatable woman. Heather comes alive on the page, from her love of bad reality shows to her concern about her doll collection to her love of the students (which Cooper calls her "Misfit Toys") she cares for in the dorm. She gets a great opportunity to grow, too, as she spends time with Tania and learns more about her life.

I really enjoyed seeing more of Tania and Jordan, too. They also really got a chance to grow, and even though they're still pretty dippy, I liked seeing their characters develop some more.

The plot of "Size 12 and Ready to Rock" is a good one. I was surprised by several of the sneaky twists and turns, and it ended up being a pretty engaging little murder mystery. The book also tackled several darker subjects - the most notable being fertility and abuse - and although some of the conversations about them were a little clunky, it's refreshing to see books that have positive role models that talk realistically about issues of the day.

Overall, though, "Size 12 and Ready to Rock" is basically the definition of a breezy, fun summer read. I could hardly put it down, and I laughed a lot (Meg Cabot knows how to write humor!). I really enjoyed reading it, and I can hardly wait for the next one, "The Bride Wore Size 12," which is scheduled to be released in September.

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