Sunday, January 01, 2006

Spain or Shine by Michelle Jellen

Overshadowed by her other siblings, Elena feels like she never stands out. So she takes a once in a lifetime opportunity to study for a semester in San Sebastian, Spain. In Spain, she quickly becomes friends with outgoing Jenna, which leads her to experience many new things in Spain, from visiting Tapas bars to relaxing on the beach everyday. But Elena also has her playwriting on her mind as she wants her play to be selected to be performed for the school. Adding to her stress is the cute boy Miguel she has her eyes on. But when Elena meets her namesake, her great aunt Elena, things seem to make sense and Elena learns that she shouldn't feel hidden by other people.

I thought that this book was cute. I love reading books that take place in other countries, so I loved the descriptions of San Sebastian and Madrid. I think that there was a good mix of everything in this book, romance, culture, suspense. I was a bit disappointed in the ending. But overall, I enjoyed reading this book. As this is only one of the books in the Students Across the Seven Seas series, I look forward to reading the others soon.

Rating (0 - 10 scale): 6
Reviewer Age: 19
Reviewer City, State and Country: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA