Drawn to you by Janel Rodriguez Ferrer

The Arts - Angels Track 1: Drawn to You

by Janel Rodriguez Ferrer

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BLURB:
Rock Your Destiny!  

Gina Santiago is a thirteen-year-old "Nuyorican" with rock star dreams, so when she's accepted into the prestigious New York Academy of Arts and Talents for art instead of music, she's crushed. To make matters worse, the student body at the Upper East Side school is divided into "schollies" (students on scholarship, like her) and "dollies" (rich kids with "dollars"). But Gina discovers that there is one thing that brings schollies and dollies-and dancers, singers, actors, artists, and musicians-together: music! Maybe she can make her dreams come true after all....

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Excerpt:
(FROM Chapter 2, Drawn to You 4:03)  (329 words):
“EeeeeeeEEEEEE!” A piercing scream cut through the crowd that had been forming in the halls, startling Michiko and me. We watched as a beautiful, pert-nosed girl with boy-short platinum hair and a tiny, designer summer dress ran towards two other girls with long, flowing, shampoo-commercial hair and cheerleader-short skirts.  The scream, it turned out, was a happy one, as all the girls had their arms thrown wide open and were grinning at one another.

It was a chorus, all of them screeching, “EeeeeeeEEEEEE!”

One of the long-haired girls (a brunette) said: “Ohmygaaaaaaa! You look sooooo fabulous with that cut!”

The golden long-haired one chimed in with: “HOT! Totally hot!    Oh, I am so totally going to chop off my hair!”

The short-haired girl gave her head a little shake. “Thanks!  I know, I know.  I got it while I was on the Riviera.”  She smiled as her two friends pawed at her hair.

“A French tan, too!  I love a French tan!” cooed Goldie.

The brunette pouted. “Me too. Oh la la!”

The shorthaired one held up a hand and commanded, “Okay, stop!  Now, tell me: did either of you see… him?”

Brunette whined.  “No!  Did you?”

“No!” said the queen.  “Oh, I can’t wait to see him!  I’m sure he’ll look hotter than ever!”

 

Michiko clucked her tongue.  “Come on, Gina.  Let’s go.  It’s just a bunch of dollies.  If I watch anymore I’ll be sick.”

“Who are they talking about?”  I asked.

Michiko rolled her eyes. “Probably Craig.  Craig Hall.  He’s only in the eighth grade, too, but he's this guy even girls in the upper school are crazy about.”

“I guess he must be pretty good looking.”

“Only if you call tall, broad-shouldered guys with startling blue eyes and angelic singing voices attractive,” Michiko said.

I giggled.  “I guess I’ll know him when I see him.”

She widened her eyes and nodded. “Oh yeah.”  She turned away from me, but not before I saw her blush.

 

My Review:

I really liked this plot. New girl in school (been there), gets picked on, and has 1 true friend. She is pretty good at art and loves music. When she gets chosen for The special arts school in New york, it is art that they pick as her strong suit and not music. Should she go anyway? She goes and finds out that not everything is as it seems. There are dollies and schollies, and since there is no dress code, kids get picked on for that too.

When Gina starts to question her idol, and her family the truth finally comes out. Is Gina ready to hear it?

This was such a good book where the normal kid triumphs over the bullies! I also liked the music that was in the book, and that the arts played such a big role in Gina's life. I also liked the battle that Gina's mom faced. When the truth comes out, You almost feel bad for her mom. I can not wait for more of the Arts-Angels!

I also liked the songs that were in the book. I found myself singing along :).

 

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Like her main character, Gina Santiago, Janel is a Nuyorican who attended  a Manhattan high school of the arts as an art major.

Unlike Gina, she isn’t very good at guitar and doesn’t have a rock band to call her own.

Truth be told, she never dreamed of becoming a guitarist.  Instead, from the time she was a tween she dreamed of becoming a published author of a book series.  And since you're reading this, you can see that her dream has come true!

Her first hint of an idea for the Arts-Angels series began way back when she received a pendant of St. Michael the Archangel for her sixteenth birthday. 

She lives with her twin sister, Jennifer (who got a pendant of St. Joan of Arc that same birthday but hasn’t written any books about it), in New York City.

Website: www.theartsangels.com

Blog:  http://janelrodriguezferrer.wordpress.com   

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JanelRodriguezFerrer. 

E-mail: janelrodriguezferrer (at) theartsangels (dot) com.

LINKS TO PURCHASE THE BOOK:

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Arts-Angels-Track-Drawn-You/dp/1936214911/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1355357021&sr=1-1&keywords=janel+rodriguez+ferrer

Amazon UK:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Arts-Angels-Track-Drawn-You/dp/1936214911

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-arts-angels-track-1-janel-rodriguez-ferrer/1113051508?ean=9781936214914

Also:

Alibris:  http://www.alibris.com/booksearch?qwork=23571060

Australia: https://www.betweenreads.com.au/book/the-arts-angels-track-1-drawn-to-you.do

India:  http://books.indiangiftsportal.com/book/artsangels-track-1-janel-rodriguez/9781936214914