How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True by Sarah Strohmeyer

Book:  How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True

Author:  Sarah Strohmeyer

Publisher:  Balzer + Bray/HarperTeen

Date:  Now available

Source:  Publisher via Edelweiss

My grade:  A

From Sarah Strohmeyer, author of Smart Girls Get What They Want, comes this romantic comedy about one girl's summer job from hell. Think The Devil Wears Prada set in Disney World.

When cousins Zoe and Jess land summer internships at the Fairyland Kingdom theme park, they are sure they've hit the jackpot. With perks like hot Abercrombie-like Prince Charmings and a chance to win the coveted $25,000 Dream & Do grant, what more could a girl want?

Once Zoe arrives, however, she's assigned to serve "The Queen"-Fairyland's boss from hell. From spoon-feeding her evil lapdog caviar, to fetching midnight sleeping tonics, Zoe fears she might not have what it takes to survive the summer, much less win the money.

Soon backstabbing interns, a runaway Cinderella, and cutthroat competition make Zoe's job more like a nightmare than a fairy tale. What will happen when Zoe is forced to choose between serving The Queen and saving the prince of her dreams?

Initial reaction

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!  This book is like petting kittens!

Cover story

Bleh!!!  I hate kissing covers! They make me feel like quoting Fred Savage....."Is this a kissing book?"   I can’t even talk about the title because I HATE the cover!

What’s the Story?

Once I got past the cover (thank goodness I was reading an e-book), I really enjoyed this book.  The word that comes to mind immediately is….delightful!  This book is not going to change your life.  It’s not going to make you want to run out and change the world.  But then again, maybe it will.  Because this book is going to just give you lots of warm fuzzies. 

So, this is the story—Zoe and her cousin are going to spend a summer working at a theme park.  They are also working to try and win a big grant of $25,000 to pay for college.  Zoe has just lost her mom in the last couple of years, so this is going to be a chance for her to go out and have some fun again.  Also, she wants to help her cousin Jess win the grant.

The usual cast of high school characters are there, except now the mean girls wear princess dresses.  Of course there are the hot guys, because we know that all high school guys look like Abercrombie models, right?  So there are plenty of clichés to go around here.  But you know what I liked?  I loved the Queen!  This is the woman that Zoe works for all summer as a personal assistant.  This woman was a trip and a half!  The book blurb is spot on:  Imagine The Devil Wears Prada in a theme park and I think you’ll understand where I’m going.  I mean, the Queen was pretty horrid, but in an interesting sort of way.

There was a bit of a mystery involved in the novel, but not too much.  I did, however, love the ending because it wasn’t at all what I was expecting.  I mean, the title tells you that Zoe’s dreams come mostly true, so the happy ending is not a surprise, but the whole way that it “went down” was equal parts surprising, hysterical and fast-paced.  I ate up every single red herring that was thrown my way and then got an awesome surprise at the end!

I think that’s what made me like this book so much.  It was light-hearted and fun.  It was about theme parks, which I love.  The high school characters were pretty standard, but the theme park angle and the character of the Queen made this novel a lot better than standard for me.  Plus, Zoe’s voice is right on target with a mix of teenage girl angst, enthusiasm and humor.  This book is a perfect way to kick off your summer vacation.

Soundtrack

Love Rollercoaster by Red Hot Chili Peppers (sorry, couldn’t resist this one!)

Life Is a Roller Coaster by Ronan Keating (This one doesn’t fit exactly, but I like the theme park motif!)

Firework by Katy Perry

It Must Be Summer by Fountains of Wayne

Fallin’ for You by Colbie Caillat

Here’s to the Night by Eve 6

The Final Grade

My final grade for this one is an A.  It was exactly what a light, fun contemporary read should be.  Glad I read it to kick off my summer!  I will definitely be reading some more Sarah Strohmeyer books.