THE SECRET LIFE OF PRINCE CHARMING

Caletti traverses familiar narrative terrain—emotionally wounded women search for Mr. Right amongst an overabundance of Mr. Wrongs—and adds a road trip as the vehicle for finding truth. Seventeen-year-old Quinn Hunt is appalled when she discovers that her father, a womanizer, has kept as trophies objects of great emotional importance that belonged to each of his numerous lovers. Along with a cast of unlikely mates, including a stepsister she’s never met, Quinn sets off to return the stolen items. Slow going at first, the familiar plot perks up during the trip. The first-person narrative is humorous and chatty as Quinn recounts her frustration with her father and her hopes that this “karmic mission” will heal their strained relationship. Punctuating this, and set apart in a different typeface, are the accounts of the other female characters as they share their romantic mistakes. The author excels at getting to the heart of her protagonists’ mixed-up emotions, and her fans will not be disappointed. (Fiction. 14 & up)