BUTTERFLY INK

A young woman spends her summer learning several critical life lessons in Keating’s YA novel.

Callista Stockton is 18, freshly graduated from high school in Arkansas, and off to spend the summer living and working with her best friend, Becca, on Wellington Island, Florida. Calli’s confidence was obliterated in 10th grade when her crush asked her to homecoming and then ditched her for the prettiest girl in school. On Wellington Island, Calli immediately meets Jake Dawson, a gorgeous 19-year-old who seems to be interested—but Calli has her doubts. Wanting the summer to be different, she finds herself cast into the path of Mathias Soria, a vendor at the island market who gives her a temporary butterfly tattoo. Calli can hardly believe her luck when, the next day, she wakes up and is suddenly a stunner. Becca tells her, “You’re like beautiful…I mean, I’ve always thought of you as pretty, but wow, you are gorgeous. Dang!” The changed teen soon catches the attention of the Wellington family, who offer her a job modeling for their fashion business, Beach Beauty. As the magical tattoo pushes Calli’s looks beyond anything she thought possible, a rift forms between her and her friends, who liked her just as she was. Readers will be hooked on Calli’s dilemma: Should she remain outwardly beautiful or true to herself? Everything comes to an entertaining head during Calli’s soul-searching trip back home to Arkansas. Keating’s storytelling is fun, although the delivery is a little too obvious in places, like when Calli becomes annoyingly vain. Still, the novel capably limns the insecurities of coming of age, and the portrayal of first love and learning to be comfortable in one’s own skin will consistently engross readers.

A somewhat cliched but sweet summer romance for teen readers who enjoy a sprinkling of magic.