Title: Shark Bait
Author: Jenn Cooksey
Published: June 15th, 2012
Book rating: 5 stars
Cover rating: 4 stars
Previously homeschooled Camie Ramsey is being shoved into the shark-infested waters of public high school, where even helium filled, penguin bespeckled arm floaties likely won’t help keep her inexperienced, fifteen-year old head above water in that rip current of hormones and emotions. Camie’s worldly wisdom might be severely lacking (i.e., the closest she’s come to being kissed was sitting too close to the TV whilst Jake Ryan leaned in to give Samantha that fateful 16th birthday kiss), but she does understand her only hope for survival is if she’s thrown some kind of “social” life preserver before she sinks like a freaking rock. However, what will her fate be when she endeavors to flag down the only lifeguard on duty, the enormously popular and ridiculously beautiful Tristan Daniels? The most sought after and virtually most unattainable guy in school who not only makes Camie’s heart flatline on a recurring basis, he’s also the one guy who seemingly doesn’t know she exists. Feeling like an inept piece of chum that could ultimately be swallowed by Jaws, can Camie get Tristan to rescue her from floundering in the treacherous deep, or is she destined to be Shark Bait?
Going into this book I expected something completely different from what I got but I absolutely loved what I did. I figured Camie was going to be shy and nervous going to public school because she's been home schooled her entire life but she was brave and ends up thriving in the big scary world of public education. I'm going back to public school next year and I'm a bit nervous so she is now my inspiration. Jenn Cooksey not only gives us a cute young love story to follow but Shark Bait also teaches us about friendship and growing up to become your own person.
Camie, the main character, was so awesome. I loved her from the moment the story began. She didn't have a particularly easy life and a lot of change was happening but she took it with stride and handled it really well if you ask me. She's easy to relate to from a teen girls POV and I couldn't help but love her. My all time favorite character though was Jillian, Camie's little sister. YOU GUYS. I can't even express the badassness of this girl. She's not even in high school yet but she's some brainiac top secret spy who can kick your ass and black mail you within five minutes of knowing you. Did I mention she is also freaking hilarious? I love my older sister to pieces but what I wouldn't give to also have a little sister like Jillian. I loved the relationship between Camie and Jillian. The age difference between them and the gap in their relationship is shown in the beginning of Shark Bait but we slowly see Camie open up to Jillian and trust her to have her back and I loved that. Sisterly love is a very powerful thing and seeing such a strong future relationship develop in their lives was awesome. I'm sure you're thinking "Kylee, tell us about the sexy love interest already." and I'm getting there, patience is needed. Another amazing friendship was formed in Shark Bait, Camie and Kate become best friends and they were literally the coolest and most entertaining best friends to read about. I loved Kate and I loved seeing Camie form a bond with someone so fast. So this mystery guys name is Tristan Daniels and oh my gosh he is swoooon worthy my ladies! I like how Jenn didn't insert an insta love, it made this story all the better. Seeing Camie crush on Tristan was really fun, what was even more entertaining though? Watching Kate and Camie devise a plan to get Tristan's attention and make him Camie's boyfriend and then later have that relationship grow. It's such a teenage girl thing to do and it was one of the more exciting parts of this story for me. Seeing them come up with silly little ways to get his attention and get them together was sort of like a chess game. Dear Jeff, Tristan's bestfriend and Kate's on again off again boyfriend, also becomes a part of this game and it really was just such a fun aspect to wait and see how it played out and what moves were going to be made next.
Seeing a group of people come together and grow so close was a truly enjoyable experience. Being able to tease your friends and still have them know you'll have their back no matter what is what being a teenager is all about. Having those relationships are really important and I loved seeing so many of them develop in this story. The young careless fun love story between Camie and Tristan was one of the most enjoyable YA stories I've had the pleasure of reading. Jenn Cooksey explores the fears of a teenage girl and shows us how Camie feels every emotion possible including the awful ones but she still makes it through. The awesome plot line and hilarious dialogue is definitely reason enough for why you don't want to miss this one.
Favorite Quotes
"While I agree this might not be your best look, I bet you taste pretty good." ~ Tristan referring to Camie being drenched in punch.
"Mike, dude.. why don't you bite me?" Tristan flippantly answered. It's a good thing he didn't extend the invitation to me; I probably would've. ~ Camie
Purchase this book on
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Camie, the main character, was so awesome. I loved her from the moment the story began. She didn't have a particularly easy life and a lot of change was happening but she took it with stride and handled it really well if you ask me. She's easy to relate to from a teen girls POV and I couldn't help but love her. My all time favorite character though was Jillian, Camie's little sister. YOU GUYS. I can't even express the badassness of this girl. She's not even in high school yet but she's some brainiac top secret spy who can kick your ass and black mail you within five minutes of knowing you. Did I mention she is also freaking hilarious? I love my older sister to pieces but what I wouldn't give to also have a little sister like Jillian. I loved the relationship between Camie and Jillian. The age difference between them and the gap in their relationship is shown in the beginning of Shark Bait but we slowly see Camie open up to Jillian and trust her to have her back and I loved that. Sisterly love is a very powerful thing and seeing such a strong future relationship develop in their lives was awesome. I'm sure you're thinking "Kylee, tell us about the sexy love interest already." and I'm getting there, patience is needed. Another amazing friendship was formed in Shark Bait, Camie and Kate become best friends and they were literally the coolest and most entertaining best friends to read about. I loved Kate and I loved seeing Camie form a bond with someone so fast. So this mystery guys name is Tristan Daniels and oh my gosh he is swoooon worthy my ladies! I like how Jenn didn't insert an insta love, it made this story all the better. Seeing Camie crush on Tristan was really fun, what was even more entertaining though? Watching Kate and Camie devise a plan to get Tristan's attention and make him Camie's boyfriend and then later have that relationship grow. It's such a teenage girl thing to do and it was one of the more exciting parts of this story for me. Seeing them come up with silly little ways to get his attention and get them together was sort of like a chess game. Dear Jeff, Tristan's bestfriend and Kate's on again off again boyfriend, also becomes a part of this game and it really was just such a fun aspect to wait and see how it played out and what moves were going to be made next.
Seeing a group of people come together and grow so close was a truly enjoyable experience. Being able to tease your friends and still have them know you'll have their back no matter what is what being a teenager is all about. Having those relationships are really important and I loved seeing so many of them develop in this story. The young careless fun love story between Camie and Tristan was one of the most enjoyable YA stories I've had the pleasure of reading. Jenn Cooksey explores the fears of a teenage girl and shows us how Camie feels every emotion possible including the awful ones but she still makes it through. The awesome plot line and hilarious dialogue is definitely reason enough for why you don't want to miss this one.
Favorite Quotes
"While I agree this might not be your best look, I bet you taste pretty good." ~ Tristan referring to Camie being drenched in punch.
"Mike, dude.. why don't you bite me?" Tristan flippantly answered. It's a good thing he didn't extend the invitation to me; I probably would've. ~ Camie
Purchase this book on
Amazon | Barnes & Noble
So happy you loved SB. Fabulous review!
ReplyDeleteI hope so, I felt like it wasn't even good enough to explain how truly amazing this book was but thank you. That made me feel a bit better about it. <3 I found it because of you!!
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