Review: Mafia Girl by Deborah Blumenthal

Rating:★★★★ stars
Date published:March 1st, 2014
Publisher:Albert Whitman & Company 
Synopsis:What's in a name? Everything if you have my name." At her exclusive Manhattan high school, seventeen-year-old Gia is the most hated/loved girl in school. Why? Her father doesn't have a boss. He is the boss--the capo di tutti cappi, boss of all bosses. Not that Gia cares. But life gets complicated when she meets a cop she calls "Officer Hottie" and feels a suprising chemistry. Then Vogue magazine wants to feature Gia in a fashion spread about real-life bad girls. On top of this, she's running for class president. Can Gia step out from under her dad's shadow and show everyone there's more to her than "Mafia Girl"?

What I Thought:

I'm not gonna lie to you, I really liked this book.  As in, "Holy smokes, this is wicked good!" and "I wonder if there'll be a sequel?"  Most mafioso related books usually tell the tale of adults in that life and I do believe Mafia Girl is the one of the first I've read from a teenager's perspective.  I can't begin to imagine how hard it is for a child growing up knowing what her parent or parents are involved in and then dealing with normal teenage hormones and angst on top of that.

Gia is a lucky and unlucky girl.  She's got a father who loves her and she knows that.  She also knows he's not so loving to everyone else.  She's aware of the power her last name wields and why, but doesn't condone it and wants to be her own person.  I love that Gia had a conscience; she wasn't a total goody-two shoes, but she was confident and owned it.  I really admired Gia for having poise and handling things the way she did.  Not to mention being "jail bait" and chasing after a police officer who wouldn't mind taking down her family for good.  

This book is about so much more than the mafia.  It's about Gia finding herself and learning about what's going on around her.  There were moments where I laughed, shook my head in worry and disgust, and cried. That's right, I'm an emotional reader and I cried.  I really am hoping Deborah Blumenthal writes another book featuring Gia.  I do know that I am really looking forward to her next Y.A. venture, whatever it may be.  

Purchase links:

Amazon US

Amazon UK

B&N Nook

Kobo

About this author

Deborah Blumenthal is an award-winning journalist and nutritionist who now divides her time between writing children's books and adult novels. She has been a regular contributor to The New York Times (including four years as the Sunday New York Times Magazine beauty columnist), and a home design columnist for Long Island Newsday. Her health, fitness, beauty, travel, and feature stories have appeared widely in many other newspapers and national magazines including New York’s Daily News, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Bazaar, Cosmopolitan, Woman's Day, Family Circle, Self, and Vogue.

Blumenthal lives in New York City.

website:

http://www.deborahblumenthal.com/

*A copy was provided by the publisher via Netgalley.  All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for them in any manner.*