Being Jamie Baker by Kelly Oram

Being Jamie Baker by Kelly Oram
Review copy provided by Bluefields Publishing

PJVs QUICKIE POV: The book trailer worked for this one! Sold me hook line and sinker, which is total first. I hadn’t read a review, I hadn’t seen a promo - I just saw that trailer. So good job Being Jaime Baker designers, film minions and creative personnel! After reading the book, though, how could they not have made a trailer that rocked it? The book was a great mix of candy coated emotions, touching, funny, a bit edgy, and all together entertaining. I really expected a future ABC Family made for TV movie and what I got was just pure joy to read. Kelly Oram is now on my radar and I can’t wait to read what she has in store for us next!

REVIEW: After a very traumatic incident involving a tanker truck full of toxic waste, an electric tower and a convertible, Jamie Baker is the world’s only superhero. Unfortunately she is still in high school, and she can’t tell anyone about her new found abilities because they will most likely put her in a government lab for testing. Therefor it is quite understandable that Jamie is a little stand-offish. Or as the rest of the school likes to call her, The Ice Queen.

Jamie is completely secure in her title as the school’s biggest witch and is actually taken by surprise when she overhears (with her super hearing) the school’s heartthrob Ryan Miller and his teammate Mike discussing her and making a bet that involves kissing her, the homecoming dance and who gets to take Becky (A-Pop Chick #1) to the dance. To make matters worse, when Ryan does approach Jamie, he doesn’t try to cover it up, or worm his way into kissing her, he tells her honestly that they made a bet, if he can kiss Jamie, he gets to take Becky to homecoming. Faced with Ryan’s honesty, his undeniable charm and a secret obsession with quarterbacks, Jamie does what any self-respecting superhero would do in her situation, she straddles Ryan and plants the hottest kiss on him that she can manage. Which is pretty hot since she can channel electricity. After that, Jamie’s Ice Queen status is shot...or at least in Ryan Miller’s eyes - and it becomes Jamie’s first Epic Battle. Her battle against the charm of Ryan Miller, her battle against the rest of the school and their tendency to really not like her. Her battle against her powers which tend to flair out of control when she gets highly emotional and the sleazy reporter that keeps on sniffing around after the accident. And lastly the battle against herself and her big fat trust issues.

I think Being Jamie Baker would entertain anyone. You don’t even have to be a fan of the paranormal-eque genres. This is more of a lightly “super” touched YA with the focus being emotions and romance. From the strikingly pink cover, to the comic styled trailer, the book screams light and fluffy, but in reality it is a well written and charming coming of age and superpowers story of a girl, that meets a boy, almost kills him, but in the end just might find love.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Nothing too heavy for younger teens, I passed it on to a 13 year old with no qualms at all. Fans of lighter YA novels, such as the Gallagher Girls series will enjoy, but it is also a good transition novel {back and forth} for chick lit to paranormal.