Holiday Gift Guide: The Attitude Girl Book Giveaway – Ends 11/08

Have you been shopping for a book to give the teen girl on your list? The Attitude Girl by Mila Bernadkin is a coming-of-age novel following the life of sassy high schooler Victoria Benson, written with teens and moms in mind. And one lucky Contest Corner reader will win a copy of The Attitude Girl, so read on!

The Attitude Girl Book Overview:

Jam packed with conflict, romance, trials and tribulations, The Attitude Girl follows outspoken, materialistic 17-year-old Vicky on her rocky road to adulthood. Along the way, she struggles with bullying, financial setbacks, idealism, loss and forgiveness, using her attitude as her rock as she navigates life’s confusing emotions and mixed messages.

About The Author
Born and raised in Odessa, Ukraine, a beautiful resort city on the Black Sea, Ludmila “Mila” Bernadkin emigrated from the former Soviet Union and came to the United States in 1977. In the USSR she graduated from the Brest Music College, with a BA-equivalent degree in theory of music and music literature and accepted a teaching position at a children’s music school. After moving to the States, she became a Senior Programmer-Analyst, working at several of the largest financial institutions in New York City. However, medical reasons forced her early retirement, and she realized her life-long dream of becoming an award-winning published writer.

Bernadkin resides in Brooklyn, New York, with her daughter, a graduate student at NYU, who is working on her Master’s degree. Bernadkin loves to travel, listen to music and read.

In her award-winning debut novel, The Attitude Girl, Mila Bernadkin draws on her experience as a teacher, mother and advanced graduate of the Institute of Children’s Literature to identify with the tremulous world of confusing emotions and mixed messages of “maturity” today’s teens live in as they feel their way through the process of becoming young adults.

In 2008, Bernadkin’s manuscript for The Attitude Girl became a First-place Winner in the Arizona Authors Association Annual Literary Awards contest. That win resulted in a publishing contract with Five Star Publications, Inc., and the book was published in June 2009. Later, the book was named a First-place Winner in the Young Adult/Teenage category at the 2009 London Book Festival, placed as a Finalist of the 2010 National Indie Excellence Awards, was selected as the Best Young Adult Novel of the Year by the 2010 Premier Book Awards, and additionally received four Honorable Mentions in 2009/2010 literary competitions.

I received a promotional copy of this book for the purposes of review, and I made the mistake of starting it at night – I thought I’d just read a little bit before bed to unwind, but I ended up staying up until 1 am reading! The Attitude Girl is a novel written from the perspective of 17-year-old Victoria, a spunky girl dealing with school, friends, family, and all the other milestones of high school life. Victoria’s father abandoned her when she was little, and she’s never met her paternal grandparents; she lives with her mother who she loves dearly (Even though they bicker!) and has support from her kind grandfather and loving, if melodramatic, grandmother. Everyone tells Victoria she has a bad attitude because she’s blunt and to the point, seeing no need to sugar coat the often-tough realities of her life. But she’s not a bad girl – she’s fun and funny, just a bit sarcastic and a tad spoiled!

One day out of the blue, Victoria receives a call from her paternal grandmother whom she has never spoken to, informing her that her grandfather is dying and his last wish is to see her. After a lifetime of rejection, she understandably wants nothing to do with them. As if that wasn’t enough to deal with, her mother loses her job and may possibly have cancer, while Victoria continues to deal with day-to-day high school life, including fights with her girlfriends and conflicting feelings about a boy she likes.

This book deals frankly with a lot of tough topics that teenagers face: Friends, boys, growing up, and sex. The Attitude Girl also deals with the subjects of death and grief, as the whole school is shocked when one of her friends takes his own life. After his death, it becomes known that he had suffered a great deal of torment and bullying, and Victoria’s circle of friends begin to reflect on their own actions. After the devastating loss of her friend, Victoria wonders if she should reconsider visiting her paternal grandfather on his deathbed.

The chapter dealing with suicide was difficult for me to read because the topic is so devastating – but although some of the remarks made by the characters about their friend’s death bothered me, I recognize that the book is intending to drive home a powerful point about the impact that daily cruelty can have on high school youth. The Attitude Girl is non-preachy and down-to-earth, and although some of the plot turns are more dramatic than everyday life, Victoria’s honest feelings and real-world problems are conveyed in a way that is balanced and relatable. The prose is well-written and makes this book a great read for young adults.

The Attitude Girl by Mila Bernadkin is available for $16.95; you can click here to order an autographed copy. Learn more about this title at AttitudeGirlBook.com.