Customer Reviews

Beauty Shop for Rent: . . . fully equipped, inquire within

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

BEAUTY SHOP FOR RENT represents what's missing in a lot of current YA fiction - good old-fashioned storytelling that doesn't need some sort of gimmick to make it stand out. The quirky cast of characters feel like real people, and not devices created to perform the plot. Abbey's voice sparkles right from the get-go, and her relationship with Granny Po and the rest of the gray widows is both hilarious and moving. This is more than just STEEL MAGNOLIAS for the younger set - this is a lovely coming of age story that stands on its own two feet, just like its heartwarming and headstrong protagonist.

And, despite what another Amazon reviewer seems to think, this is a very, very, very CLEAN read - I'd be as comfortable recommending this to a ten-year-old reader as I would someone going on sixteen.

Beauty Shop for Rent by Laura Bowers is fully equipped with quirky, memorable characters. Inquire within and you'll find a heartwarming story about a lovable teenage girl, her feisty great-grandmother, and the many people who love them.

The beauty is in the writing. The beauty is in the plotting. The beauty is in all of the characters, especially the protagonist. Readers will root for sweet, savvy Abbey, who is trying desperately not to follow in the tragic footsteps of the three generations of women before her.

As Abbey gives her deliquent mother a second chance - and a third, and a fourth - she runs the risk of losing all she's earned and challenging everything she knows about her family's history.

Step into this BEAUTY SHOP FOR RENT for a good, clean read that will tickle your funny bone, massage your mind, and warm your heart. Highly recommended for teens and adults.

Beauty Shop for Rent is going to wrap itself around you like your favorite blanket. This book has it all: engaging characters, humor, and a protagonist that you root for from page one. I'm giving my copy to my 16 year-old daughter, and buying another for her pal in Australia. A great read.

I picked this book up after my then-13 year old read it cover to cover in less than a week. This was the longest book she had ever tackled, and when she finished it that quickly, and gave it a thumbs up, I knew it was a keeper!

I thought I might be bored since my 13 year old thought it was so good, but I actually found myself very interested in the story, the characters, and how it was going to end. I think that's the beauty of it - what you think might just appeal to kids really has themes we can all identify with.

I think this is a great story, and I hope the author continues to bring out new books. I will definitely be watching (and waiting anxiously!!!) for the next one!

This beautiful debut from Laura Bowers infuses horses, charm, family and mother-daughter dynamics that all come together in BEAUTY SHOP. I read the book in one evening and couldn't put it down. The most heartbreaking scenes between Abbey and her mother are pennned so well that I felt inside the room. I'll be looking for Bowers' next book.

Kudos to a new author. This is a great book for any age reader. You will relate to these people and situations. The characters and settings are so real and believeable that you feel like you know them. It could be your neighborhood and your friends. The book was at times heartbreaking, and at times heartwarming. There were times when I was angry with some of the characters because I know how mean teens can be to each other. You know that you have known people who have been in these same situations. The mother who can't deal with life, the daughter who feels deserted by both parents and the older women who take a young person under their wings to give her all the love and support needed by a teenage girl. You will love this book.

There is nothing like Polly's Parlor, where a free dose of gossip comes with a manicure.

For Abbey Garner, her great-grandmother's old-fashioned beauty shop and the familiar elderly customers are home and family to Abbey ever since her mother left her several years ago. Now fourteen-year-old Abbey works alongside her great-grandmother, Granny Po, giving perms and haircuts and investing her earnings towards her goal of becoming a millionaire before the age of thirty-five.

But in the last few years, the outdated Polly's Parlor hasn't been doing too well due to competition from more modern beauty salons. In fact, Granny Po has been trying to rent out the beauty shop, but nobody has been interested...until now. Gena is a fun and ambitious woman with big plans to turn the beauty shop into a friendly modern-day spa. Can the beauty shop be transformed and still remain Abbey's home?

In addition, between work, high school, and thinking about boys, Abbey is also worrying about her fragile, depressed mother. When she shows up for a surprise visit, Abbey's world is about to be turned completely upside down.

BEAUTY SHOP FOR RENT is the story of a girl growing up and trying to find a place in the world. Realistic, yet humorous, this is a satisfying novel that I'm sure many readers will be able relate to.

Reviewed by: Safia Abdul

This book was both a great and short read. The characters were strong and engaging. Although at times it felt like you couldn't quite get a handle on all the side characters, the ones that mattered you did really connect with. I picked up this book randomly and I'm really glad I did. Bowers did a great job and I can't wait to read her next one.

A cute teen-version of Steel Magnolias, without the death.

This book was witty and fun. I enjoyed every page. It is a coming-of-age tale of a teen whose great-grandmother is raising her. She has a twisted mother, whom she want to love, to contend with, love for a boy she doesn't realize she likes, and, of course, her great-grandmother, who only wants the best for her. All of this revolves around Gena, who has rented the beauty shop.

I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 for one reason - I felt it wrapped up too quickly. It really needed to one more chapter to fully close the story.

Abbey has been working at her great-grandmother's beauty parlor for three years, ever since her mom left her with Granny Po and took off. Abbey doesn't want to be like her mom, so she has a plan--she'll save every single penny she earns until she's a millionaire--before she turns thirty-five. But when her Granny Po rents out her beauty shop to Gena, a young woman looking to start fresh, Abbey learns that having financial security doesn't protect you from life and getting hurt.

Beauty Shop for Rent is a sweet and heartfelt novel. On the surface, this books seems to be about saving the beauty shop, bringing it to the future with the renovations, and the friendships between Granny Po, Abbey, and Gena, but it really is about Abbey's fractured relationships with her parents, mainly her mother, coming to terms with the fact that her mother has issues that will hold Abbey back, and Abbey's determination to break free of the traditions of teen pregnancy and depression that run in her family. Bowers also deals with the complexities of friendship and romance, and the unhappy truth of what happens when some girls choose to put their boyfriends above their friends. Abbey has a lot of spunk and a great sense of humor, making this book a fun read despite its serious moments, and her Granny Po's close friends, nicknamed the Gray Widows, are always providing comedic relief and emotional support. This quirky, memorable, and earnest story reminiscent of Steel Magnolias is an excellent pick-me-up.