The Fine Art of Truth or Dare [Paperback]

Melissa Jensen (Author)

Book Description

Release date: February 16, 2012

Pretty in Pink meets Anna and the French Kiss in this charming romantic comedy

Ella is nearly invisible at the Willing School, and that's just fine by her. She's got her friends - the fabulous Frankie and their sweet cohort Sadie. She's got her art - and her idol, the unappreciated 19th-century painter Edward Willing. Still, it's hard being a nobody and having a crush on the biggest somebody in the school: Alex Bainbridge. Especially when he is your French tutor, and lessons have started becoming, well, certainly more interesting than French ever has been before. But can the invisible girl actually end up with a happily ever after with the golden boy, when no one even knows they're dating? And is Ella going to dare to be that girl?

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Melissa Jensen (www.melissajensen.com) lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Speak; Original edition (February 16, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142420905
• ISBN-13: 978-0142420904
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #418,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I grew up in San Francisco, which gave me a love of fog and funny-colored houses. My mother is an amazing watercolorist, my father an architect. I can't draw. Never could. But I always loved telling stories (occasionally of the sort involving passing Vegetable Fairies and disappearing sweet potatoes at dinnertime). I read lots of pretty wonderful books as a kid, but haven't been quite the same since I was fourteen and my English teacher handed me a copy of Pride and Prejudice. I still want to be Elizabeth Bennet when I grow up. Elizabeth Bennet with a career and jeans, anyway. My husband got a second date by telling me he had once played Mr. Darcy on stage. There would have been a second date, in any case, but still...

I've written lots of stuff over the years, including a few novels, magazine articles, and even a syndicated newspaper etiquette column. I like dinner parties. I don't give nearly enough of them. I love to make lists of whom I would invite if I possibly could. My fab friends aside, there's always a spot for Jane Austen (who probably would always politely refuse), Robert Burns, and Charles Darwin. Then there's Oscar Wilde, Eleanor Roosevelt, the Dalai Lama, and William Steig. Abigail Adams and Oprah. Orlando Bloom (anyone have his phone number?) and Julia Child. Bonnie Robinson: that long-ago English literature teacher, later my creative writing teacher, who told me that I'd better spend a lot more time in England if I was going to insist on writing about it.

My fave places in the world are London and Dublin, neither of which are as foggy as literature would have us believe. I spend as much time as possible in Ireland, often on the edge of one cliff or another. It makes my family crazy. It makes me feel like a Bronte.

Now I live most of the time in Pennsylvania, in a house old enough to have hosted Elizabeth Bennet, if she had cared to visit the Colonies. Of course, as Mrs. Darcy, she would have been very grand and my house isn't, but then, she was all about having a curious and open mind. Not a bad philosophy. I do my best, but it doesn't always work. Nothing will ever make me like sweet potatoes.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what I expected February 26, 2012

By Jess

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I agree with the reviewer that said this was somewhere between a 3.5 and 4 star novel. The higher mark is mostly because Jensen has a lovely writing voice, created amazing dialogue, and did and awesome job with her settings. Also, I've worked in restaurants and know she nailed the work atmosphere perfectly.

I'm finding I enjoy the novel more now that I've read it, than I did while was actually reading. I've thought about it a lot since reading the last page.

I enjoyed the book while I was reading it, but the entire time, I kept wishing the action would pick up, it seemed to take a very long time for anything to happen. I never lost interest but I did get frustrated from time to time. Slower paced books tend to give my mind time to wander which isn't a good thing.

I quite enjoyed Alex. He's an interesting guy with a good head on his shoulders. Though he did seem just a bit too perfect from time to time, the story is told from Ella's point of view which makes his perfection understandable.

I have mixed feelings about Ella. She is relatable, and she does act like a typical teenager, but during more than one occasion, I wanted to hit her across the back of her head and tell her to get over herself. I kept waiting for Frank, her friend, to do just that. She's a bit whiny and feels sorry for herself. I could take that, but she doesn't ever seem to take the initiative to take control of her life. Instead of being pro-active, Ella responds to changes in her environment. I understand this is typical of teens, but it's frustrating in a heroine.

I will warn people, if you think that this novel is going to be a comedy it's not. To me it read like a dramatic teen romance. I don't recall a single laugh aloud scene. The Fine Art of Truth and Dare is a book I'll keep and probably reread from time to time. I liked it well enough that I'll probably buy the other novel Jensen has published, but it isn't a novel that knocked my socks off.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully romantic April 25, 2012

By S. Power TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

The Fine Art of Truth or Dare follows Ella, a scholarship student at a fancy private school where she is spending her senior year doing a research project on an artist whose life she is obsessed with. When a fellow art student and popular kid Alex tutors her in French she is unable to believe that he is really attracted to her.

I liked large portions of this book but there were a few plot points that bugged me. The art portion of the plot however I didn't like and I found myself skipping and skimming the sections regarding her research and obsession with the artist. I loved the romance and Ella's struggles with her body image. The characters were fantastic from Ella's friends and family and even her teachers.

Appropriateness: This is a great romance that older teens will enjoy. There is no sex but there is some nudity (in a scene regarding a scar of Ella's) and kissing. I would recommend this book to readers 13+

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars An adorable little book! August 17, 2012

By Katelyn Torrey

Format:Paperback

This book was just as adorable as I imagined it being! Right away, I was completely in love with the main character, her quirky yet really strange obsession with a dead artist, her friends, her family, and just her story in general. Melissa Jensen created such a great, well-rounded, and super cute story!

Ella is just your average outcast with a not so average passion. She is quiet, keeps to herself except when with her best friends, and her closest relationship is the one she has with Edward Willing, a dead artist that she "talks" to. Yeah, I just have to start off with this because it is weird and I tend to like weird. I will not lie; I found the whole in love with a dead artist thing a whole lot creepy. This isn't just your average admiration either, she full-out LOOOOVVVEEED this guy. She knew his work by heart, studied every piece of literature that mentioned him, and she researched his life endlessly. I mean what is this seemingly normal girl going around talking to a dead guy? But then I had an enlightening moment and began to really understand her a bit. It wasn't really the fact that she loves everything this dead artist was about (although that may be part of it) it was more of a chance for her to get her true feelings, thoughts, and insecurities out there in the open and not be judged by them. We each have our own source in which we use to vent to, and Edward just happened to be the source for Ella. Aside from this odd little obsession, Ella was extremely relatable and I truly could understand what she was going through!

Ella is a character we can all connect to in at least one way. She has her special traits, she is a great friend, her family drives her a little lot bonkers sometimes, and she is this extremely talented girl that lacks a lot of self-confidence. The thing holding Ella back most in life is the major scarring she has on her body. Caused by an accident as a kid, Ella spends a lot of her energy hiding the scar from everyone else and in turn ends up being very closed off from most people at school. As someone with a "beauty mark" (it took me MANY years to get comfortable with calling it that) smack-dab on the middle of my face, I found I could really relate to this aspect of the story. No one likes feeling imperfect and they certainly do NOT enjoy showing those "imperfections" to the world. Ella is not comfortable with the "imperfections" left behind yet she is forced to face people every day with the scars being quite evident.

Even though this was a HUGE part of the book, and it prevented the main character from doing many things, we were still able to see a freer, more confident side of her especially when she was her two best friends, Frankie and Sadie. If you know anything about me, you know that I adore when the best friend role is written rather well in a book. In this case it was amazing! Frankie and Sadie are complicated, they are human, they make rash decisions and get upset, but in the end they are SO there for Ella. They are each going through their own thing in the book which really added to the whole well-rounded effect. Even though they each have their own issues to work through, they spend a ton of time trying to push Ella out of her little shell. Every once in a while, you would get to see a bit of confidence shine trough and it was truly beautiful. But what I think is the most important thing about their relationship, is that they accepted and loved Ella for who she was, relationship with a dead artist and all.

The love interest in this story was sweet, not the "HOLY WOW! THEIR FEELINGS FOR ONE ANOTHER JUST BLEW ME AWAY" type of love, but definitely a cute one. A lot of reviews that I have read on this book mention the love/romance in this book seriously lacking however, that is not quite the way I see it. Ella and Alex have their moments, the cute moments, swoon-worthy moments, angry moments, and even a few funny moments. The connection between these two seemed real and true to something you may find in real life. It irritated me a bit that the difference in their popularity seemed to play a major role in their relationship but for the most part that was all in Ella's head. I think Melissa wrote their story the way she did for a reason. This book wasn't supposed to be all about a non-popular girl getting noticed and finding love with a popular guy. It is more a story of a girl growing to be more confident in herself and learning to love herself before she can move forward in a relationship. At least that's what I took away from this aspect of the story!

In the end, I really enjoyed The Fine Art Of Truth Or Dare! On the surface it is a fun, light read but once you take a deeper look at this book, you'll see that it touched bases on more important issues like self-confidence and body image. Melissa seems to know her stuff; I liked the characters, the major and minor ones, the fun way she covered more "serious" topics, and the all-around cuteness of the story!