Willa by Heart (The Wedding Planner's Daughter #3) [Hardcover]

Coleen Murtagh Paratore (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 8, 2008 | Age Level: 8 and up

It's almost summer on Cape Cod, where Willa Havisham and Joey Kennelly are finally enjoying their status as the most compatible couple at Bramble Academy. When the community theater advertises auditions for Our Town, Willa and Joey seem fated to play the romantic leads. But when Marielle, the dazzling new girl, offers up some dramatic competition, Willa turns greener than the lawn at her parents' inn.

With two inn weddings the same weekend in June, Willa, who is now the official assistant wedding planner, has enough to do just helping Chef Rosie bake the wedding cakes of the century, and keeping sixteen beauty pageant bridesmaids in check. When a dance with a Southern gentleman sends her spinning under the stars, there's no telling what is destined for Willa and Joey.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Summer isn’t going as expected for 14-year-old Willa. Her mom’s pregnant; her beloved church minister is moving away; and she doesn’t get the part she wanted in a theater production. Set in idyllic Cape Cod with colorful, though sometimes stock characters, this third title in the Wedding Planner’s Daughter series explores realistic issues of friendship and family, including Willa’s growing appreciation for her stepfather Sam and a sympathetic portrayal of her mother’s grief after a miscarriage. Willa’s spirited, engaging first person narrative is abundantly sprinkled with literary allusions and quotes from titles collected in an appended booklist. Grades 6-9. --Shelle Rosenfeld

About the Author

Coleen Murtagh Paratore is the author of the acclaimed The Wedding Planner's Daughter and its brand-new sequel The Cupid Chronicles. For younger readers, she has also written How Prudence Proovit Proved the Truth About Fairy Tales. She's a believer in community rent, Cupid, and the magic of Cape Cod. Look for Mack McGinn's Big Win -- in which two all-American sports-star brothers battle to be the best -- in Summer 2007. Learn more about Coleen at http://www.coleenparatore.com/

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (January 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416940766
• ISBN-13: 978-1416940760
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,266,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Sweet Story, May 31, 2008

By 

Butterscotch (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Willa by Heart (The Wedding Planner's Daughter #3) (Hardcover)

This is the continuing story of Willa Havisham, a high school freshman from Cape Cod. She is a wonderful girl, very reminiscent of Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables; she's a dreamer, reader, fantasizer, and all-around decent girl with a loving home and spirit. In this book Willa is helping to plan two weddings on the same weekend, and she is looking for a new community project (her last one was helping the local library raise funds). Her boyfriend, JFK/Joey, also plays a key role in the story; he forms a relationship with a new girl in town that Willa has mixed feelings about. Willa's feelings towards her stepfather Sam also come to the forefront in this story. Overall, this is an excellent series and this 3rd book is much better than the 2nd one was (Cupid Chronicles) because it gets back to exploring the character of Willa and her fanciful musings about love and life. It's a really great story for tween girls. I'm giving it five stars because of the quality of writing for this age group and the decent character and storyline it offers.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Story Sweet As Willa's Favorite cherry Cordials, July 4, 2008

By 

Colette Minnock (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Willa by Heart (The Wedding Planner's Daughter #3) (Hardcover)

This book is amazing! I ate it up in three hours, sitting in the bathroom till midnight till my tense-from-reading fingers flipped to the last page, my tired eyes relished the last sentence, and my exhausted hands closed the book. This ah-mazing book picks up where The Cupid Chronicles left off. Willa Havisham, with new boyfriend Joey Kenelly/JFK have been crowned "most compatible couple" at Bramble Academy. Just as they begin to enjoy their status, Willa's eye catches a sign advertising auditions for a community play, Our Town. She heads off the pick up a copy of the book, and convinces JFK to audition with her. She figures if he gets the male leading role, and she gets the female leading role, it will be incredibly romantic. Once at the auditions the new girl in town, who by the way is gorgeous, swoops in and steals the lead role from Willa! What could be worse??? Oh, maybe that JFK ended up with the male lead role!!! Or that the two kiss onstage!!!
With enough to deal with, Willa's life gets chaotic when they begin to flirt, plus with a new sibling on the way, things get out of control. With heartbreak, laughter, smiles, and more, you will be just like me, flipping rapidly to get to the end of this fabulous, amazing, moving, book.
I recommend it 100%

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Willa by heart ( the wedding Planner's daughter), May 14, 2008

By 

Becky Anderson (Utah) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Willa by Heart (The Wedding Planner's Daughter #3) (Hardcover)

Wonderful! My 15 year old neice introduced this series to my 12 year old, who does not like to read. She could not put them down. It was delightful for my husband and I to find her reading every chance she had. I have noticed that now all my daughters friends, who have very different tastes, are reading them as well. So the books seem to appeal to a wide "tween" audience. A definite purchase!