Playing Laura

by Ryleigh Berkenpas

Nothing is going the way she planned. Laura has been on her best behavior for weeks – she hasn’t fought back when bullied, she hasn’t stepped on anyone to get ahead, and she definitely hasn’t picked any fights with Arlene. But now she’s had enough. Arlene still won’t acknowledge that Laura deserves to know how or what Arlene knows about Laura’s true identity, and Laura is tired of waiting. It’s time to fight back, to regain her reputation and figure out who she is and what Arlene knows. And if that means that she breaks a few – or all – of her family rules, well, so be it. Regaining her popularity and knowing who she really is will be worth the fallout that will come from that – won’t it?

442 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 27, 2014

About the author

Ryleigh Berkenpas was born to a family of redheads in beautiful British Columbia, Canada, and spent much of her childhood either outdoors or indoors (when it was raining) with her nose in a book or, alternately, with pen to paper. And yes - she still handwrites her first few drafts in her favorite notebooks (Hilroy spiral bound 3-subject notebooks, if you must know) before turning to the computer and typing things up. I know, and she knows, this is completely outdated, but she insists she's able to turn off that pesky 'internal editor' with pen to paper and refuses to get on board with basic technology from the get-go. Due to this she has an unhealthy obsession with cheap but comfortable pens that "write smoothly and look good on paper." She gets excited when she finds a new pen she likes and will usually splurge and buy a whole box of them, then hide it somewhere in the house so no one else can use her precious writing instruments.

When she isn't reading, writing, or hiding boxes of pens, Ryleigh can be found playing board games with family members (Carcassonne and 7 Wonders are her current favorites), chatting with girlfriends over coffee while watching her hubby play hockey at the local ice rink, attempting minor home rennovations, and enjoying BC's weather, rain or shine, while shopping, hiking, or bicycling.

Reviews

[Kathryn Hughey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laura is just not very likeable, and it's clear the author purposely made her that way. Really, though she has had to live by specific rules her whole life which basically amount to not bringing attention to herself. When you have to do that, you kind of have to be a mean girl, and I think the author did a great job developing and explaining Laura in this book. She is kind of on a journey to discovering who she truly is, and I find it truly interesting. She deals with some hard stuff on this journey. I can't wait to read the next book!

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a great book. I've read it twice, but does anybody know when the 3rd one will be released or if there even is a 3rd one?