Dream Girl by Lauren Mechling Review

Claire Voyante has been having strange visions ever since she can remember. But the similarity between her name and her talents is purely coincidental. The name is French, and unlike the psychics on TV, she can't solve crimes or talk to the dead. Whenever Claire follows her hunches, she comes up empty - or ends up in pretty awkward situations. But that all changes on Claire's 15th birthday, when her grandmother, Kiki-former socialite, fashion icon, and permanent fixture at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel - gives her something a little more extraordinary than one of her old cocktail dresses: a strange black-and-white onyx cameo on a gold chain. It's not long before Claire's world becomes a whole lot clearer. And a whole lot more dangerous. -Author's Website

I found Claire Voyante to be a modern day Nancy Drew- with a few quirks. I instantly liked her; she was very relatable (although not in a mystery-solver way, but as a high school student). We follow her journey through high school, France, and her professor-filled apartment complex. And what a light, fun journey it was!

There were only a few points that seemed a little unrealistic, like her school asking to keep braces, retainers, etc. to a minimum because of the metal detectors. Sure, it wasn't exactly true-to-life, but if anything was exaggerated, it was for humorous purposes. Which, to be honest, is one of the main reasons that I enjoyed Lauren Mechling's writing- she was just downright funny.

If you're looking for a bit of light summer reading (you'd better hurry!), then I'd put Dream Girl at the top of the list. Also, look for Lauren's sequel, Dream Life, in 2010!

Rating: 9/10