As Ricki Jo moves from farmland parochial school to public high school she aims for a major transformation. Starting with her name, now Erika, and her desire to belong to the in-crowd she explores most of the growing up issues - body, boyfriend, real BFF's, drinking, family, etc.
Whitaker does a great job of drawing the characters, setting and the feel of growing up in the farmland/country club interaction. I really liked this one. ( )

it's ok. not the best. ( )

Ricki Jo, small-town Kentucky girl, decides to revamp her image for high school. She's something of a new girl, since she's attended the K-8 parochial school, and she's determined to be cool and popular at the public high school. She decides to go by "Ericka" instead of "Ricki Jo," tries out for cheerleading instead of marching band, and works really hard to be accepted by the coolest girls in her class. It seems like she's succeeding . . . but there's a cost: she may lose her best friend Luke, who's going through a lot of difficulties in his own life. Is it worth it?

Author Alecia Whitaker grew up in Cynthiana, and my first thought was, "I know where that is!" So, the descriptions of Kentucky farmland, tobacco farming, and small-town life are genuine, informed by the author's own experiences . . . and it shows. It made me a little homesick for the Bluegrass, to tell the truth. I was also impressed with the characterization in this novel. Ricki Jo manages to seem like a real teen, with real issues, and sometimes I wanted to shake her for the choices she was making, but she's also really likeable. The girls she befriends are Mean Girls in a sense, but they're not mean all the time, nor are they completely stereotypical (though they're not entirely distinct; I did have some trouble remembering which one was which at times). Ricki Jo's crush, the handsome star athlete, was similarly nuanced -- and while best friend Luke did seem to verge on too much perfection, he did have the occasional flaw that made him seem a little more real. The pacing of the story had its ups and downs, but it kept me reading all the way through. I'd recommend this read to fans of realistic YA fiction, and I look forward to more from this debut author. ( )

Ricki Jo is determined to transform herself when she gets to high school. For starters, she wants to be called Erika, make friends with the popular girls, and meet the right guys. Her best friend Luke thinks she's going to far, changing herself just to fit in. Through many ups and downs, Erika learns that being true to yourself builds better relationships than trying too hard to fit in. ( )

Everybody wants to fit in. So while reading this book and seeing what Ricki-Jo is going through, I can relate. High School is hard and life changing. I adored this book cause of the way the author writes about real things that goes on in life. High school, boys, drama, family. All of these elements play an important part in Ricki-Jo's life.

Ricky-Jo is like every country girl. T-shirt, jeans, hair messy and always up to something. Ricky-Jo is ready for her life to change and she takes charge. New school, new clothes and a new name Ericka. I like that Ricky-Jo wants change. She doesn't want to be just a farmers daughters but wants to make a name for herself.

I like that the story doesn't only tell whats going on in Ricky-Jo's life but also what is happening around her. Ricky-Jo's life is full of drama within her family and friends. Within the family, Ricky-Jo has an amazing heart. She thinks of everyone else before herself and tries to do what she can.

I also enjoyed the downfall of Erica (Ricky-Jo). I liked that her downfall wasn't all at once, but by piece by piece. I know some people might say she was stupid and naive, but of course she was! She was a farm girl who went to a private school before. I like seeing that she didn't know everything and was learning everything the hard way. Still, Ricky-Jo learned her lesson and became who she is meant to be all along. herself.

This is great book of life and learning. So many life changing moments in our life define and shape who we are. Queen of Kentucky is an amazing read! ( )