Book Review: The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball by Risa Green

*This review contains SOME spoilers, but the spoilers revealed don't ruin the plot/story.

When Erin Channing's favorite aunt dies, Erin is bequeathed a pink crystal ball and a set of five cryptic instructions. Grant, Aunt Kiki (aka Aunt Kooky) always lived "outside the box." But now Erin's two best friends, Samantha and Lindsay, are convinced that the pink crystal ball holds the key to Erin's future--and perhaps their own.

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The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball was a fun read. I really enjoyed the characters, and thought they were realistic. Erin is the stick-to-the-book girl, Lindsay is the super nice one, and Samantha is the pretty one. Sounds pretty typical, right? Green did a good job of making the characters of the group unique in their designated roles. For example, Lindsay (super nice) is a reformed mean girl, who is now the victim of the new mean girl. I thought that was a nice twist, and something you don't really see in YA books. Basically, there are always mean girls in YA lit, but they rarely ever see the err of their ways. I just about died when Jesse told Erin that she didn't think outside of the box. It was the perfect thing to say to her, and his intent wasn't malicious. This was also when I officially connected with Erin. I will say that the reader never finds out if Erin does make it into the group for the Italy trip, it's implied, but you don't see happen. I personally enjoyed that aspect of the ending. I don't always need to see things to happen, and it was nice to give the reader the freedom to create their own ending for Erin.

As much as I enjoyed some parts of the book, the last scene left me with mixed feelings. The beauty of Erin's use of the crystal ball was that she had to figure out what the rules/powers were. Samantha's wish, however, sort of ruined the magic for me. Yes, I think that it fit her personality, but her wish should have been more meaningful. My other issue was that I really dislike it when there are meticulous descriptions of people/their outfits. That happened a few times in this one, and I just find it jarring, and unnecessary. All I need is a vague description, and my imagination can do the rest.

Overall, it was a cute, enjoyable read. I'll definitely have to pick up more from Green

The Secret Society of the Pink Crystal Ball
By Risa Green
Published by Sourcebooks Fire
320 Pages
Rating: C