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Sixteen-year-old Alexis (Lex) gets caught shoplifting a lipstick and, to make up for it, her mother arranges for her to spend the summer working at SmartMart. This arrangement interferes with Lex volunteering at the softball camp for underprivileged kids and with her own practice sessions, putting her position on the team in jeopardy. Lex also has problems at home, competing with her seven-year-old sister Aurora (Rory) for her mother's attention and approval, and dealing with the deteriorating condition of her beloved grandmother, who has just been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.

Her first day at SmartMart doesn't go too badly - until she learns about a Code B! Things start looking up when she meets her supervisor, the "uber-hot" Noah Grayson. But why does he look so familiar? When Lex finally realizes who he is, she tries to avoid him and keep her growing feelings for him hidden from her friends Bryce, Court, and Syd. This leads to some awkward situations, especially with Bryce. If it comes down to having to pick between Noah and Bryce, who will she choose?

The SmartMart setting allows for the introduction of numerous quirky characters (kind Mr. Hanson, Lex's on-the-job trainer Bessie, weird old Jake, bubbly Ruthie, bitchy Roxanne, boring Merrill, the phantom prankster) and provides the basis for a number of amusing situations (being the official store greeter, playing rollercoaster cart, box bowling, dealing with difficult customers such as the coupon diva). Lex is a likable character, with her cute habit of keeping score and her loyalty to her friends and family. I especially love her relationship with her grandmother.

Paper or Plastic is full of family problems, work relationships, personal relationships, romance, softball, beauty pageants, Alzheimer's, humor, first love, and Florida's crazy summer weather. And, while this story is complete, I can see a sequel coming!

An absolute delight.

I received this book in return for an honest review.

Full blog post: http://booksdirectonline.blogspot.com/2015/02/paper-or-plastic-by-vivi-barnes.html