Name: Aces Up
ISBN: 9780385738743

Lauren Barnholdt

When Shannon Card, a sixteen-year-old high school honors student, lies about her age to get a job at a Connecticut casino so she can earn money for her college tuition, she becomes involved in a secret poker society and falls deeper into a web of deceit.

Aces Up

Elissa Gleich

** spoiler alert **
           This book was a super quick read for me. I've read some of Barnholdt's books before (Reality Chick and Two-Way Street) so I was excited to start another one and have a few more on my "to-read" list.

What I liked: 
Throughout the book, Shannon's brain was going super fast all the time. She tended to question everything she was doing from talking to Max in school or getting involved with Cole. I think this all made me relate to her; while I have never been involved in illegal gambling and I'm awful at poker, I've questioned my own actions over and over. I think every girl whether 17 or 71 spent too much time trying to figure out both "what if" and "what's next."

Overall, it was an easy read. Shannon needs to make money for college so out of desperation, she gets a job at the local casino thinking that she's going to make great tips. Instead, she makes a quick enemy out of her boss, needs to find a fake birth certificate, and gets involved with a secret poker society. I thought it was a little weird that Cole had picked her out because of her math skills and then decided to teach her to play poker. He knew that she was 17 and his already risky move would get worse, but he seduced her into doing whatever he wanted. Meanwhile, Shannon was dealing with sneaking out of her house, lying, and her former best friend/crush suddenly being interested in her life again.

The relationship between Shannon and Max was definitely another thing that could happen in real life. They almost kissed and their relationship got completely messed up. Throughout the book, even though she was "with" Cole, I was always rooting for Shannon and Max. Parvati seemed like she was just there to be a "better" Shannon, when in reality, there was only the real thing.

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys getting away from their own problems to dive into someone else's for a few hours.