Such a beautiful and heartfelt book. I instantly fell in love with the characters and I can't wait to see if there is any more from this author in the future.

I read lots of kid books because my daughter is 10 but this one it wasn't for me. I think maybe it was a little too much "make believe" involved and couldn't quite buy into it although children will probably like it.

It bothers me when a plot hints too hard at something. Interrupted conversations. A dream about something that happened in infancy. Mysterious letters. Things that the protagonist is too self absorbed to notice but are glaringly obvious to the reader. While I applaud Bernice's athleticism and the balance of learning etiquette without having to change your basic nature, overall I found this novel easy to put aside and not particularly engaging.

This is a book of forced friendship that becomes real friendship. Bernice is a skater, this is her life and anything that gets in the way of that suffers. She is good at it and it is her life except for her crush on Wyatt a fellow skater. Her life changes when Odelia and her Godmother move in the neighborhood. Odelia and her notebook Odelia's Guide to Social Graces to the rescue. Her Godmother pushes her to be friends with Bernice and help her become more respectful and have manners. Through various adventures Bernice learns some valueable lessons. I really liked the book and the ending. I recommend this book for 9+ yr. olds.
I received this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

My thanks to NetGalley and Schiffer Publishing Ltd. Schiffer Kids for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

Meh. I got 51% of the way through before I threw in the towel. Not a bad book, it just took too much of a suspension of disbelief for me to get really into it. The whole "real princess from Europe moving into the mansion across the street from the MC, AND having no bodyguards", with the princess complete with a tiara, princess dresses, shoes AND birds flitting about her like a blinking Disney movie and I was halfway out the door. Add to that the princess is an orphan and she is trying to get the MC to have proper hygiene and dress well and it just got too weird for me.

Add in a possible, "MC isn't the biological daughter of who she thinks of as her parents" and I'm peace-ing. Oh, add in the BFF who is anything but and a skater-boi crush interest and you have ALMOST the entire kitchen sink.

Then add on she's a volunteer at a day camp for special needs kids and she yells something stupid at one of the kids, despite being pretty even tempered with them up to that point and I just can't anymore.

The poor MC starts out smelly, unable to communicate with boys in general and her crush in specific, she was nice, but then shown as mean to a kid with special needs, etc... It's like this book is all a big make the person over story.

Didn't work for me, but I think it would probably work for young readers, which is who this book seems geared towards. Might be helpful for young girls who need some hygiene and manners tips and would definitely interest girls into skateboarding, as the MC is a skateboarder, one of the only two girls in town who do it.

3, not a bad book just not for me, stars.

This book had some positive lessons, though I found the plot hard to believe.

This book had great representation. Bernice had to volunteer at a summer camp for kids with Down syndrome. She didn’t know how to treat them, and she got in trouble for her behaviour when she yelled at a boy, telling him to act normal. She learned how to treat people with disabilities and to be patient when someone acts in a way that you aren’t expecting.

Odelia seemed like she was right out of a fairy tale. She didn’t know how to behave in the real world. Her home life and family were a mystery throughout most of the story. She has a whole staff of people that we hear about but never see. I wish she was more of a realistic character, because her presence made it seem like there were some fantasy aspects of the story, but there weren’t any.

Unfortunately the mix of the fairytale and the real world didn’t work for me in this story.

What a fun and unique book! Beauty and Bernice by Nancy Viau follows 12-year-old Bernice, a grungy skater girl with zero social grace. When Odelia, a real-life princess, and her godmother move into the neighborhood, Bernice can’t help but roll her eyes at this strange girl who wears fancy gowns and a tiara on her head.

Odelia’s godmother insists that she make friends with Bernice, but Bernice is too embarrassed to be seen with a princess. Odelia flutters around Bernice with a notepad filled with lessons from “Odelia’s Guide to the Social Graces,” making sure that Bernice is always using her manners, making conversation, and using perfect posture. When one of Odelia’s lessons helps Bernice talk to her skater boy crush, Wyatt, Bernice finds that she could learn a thing or two from Odelia… And soon Odelia finds that she could learn a thing or two from Bernice.

The first thing I thought of as I was reading this book was the Odd Couple. It was so funny to picture Bernice swatting Odelia away when things got embarrassing, but it was also very heartwarming to see how both girls changed and balanced each other out as their friendship grew. Two girls from two totally different backgrounds find similarities about each other in more ways than one!

This book is lighthearted and humorous and I would recommend it to 3rd and 4th graders or 8-10 year old readers. It’s a great middle grade book because it focuses mostly on the theme of friendship with a light sprinkle of boy drama.

Thank you to Schiffer Publishing and NetGalley for providing me with this E-ARC. It is greatly appreciated!

I loved everything about this book, so much so I let my niece read it and she said 5 stars for sure! Great for any age! Thank you netgalley for the free arc in exchange for an honest review!

over to my ten year old daughter for this one....

I loved Beauty and Bernice SOOOOOO much! The book is about a girl called Bernice who loves skateboarding. Her life is going great until annoying pink 'princess' Odelia moves in across the road. At first, Bernice pays no attention to her - she grew out of princesses years ago. But there's more to Odelia than meets the eye.....

I loved this book because I, like Bernice, love skateboarding. I found this book hilarious in some parts, but moving and gripping in others. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves skateboarding, princesses and mysteries that leave you on the edge of your seat. I rate this book a definite five stars.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Beauty and Bernice tells the story of Bernice, a tween skate park whiz with a crush on skater Wyatt. She needs help from new neighbor Odelia on her social graces. Readers will enjoy their charming adventure from the skate park to Smile Academy, a summer camp for kids with Down syndrome. A sweet tale with wisdom and heart. 5/5

Thanks to Schiffer Publishing Ltd. and NetGalley for the review copy, in exchange for my honest opinions.

#BeautyAndBernice #NetGalley

Bernice used to wish to be a princess as a child only now she would rather be a skater like she is.



Beauty is a princess whom turns up and the two may be opposites but Odelia the princess shows her how she can act and take charge of her life to get her own prince and dreams.



With some fantasy combined, this short tale is a sweet and charming friendship based read. Showing how to be get going in real life and how two people totally different can help each other and get along better despite their differences.



Many thanks to the publishers for allowing me to review this book for them!