Two brothers of an impoverished family fight for their inheritance in France. The mother of the boys has combined her estate with her aunt’s and it looks as though a young peasant who was taken in by the wealthy patriarch will inherit the wealth. The brothers attempt to win her affection thinking they will gain the inheritance. Balzac has a way with words that makes you feel as though you are in the room with these people as they plot. It is a fascinating look at human passions and corruption. I enjoyed the heavy descriptive style. The book was completely engrossing. ( )

This book is about a girl names Katy Bishop whos is fed up with her parents' binder full of rules. She writes to the TV show "The Black Sheep" but doesnt expect to be chosen for the life switching month of episodes. The life of the girl she switches with is so much different than her own. While she is staying with her new family, she gets involved with an aquarium and some local protesting group having to do with a fancy club filled with rich people. Katy doesn't expect to fall into jail or in love with Mitch, her "older brother," but both things happen. She is having to deal with with a pusy producer who will do anything for good ratings even if it means splitting Katy's real parents up. Katy is trying to save he parents and she is starting a riot in her world that is trying to fall apart everywhere she goes.
I like this book because it's about a teenage girl who is trying to prove herself to everyone. The camerasthat follow her everywhere mak it especially difficult. Somehow she gets everything to work out for her and her families. Katy gets in trouble with her real and TV parents, the law, her producer, and her new boyfriend, Mitch, but all of these things end well. My favorite part is when her TV family's ferret eats a diamond ring. They eventually get it back. Someone shlould make this book a movie. I love it! ( )

I like Black Sheep because it was so funny and romantic. I like the part when Mitch and Kendra got back together and holding hands at the end. What I don't like was the part when the producer was making Kendra and her parents almost split apart. AHS/KS

I was bit disappointed with the book. It was to obvious. The girl leaves her family and realizes tha she is actually quite lucky with the parets she has, and returns home with a sorry heart for leaving. Q3P3 AHS/Mackenzie S.

Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com

The only thing Kendra Bishop wanted from her parents was for them to accept her the way she is. Kendra is just not the workaholic, marathon-obsessed, art freak like her parents. She wanted them to notice her a little. But who knew that her wish would sort of come true, when a TV crew shows up on her doorstep, congratulating her for being picked for the new reality show Black Sheep, which takes two unhappy teens and then makes them live with the others' family. So now instead of just her parents noticing her, the entire world will.

But Kendra doesn't even know how she got selected. Okay, maybe she does, but it was only a mistake. She didn't mean to write a long letter about her horrible life and the bad way her parents treat her. She didn't mean to make them sound like they were crazy and then send it in to the show. She didn't mean to make her letter sound so dramatic, but that's the only thing reality shows thrive on--DRAMA. Of course her parents wouldn't go for it, right?

Kendra should already know to expect the unexpected, because now Kendra is on her way to Monterey, California, to switch lives with Maya Mulligan, who is tired of her spirit-loving, animal-saving, hippie parents. Now Kendra's new world is just too much to handle, living with Max and Mona, her new parents, a stealing ferret, and five kids. It's not exactly what she's used to.

To make matters worse, she meets Mitch Mulligan, the oldest son in the Mulligan family. The very hot guy that Kendra now has to live with, the guy that wants nothing to do with the show, since he thinks it is ridiculous, which also drags Kendra along with it. It's bad enough that Judy Greenberg, the crazy producer that talks in third person, is always tailing Kendra, making sure she gets all the problems that Kendra has to face on camera, and sometimes even making problems when there aren't any.

But there is one good thing that comes out of this reality show. His name is Maurice and he is an otter. He's not just any ordinary otter, either--he is the only thing that actually keeps Kendra sane and maybe even changes her life.

Yvonne Collins and Sandy Rideout, best known for their VIVIEN LEIGH REID series, takes us into the world of celebrities, the one where it's all reality and not just some script. THE BLACK SHEEP is not only funny but also heartwarming. The characters are as charming as the ones you see on actual reality shows, and Kendra Bishop is that one person that everyone loves, roots for, and hopes to see succeed. After reading THE BLACK SHEEP, it just makes me wonder if reality TV is really that spontaneous and if the cameras are actually that annoying. ( )

When it comes to watching reality tv, I tend to avoid it at all costs, so I was a bit suspicious when my sister recommended this book to me. But it turns out I had no reason to worry. Yvonne Collins' book is brilliant. It tells the story of Kendra, only child and daughter of two rule-obsessed bankers. When something changes in her life, she gets fed up and writes a letter to a reality tv show called The Black Sheep. Eventually things get better and she forgets about the letter, so when The Black Sheep producers show up at her door, it's a shock. Kendra, per the rules of the game, is sent to live with another family, while their daughter is sent to live with Kendra's parents. What happens is a fascinating look at both the reality tv world and the life of a 15 year old girl, coming of age. Collins' mixes things up with a bit of drama, a bit of love, some angst, and of course, drama. The Black Sheep is a wonderful book about growth, love and what really matters. ( )