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Populazzi by Elise Allen
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date: August 2011
ISBN: 9780547481531
Source: ARC provided by publicist
When Cara moves to a new school her junior year, her friend Claudia is convinced this is her chance to become one of those girls - a member of the populazzi. If she can work her way up the ladder of relationships, she can maybe even make her way to being the Supreme Populazzi. But, instead of things being as simple as that, her steps on the ladder become more difficult and painful. Can she make it to the top and will she be who she wants when she gets there?
Things I Liked:
I really enjoyed the way Cara changed over the book. While she made some stupid mistakes, I was glad they were glaringly obvious to her (well, sometimes). I think they were the kinds of things people who are generally good do when they don't stop to think about consequences. The characters felt and acted like real teens. And the story, while a bit predictable, was interesting and totally made me remember (somewhat reluctantly) my own insecure high school feelings. Definitely a book that will make you think about relationships and what's most important. And I have to admit, I really loved Archer. I liked this little hint of interaction between Claudia and Cara:
I wished I'd been middrink, so I could give her comment the spit-take it deserved. "No way," I said. "Can't do it. If I do, he'll think I want him again, and he'll get that sad look on his face because he'll feel like he has to let me down gently and I swear, Claudia, I would rather drink hot glue." p 96 of ARCThings I Didn't Like:
While I did enjoy the story and can follow the reasons behind Cara's actions, I got rather annoyed at her stupid choices. It made me so frustrated, I wanted to scream at some adult in her life to take notice and try to help! And don't get me started on her parents. The ending seemed a bit neat, with Cara's decisions almost coming out of the blue. I'm thinking I'm a bit torn on this one, enjoying it but also annoyed by it. Definitely I'll be thinking about the characters and their choices for a while.
Read-alikes:
It Started With a Dare by Lindsay Faith Rech
She's So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott
BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !@
fairly regularly throughout, but nothing too strong
mrg-factor: XX
they talk, joke about, and do nearly everything but not in descriptive detail
v-factor: none
Overall rating: *** or ****
AND, I've got an extra ARC of Populazzi to giveaway! Rules:
Must be 13 or older to enter.
US only, I'm still poor.
Enter by August 23.
Fill out the form below (including the question):
If you buy through my Amazon linkage, I will get a very small percentage
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