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liketheday's review
4.0
Our protagonist, Callie Leary, is called into the vice principal's office one day, and though she thinks it might be news about her disappeared mother, it's not. No, instead, Callie's friend Amanda has cut school and played a prank, which is not unusual except that this time Amanda has implicated Callie in the crime.
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sparklingreader's review against another edition
3.0
Summary from the book: When enigmatic high schooler Amanda Valentino disappears, her friends vow to find her, but...they realize they thought they knew about her was false. At the website, readers can write stories, post art, share theories about Amanda, design and buy clothing and accessories.
And therein lies the rub. When I first started reading the story, I was intrigued by the mystery, not only who is Amanda, but what happened to Callie's mother, why was Bea so important and what was going on. When I read the last page, I was angry enough to toss the book in the trash. The mystery is not solved. The questions are not answered. And you discover the entire story is nothing more than a marketing ploy to get teens to log into the related website and join the Amanda Project community - and buy the stuff there. Sure, they can post their own stories for "possible" inclusion in a future story and so on, but there also blatant marketing of clothing, accessories, etc.
The writing itself was good, not stellar, but technically well done. The story, however, was frustrating in the extreme. Even the Harry Potter books with all their commercialism at least give you a complete story. This is nothing more than an advertising ploy. If there are future stories, I hope they finish at least one of them rather than leave the readers hanging. It's a decent story, but I cannot recommend it because of the way it was presented. Sorry, but give me a finished story the next time and don't try to sell me and my kids a ton of junk.
And therein lies the rub. When I first started reading the story, I was intrigued by the mystery, not only who is Amanda, but what happened to Callie's mother, why was Bea so important and what was going on. When I read the last page, I was angry enough to toss the book in the trash. The mystery is not solved. The questions are not answered. And you discover the entire story is nothing more than a marketing ploy to get teens to log into the related website and join the Amanda Project community - and buy the stuff there. Sure, they can post their own stories for "possible" inclusion in a future story and so on, but there also blatant marketing of clothing, accessories, etc.
The writing itself was good, not stellar, but technically well done. The story, however, was frustrating in the extreme. Even the Harry Potter books with all their commercialism at least give you a complete story. This is nothing more than an advertising ploy. If there are future stories, I hope they finish at least one of them rather than leave the readers hanging. It's a decent story, but I cannot recommend it because of the way it was presented. Sorry, but give me a finished story the next time and don't try to sell me and my kids a ton of junk.
couscous's review against another edition
3.0
I kept waiting for something to happen, something big. But it didn't. The mystery of Amanda was never revealed.
hmelliott's review
3.0
Usually I'm not a fan of the mysteries, but since this was by one of my favorite authors I decided to read it.
Callie is one of the popular girls at school (the girls we wish we were and the ones we love to hate) one day in math a interesting new girl shows up. Callie is asked to help catch her up. Callie learns that Amanda doesn't need the help and they talk about some of the most interesting things, things that if you brought it up with the popular girls they'd laugh. They ended up becoming really close friends. One day Callie is called down to the V.P's office to explain where Amanda is and what she knows. Two other kids are there also, Nia and Hal, who turn out to be really good friends with Amanda also. The three of them become an unlikely pair in trying to find Amanda.
This book had everything you could ask for, a unique friend, a romance that your dying to find out if anything will happen, and true friendship forming. I look forward to the next one in this series
Callie is one of the popular girls at school (the girls we wish we were and the ones we love to hate) one day in math a interesting new girl shows up. Callie is asked to help catch her up. Callie learns that Amanda doesn't need the help and they talk about some of the most interesting things, things that if you brought it up with the popular girls they'd laugh. They ended up becoming really close friends. One day Callie is called down to the V.P's office to explain where Amanda is and what she knows. Two other kids are there also, Nia and Hal, who turn out to be really good friends with Amanda also. The three of them become an unlikely pair in trying to find Amanda.
This book had everything you could ask for, a unique friend, a romance that your dying to find out if anything will happen, and true friendship forming. I look forward to the next one in this series
hallizalli's review against another edition
4.0
This first book in a planned 8-book series was very intriguing. After finishing it, I explored the website that goes along with the series: www.theamandaproject.com and found out a whole lot more about the series! The interactive website is amazing, and it offers readers a chance to collaborate on the upcoming books, and also has tons of interactive features. There is also a kit available for teachers and librarians which can be used as a guide for solving the mystery of Amanda. What an amazing idea! I'm looking forward to the next books in the series.
trisha_thomas's review
2.0
although I enjoyed the mystery, the book definitely seemed to struggle with it's age range - if Callie had been just a little older (driving age, maybe slightly older), I think this could have been a very fun mystery.
But, instead, I think it was held back to keep within the younger crowd.
The fact that there is a web site (was?) and a whole following trying to guess what's happened to Amanda was just not really my thing.
but a great idea for the younger masses.
But, instead, I think it was held back to keep within the younger crowd.
The fact that there is a web site (was?) and a whole following trying to guess what's happened to Amanda was just not really my thing.
but a great idea for the younger masses.
jennifervu's review against another edition
3.0
In the end, they really didn't achieve anything. They still didn't know Amanda's whereabouts and were actually more confused. Not a very good plot.
witchofottawacounty's review against another edition
2.0
Normally when I start the first book of a series I'm tempted to buy all of the books at once. Luckily I decided to read it first before spending good book money.
Some of the time it was really good, and I really wanted to know what happened to Amanda, but most of the time I was just bored and wanted to get it over with. I can honestly say that I have no desire to go out and read the sequel.
Some of the time it was really good, and I really wanted to know what happened to Amanda, but most of the time I was just bored and wanted to get it over with. I can honestly say that I have no desire to go out and read the sequel.
a1mushi's review
1.0
This book didnt keep me interested as much as I hoped it would, just didn't care for it too much at all.