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timeliss's review against another edition
5.0
i couldnt put this book down from the second i got it. i felt bad for the way they treated Rio around the end of the book, but she never let kristi get her too upset. at the end when she finally kisses Jas, i was EXTREMLY HAPPY. If she hadnt abandoned him and Mason, she probobly would have been with him earlier. i absolutly loved this book. 5 stars
megz88's review against another edition
5.0
Really glad I wasn't popular in high school. I mean not that its always like this.. But it would suck.
snarkywench's review against another edition
3.0
Having not been terribly impressed with the Evermore series, old school contemporary Alyson Noel hit the sweet spot and reminded me of what she does best. Rio moves to the deliciously shallow community in Southern California and immediately feels out of her depth in both the geek and the popular crowds. Though she feels slightly more comfortable and able to be herself with the geeks, she is swayed to the dark side when her romantic feelings are shut down in an oblivious but insensitive way.
What’s to love? That there isn’t one place where Rio feels she can be herself entirely which is true for all of us. While friends are usually very supportive, it is rare (and enviable) that one can share everything or feel comfortable from the outset. Rio’s spiral into popularity and the other not-so-nice elements that come along with it are fun, disturbing and understandable.
There is a Mean Girls element to it – there’s the Queen Bee who immediately starts sizing up the competition, the open geeks who take Rio in on her first day and the thinly sketched but oh so hot boy of interest. A reader will know where this book is heading within a chapter but it is an entertaining journey to the evil of high school and back. Some more character development of Jas and Mason would have been lovely but there are only so many pages and too many mean stunts to be depicted. The development of the relationship between mother and daughter was nicely achieved, though the mother’s complete obliviousness annoyed me no end for a significant section of the book.
Female versus female torment in the fiery war of high school – a great read.
What’s to love? That there isn’t one place where Rio feels she can be herself entirely which is true for all of us. While friends are usually very supportive, it is rare (and enviable) that one can share everything or feel comfortable from the outset. Rio’s spiral into popularity and the other not-so-nice elements that come along with it are fun, disturbing and understandable.
There is a Mean Girls element to it – there’s the Queen Bee who immediately starts sizing up the competition, the open geeks who take Rio in on her first day and the thinly sketched but oh so hot boy of interest. A reader will know where this book is heading within a chapter but it is an entertaining journey to the evil of high school and back. Some more character development of Jas and Mason would have been lovely but there are only so many pages and too many mean stunts to be depicted. The development of the relationship between mother and daughter was nicely achieved, though the mother’s complete obliviousness annoyed me no end for a significant section of the book.
Female versus female torment in the fiery war of high school – a great read.
skyhazzard's review
3.0
I'm not entirely sure what to say about this book. It was good but not what I was expecting. I really liked the way the author wrote the story but not how the story happened, if that makes any sense. I've always liked the writing style that Alyson has, it's very easy to read and understand, like the characters real and you know them. But now how the story happened is going to take some explaining...
How I thought the story was gonna go:
Okay, Rio sounds pretty awesome and I was like I'm gonna like her right away (which I did). She was this artsy geek but looked gorgeous after finally growing into herself. She's new to school, finds a few people she likes that have common interests in her, then the popular people see her beauty and the leader sees her as a threat hence the reason she takes her in (kinda like Mean Girls a bit). Next thing you know Rio's part of the popular crowd, starts seeing the friends she made that were actually better for her, and she starts to change (looks, attitude). I was figuring she'd still be in love with Jas this whole time (which she was) and eventually be like screw it I like him. As people see how cool Rio is Kristi gets jealous cause she's the It Girl at school, not Rio. Soon sabotage takes place, then like a war breaks out. Kristi gets exposed as a complete and total bitch and Rio gets to be Rio (go back to her friends she made at the beginning but still be friendly with all the people she met when popular). And you know her and Jas end up together finally.
********How the story actually happened (CONTAINS SPOILERS):********
Rio's still pretty awesome in the beginning, makes to cool friends who she keeps thinking are dating but they're not), Kristi sees her still feels threatened so takes her into her group to keep an eye on her and control her. Rio pretty much ditches her old friends (including her best friends from New York), becomes caught up in the feeling of being popular, quits her old hobbies (photography and hanging with her dad when he's in town), so she's seriously changing. She thinks Kristi really likes her and trusts her in the beginning and next thing you know they're doing coke together (Rio, that's a warning sign! Real friends would put pressure on you to try it!). Then she's taking pills too and drinking. Insert boyfriend (or should I say boyfriends). Rio gets a boyfriend who actually wants to be in a relationship with her but then she cheats on him with the hottest senior who ends up being her boyfriend for awhile until she keeps dragging out having sex. Kristi's getting pissed because Rio is getting more popular than her, getting all the guys while she can't even get a date, and her friends are starting to hang out more with Rio than her. Enter sabotage. Kristi begins spreading rumors, putting Rio down, and eventually hooking up with her boyfriend. Next thing you know Rio is like a social pariah, nobody wants to hang with her or talk to her. No boyfriend, no friends, no life (since she practically gave it all up to be popular). She has a slight breakdown where she cuts her hair but that leads her to being honest with her mother for like the first time in her life. They grow closer because of this. Rio decides she's not going to be a victim any longer so she stand up for herself and with some help from someone who used to be her friend finds evidence that proves Kristi set her up for something she didn't do which ends up with Kristi getting expelled when they also searched her locker for drugs. Rio's taking action also resulted in Kristi's friends standing up to her too. In the end Rio ends up with the guys she's liked from the beginning and quite possibly more friends than she'd thought she'd get.
I think the book would have been better with more scenes between Rio and Jas and Mason because they had a friendship in the beginning but then it got thrown away till the end. Even them confronting her would have made me happy. I would have liked to see Rio not throw everything away for popularity right away, I would have liked to see her struggle with it. I could have also done with less drugs. And finally I wish Rio and Jas would have happened a bit sooner than the last page of the book.
How I thought the story was gonna go:
Okay, Rio sounds pretty awesome and I was like I'm gonna like her right away (which I did). She was this artsy geek but looked gorgeous after finally growing into herself. She's new to school, finds a few people she likes that have common interests in her, then the popular people see her beauty and the leader sees her as a threat hence the reason she takes her in (kinda like Mean Girls a bit). Next thing you know Rio's part of the popular crowd, starts seeing the friends she made that were actually better for her, and she starts to change (looks, attitude). I was figuring she'd still be in love with Jas this whole time (which she was) and eventually be like screw it I like him. As people see how cool Rio is Kristi gets jealous cause she's the It Girl at school, not Rio. Soon sabotage takes place, then like a war breaks out. Kristi gets exposed as a complete and total bitch and Rio gets to be Rio (go back to her friends she made at the beginning but still be friendly with all the people she met when popular). And you know her and Jas end up together finally.
********How the story actually happened (CONTAINS SPOILERS):********
Rio's still pretty awesome in the beginning, makes to cool friends who she keeps thinking are dating but they're not), Kristi sees her still feels threatened so takes her into her group to keep an eye on her and control her. Rio pretty much ditches her old friends (including her best friends from New York), becomes caught up in the feeling of being popular, quits her old hobbies (photography and hanging with her dad when he's in town), so she's seriously changing. She thinks Kristi really likes her and trusts her in the beginning and next thing you know they're doing coke together (Rio, that's a warning sign! Real friends would put pressure on you to try it!). Then she's taking pills too and drinking. Insert boyfriend (or should I say boyfriends). Rio gets a boyfriend who actually wants to be in a relationship with her but then she cheats on him with the hottest senior who ends up being her boyfriend for awhile until she keeps dragging out having sex. Kristi's getting pissed because Rio is getting more popular than her, getting all the guys while she can't even get a date, and her friends are starting to hang out more with Rio than her. Enter sabotage. Kristi begins spreading rumors, putting Rio down, and eventually hooking up with her boyfriend. Next thing you know Rio is like a social pariah, nobody wants to hang with her or talk to her. No boyfriend, no friends, no life (since she practically gave it all up to be popular). She has a slight breakdown where she cuts her hair but that leads her to being honest with her mother for like the first time in her life. They grow closer because of this. Rio decides she's not going to be a victim any longer so she stand up for herself and with some help from someone who used to be her friend finds evidence that proves Kristi set her up for something she didn't do which ends up with Kristi getting expelled when they also searched her locker for drugs. Rio's taking action also resulted in Kristi's friends standing up to her too. In the end Rio ends up with the guys she's liked from the beginning and quite possibly more friends than she'd thought she'd get.
I think the book would have been better with more scenes between Rio and Jas and Mason because they had a friendship in the beginning but then it got thrown away till the end. Even them confronting her would have made me happy. I would have liked to see Rio not throw everything away for popularity right away, I would have liked to see her struggle with it. I could have also done with less drugs. And finally I wish Rio and Jas would have happened a bit sooner than the last page of the book.
taylorfennerwrites's review against another edition
4.0
This book always reminds me of mean girls (the movie) a little bit; but the details are a little different. I've always liked the book though, it's been one of my favorites.
My rating: 3 1/2 out of 5
My rating: 3 1/2 out of 5
mxacp96's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Great listen and wonderfully written. Alyson Noel takes us on a high school journey of love and teenage hood. Listened to it in a day.
kincso02's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5