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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Samantha is not your typical cheerleader!, April 19, 2005
This review is from: All's Fair in Love, War, and High School (Hardcover)
She's brash, self-centered, totally hot, and completely obsessed with the implosion of her universe because of what she thinks others think of her. Therein lies the heart of this story. Would Samantha be so hypercritical of everyone else if she realized her potential to be so extraordinary? As Rallison writes it, so Samantha realizes it, but not without a few bittersweet lessons along the way.
This is the story of a girl who, despite a high self concept, suddenly realizes she is typical and even a lesser mortal than many of her peers. She discovers she isn't as smart as she thought she was when she takes the SAT and scores miserably low. Then, to top it all off, college entrance applications seem to demand a higher profile and lofty character traits that Samantha is conviced she has mastered. The problem is that she has no real proof of her expert qualities other than her cheerleading. So she enters the student council elections in a campaign to prove she has the right stuff, and to polish off her resume. So what if she has to reveal a little trash on her opponents? A little gossip couldn't hurt much could it? Samantha's strategy isn't without flaws.
I loved Samantha's personality. She is exactly the kind of girl I secretly admire, but go out of my way to avoid. She is confident, a trait that is appealing in many characters. Samantha's confidence is daring and sophisticated though, making her almost clandestine in pride.
Samantha is also obsessed. Her ego drives her to chide an exboyfriend, and belittle a potential best friend. Soon she discovers that her ego is self inflated and learns that she must let the air out every once in a while if she expects to be accepted by the populus.
Samantha is sincere. In fact, her brutal honesty about companions as well as opponents constitutes her real flaw. She is so honest and sincere that her ability to freely gossip almost spoils her only true friends and threatens to destroy her image and reputation. She frantically struggles to recover from her own undoing. Fortunately in the end, the bitter pill she must swallow leaves her character sweeter and more loveable than when we first meet her on page one.
I really loved this book. I have only read it once, but enjoyed it enough to read it again. Actually, with so many books in my To Be Read Pile, I will probably keep this for a while before I read it again. I will however pick up a copy of any of Rallison's other books. She did a fantastic job here, and I thirst for more.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitely worth picking up, October 10, 2004
This review is from: All's Fair in Love, War, and High School (Hardcover)
At first I was a bit put off by the title, All's Fair in Love, War, and High School. Although it's clever, i immediately labeled it as a shallow teen book without substance (sorry). but it completely surprised me! i couldnt seem to stop reading and i finished it in one sitting...the plot was good, if predictable (but in a way that made it completely satisfying in the end) and i love how the main character, Samantha, changes from the shallow, critical, but ultimately well-intentioned popular girl that she was in the beginning. and the romance was perfectly executed.
Anyway, the story is about a junior in high school named samantha who just finds out she bombed the SAT, is dumped by her boyfriend, and decides to run for class president (to look good on her high sschool transcript). she makes a bet with this guy she works with (and dated in 8th grade),logan, that she could survive two weeks without insulting anyone. the course of the story is basically about those two weeks and lots of events surrounding it. i would definitely recommend it.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
All's Fair in Love, War, and Highschool, February 27, 2004
A Kid's Review
This review is from: All's Fair in Love, War, and High School (Hardcover)
Alls Fair In Love,War, and High School By Janette Rallison ISBN: 0802788742 Walker & Co., 2003, 183 pp, $11.87 Samantha Taylor is the very image of perfection. Shes smart, pretty, talented, and nice to everyone she sees. NOT! In fact, Samantha is the very opposite. Though she is pretty, she got an 810 on the SATs, criticizes almost everyone who walks by her, and the only two things she is good at is seducing guys, and being head cheerleader. "Everyone whos hung out with Samantha knows that she cant go into a room with six people without insulting five of them." So her ex-boyfriend Logan places a bet that she cant go two weeks without insulting someone. So she now has the burden of that bet on her shoulders. The hot brother of her mean and snotty, rival, Elise is coming back from college, her friend betrays her, and on top of all that, shes running for school president to put Leadership on her college application. Alls Fair In Love, War, And High school is a story filled with responsibility, popularity, and determination. Almost every girl can relate to the main character, and has had experiences like Samanthas happen to them. I could relate to this book very well. It is a story that is guaranteed to reel you in and never let you stop turning the pages. The book is written in first person and the author Janette Rallison, really gets into the mind of teenage girl such as myself. This book has comedy, romance, and the thoughts of teenage girl Samantha Taylor.
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