Customer Reviews

American Fringe

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Adora Bennet has just landed a dream job. She is the new teen advice columnist for the New York Moon newspaper. She's super excited and along with this new opportunity comes a new friendship. Well sort of. Her sworn enemy Sondra has decided that they should be best frenimies now that Adora is "famous," Adora reluctantly agrees. While she is off making new friends her old friends, Eli and Liza, are not getting along at all. All is good with the Ask Adora column until she responds to a question about stay-at-home moms. Adora doesn't agree with the idea of a non-working mother and makes her opinion blatantly obvious. She offends many mothers, especially her boyfriend's. Adora is sent into a frenzy of fame as many people become aware of her column. She appears on talk shows and the paparazzi are after her. Then the press finds out that the person who wrote the question is none other than the son of New York's favorite presidential candidate, and Adora is again in a whirlwind of fame. Alas, her fame is short-lived because when grilled about her column on a talk show she doesn't give a good response. This sends Adora into a downward spiral. Sondra doesn't want to be her friend anymore, Liza and Eli aren't talking to her anymore either, her dad tells her that her column is shallow, her boyfriend isn't talking to her because his mother and all the stay-at-home mom's of the nation hate her guts. What is a girl to do? Will Adora figure it out and turn around and write a stronger column?

This book was O.K. There was nothing terribly exciting about it and it was very predictable. I didn't feel like I could connect with Adora and felt like she was a little flat. I know this is the third book in the series and in the fall a fourth one will follow. From reading American Fringe I don't think it is necessary to read the preceding books in the series. Frankly, I don't think I will read the first two books and am not anticipating the fourth.

After her two-week break from school, Adora Benet is ready to take Brownstate Collegiate Institute's halls by storm. With her boyfriend, Noel, back in her arms, her two best friends by her side and the wonderful feeling of spring in the air, Adora is feeling pretty awesome. Of course, feelings change.

After the wonderful thought of Liza moving into her house, Eli is beginning to regret that decision. Not only has Liza been getting on her nerves, but now El's mother has gone from briefcase-only to kitchenware-welcome. Eli is starting to feel a little left out since her mom spends a ton more effort caring for Liza then she ever did for Eli; of course, Eli would never show it. And Adora just so happens to be the only one out of the three who isn't affected by this. Can she be the peacemaker?

Sondra, Adora's somewhat enemy, has last her posse, which consisted of Lori and Micha. Now Sondra is trying to make a new friend out of Adora, but will Adora take this chance to get off the fringe?

Adora gets to run her own advice column, and it turns out to be very popular, maybe a little too popular. One of the articles Adora writes, about women in the work force, turns into a huge controversy, and puts Adora into the spotlight of the national media and on talk shows. And the person she gave advice to turns out to be Toby Livingston, whose mother is all about the red, white, and blue. Now if only she could get him out of her head.

Adora Benet's character flourishes as the FRINGE series continues. In AMERICAN FRINGE, we are able to see the various sides and feelings of Adora that everyone will be able to identify with. Valerie Frankel keeps the Adora that we have all come to know and love since the first book, and also keeps the momentum going. Watch out for FRINGE BENEFITS, next in the series.

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen