Customer Reviews

Art Geeks and Prom Queens: A Novel

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was an enjoyable read. It tells the story of Rio, who's named after a Duran Duran song. She lives with her former model mother and lawyer father in Laguna Beach, but misses New York and her friends there (they recently moved).

Rio makes a couple of friends from her art class in Laguna Beach, but then Kristi, cheerleader and queen bee, takes her under her wing. Suddenly, Rio has to follow rules...who to associate with, which boys to like, how to dress...or otherwise make Kristi mad. Everyone tiptoes around Kristi. But then, a fateful game of spin-the-bottle seals Rio's destiny. Kristi's not talking to her anymore, and she's turned the whole school against her.

This was an insightful look at high school cliques, the fear of those in power, and also just a fun bubbly read that made me remember being a teenager. The writing was pitch-perfect and really sounded like a young adult.

New girl Rio expects to be a social outcast in her new school, so she is surprised when Kristi, the beautiful queen-bee mean girl, invites Rio into her clique. Rio quickly sheds the artsy friends she made her first day and embraces Kristi's offer. But being friends with Kristi comes with strings: Rio must make sure she's dressed to meet Kristi's approval, she is only allowed to date boys Kristi approves of, she must embrace Kristi's drug and alcohol habits, and above all else, Rio cannot outshine Kristi. Rio is happy enough to comply, but when Rio's popularity begins to eclipse Kristi's, Kristi sets out to destroy Rio's social standing.

Filled with mean girl cattiness and teenage insecurities, Art Geeks and Prom Queens is a realistic portrayal of how a teenager in Rio's position would probably think, act, and feel. As a result, I can see why it has been included in recommended reading lists for so many schools. Rio's voice is believable and never sounded forced or like an adult trying too hard to sound like a teenager. Instead, I can completely believe that Rio is a real girl candidly describing a year in her life. In this regard, Art Geeks and Prom Queens will probably be a hit among its target audience (of which, I should point out, I do not fall into).

While Rio might ring true, she isn't entirely likable. For most of the book she passively goes along with all of Kristi's demands, trading morality for popularity. As a teenager, Rio's actions are pretty realistic. I mean, let's face it, how many teenagers are moral crusaders in the face of popularity? Still, while it's completely believable that Rio would, for example, date a popular guy and let him kiss her (and more) when she doesn't even really like him all that much, it isn't very easy to like her when she behaves so falsely. The rest of the characters are generic stereotypes without much depth or likability. The plot is equally shallow and trite with no surprises.

Rio does stand up for herself in the end, but her turn around rings a little hollow. She acknowledges some of her behavior and the regrets she has about it, but other behaviors (like drug use) are never repented and there is no indication that Rio will stop. Teens may find Rio easy to relate to, but without adult guidance on discussions about the book, I wonder if the book might be sending the wrong messages about certain behaviors. There are plenty of other books and movies to choose from in the "mean girl" and "lifestyles of the rich and fabulous" genres, most of which I've found are more enjoyable reads.

All i have to say is this book is good. I loved it so much and so will every other teenage girl in the world i meen seriously!!!

this is a great read. Rio is a very relatable caracter, and her situations and decisions are very relatable.

If anyone has watched the movie Mean Girls and liked it, than there is a pretty good chance you will fall in love with this book, also.

This book follows a girl named Rio, who has just moved to the west coast with her family, on her journey to becoming one of the most popular girls in school and making some bad decisions to falling back down to nothing once again to finally finding who she is.

The book may be predictable, but who dosen't like happy endings, right?

When her fashion-plate mom (a former model) and her high-powered dad (a successful lawyer) move her from New York to Southern California, Rio is sure it's going to be tough. She's leaving behind her good friends to be shoved pell-mell into a fancy private school where everyone seems perfect and together. Where everyone seems like the kind of people her mother would really love for Rio to be friends with.

Even though her mother is a beautiful society gal, Rio has never aspired to be more than an art geek. She's used to baggy clothes and hiding behind her camera. But with her mother's encouragement, she makes friends with Kristi, the beautiful, rich, cheerleader that runs the school.

Things seem perfect for a while - well, perfect, if you don't mind Kristi telling you who to hang out with and what to wear. But then Rio becomes too successful. She's getting dates when Kristi isn't. Things start to spin out of control for Rio between keeping up appearances, pressure from the boys (including a sizzling hot senior), and the various vices that Kristi has introduced her to: drugs, drinking, and hooking up.

Rio finds out that looking perfect and feeling perfect are two very different things. Will she be able to cross Kristi and live to tell the tale? Will she be true to herself or give in to the popular crowd? Will she tell her mother that all the pressure she's under is just too much?

While the plot might sound outwardly a bit like a Gossip Girls novel, there's more of a heart in this story. Readers will really root for Rio even when she's making some bad decisions and will pull for her when the going gets tough. Realistic scenes and sharp dialog make this book a real winner. Recommended for ages 14 and up.

--Kimberly Pauley, YA Books Goddess @ yabookscentral.com

Transplanted from New York, Rio (like the Duran Duran song, not the city in Brazil) feels out of place in ritzy Newport Beach, California. Her mother is obsessed with redecorating and Juicy Couture sweatsuits, and her dad travels too much for her liking. Even though Rio is fairly happy as a class-cutting art geek, she is soon invited into the most popular clique in school.

Kristi, the clique's feared leader who lives "on coke, both diet and Columbian," christens Rio her "best friend." Rio's climb to the top of the popularity food chain comes fast, and her fall comes even faster. After a disastrous party kills her popularity, Rio knows she'll have to rely on her own wits and bravery to set things right. Or at least sort of right.

If you're itching for the next Gossip Girl novel, ART GEEKS AND PROM QUEENS may be the book for you. Although the setting is sunny beaches and South Coast Plaza instead of Central Park and Fifth Avenue, mean girls and expensive clothes still take center stage. Despite the superficiality of a number of characters, Rio learns a lot about self-reliance and true friendship, making her a little more interesting than Blair and Serena. It's not great literature by any stretch of the imagination, but hey, don't we all need a book like that sometimes?

--- Reviewed by Carlie Webber

This book is full of drama, stuck up freinds, tears, stress, fashion, drugs, rumors, threats, sex, and just about every other typical teenage thing but the way their all put together in this story is amazing. Kristi the meaniehead and Rio the loser get together with JenJen and Kayla to form the new it girls. While Rio's first freinds at her new school Mason nad Jasper get left behind but they don't get mad at her they suprisingly stick with her. In the end you'd think its typical but really its more then that.

Art Geeks and Prom Queens was one of the greatest books i've ever read. It was tense that I couldn't put downt he book. I loved the teme of the book, jealousy. I loved it because that's what keeps me interested and motavated to keep on reading. I also liked how the characters were all snobby and high-class because I'm into like drama, high-class books.

One thing that could have made the book better would be another twist. Even though it had twists, one more twist could have improved the book better. Another thing that could have been better would have been to add more. For example what happened to Kristi?, Are Jas and Rio still a couple? or What happened to Mason, Jen and Kyla? That is what the book could have improved in.

If I was recommending this to an age level student, I would recommend it to 14-16 years olds. I think that's an age approiate level because in the books there is some inapproiate parts in the book that I don't think would be suitble for younger kids. I aslo think that teenagers would get a better understanding of the book because of the drama, jealously, everyday issues about school and peer pressure. I wouldn't recomend it to younger children because they might not like the kind of book this is, and how it talks about inapproiate gestures and it has cuss words in it. Also, you probably don't want younger children swearing because they would want to know where they got it from. Art Geeks and Prom Queens is a 240 page book and it would be hard to finish for them.

If your a fan of the movie Mean Girls then you'll love this book!
Rio moves from New York to Southern California. At first she makes friends with the art geeks until Kristi, a popular cheerleader, decides she's cool enough to be popular. Eventually though Rio becomes so popular she's more popular than Kristi. Soon Rio learns why people are nice to Kristi. It isn't because they like her. It's because they're afraid of her.

As I was browsing the Teen Fiction shelves in the library, I stumbled upon this book. I read the first page and shoved it into my pile in a hurry. When I got home, I couldn't put it down. Rio's hilarious commentary and loveable mom made it hard for me to put this friggin book down! Jas's charm was cute, even if he was a character in a book.

Overall, if you like reading high school dramas or the movie "Mean Girls", GET THIS BOOK. Nownownow.