Customer Reviews

Don't Get It Twisted: A Del Rio Bay Clique Novel (del Rio Bay Clique Novels)

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

 

 

DON'T GET IT TWISTED follows up exactly where its predecessor SO NOT THE DRAMA left off. Amina and her clique are back plus three additions. This time Amina and Craig are getting cozy, but Brian is sure throwing her some nice attention.

DON'T GET IT TWISTED is full of drama, tears and what it means to be a friend. WOW, I've only been out of high school a year, but reading this always makes me feel like I'm right there rollin' with their clique.

I can earnestly say I can't wait to read THAT'S WHAT'S UP!

Reviewed by: Lauren
Teen Reviewer

Amina Mooney is back with her friends, Lizzie, JZ and Michael; however, she's bringing along Jacinta and Kelly from the soc project to add to the best friend ring. Don't Get It Twisted picks up right where its predecessor So Not The Drama left off. It's still freshman year after Thanksgiving break and while Mouthy Mina still has high hopes of being accepted in the ranks with uppers, she's obsessed with spending time with the girls, the clique and Craig, her crush/possible boyfriend. While Mina is so busy with Craig, Brian (the newest member of their clique) is tossing out some serious flirtatious vibes. Can Mina juggle them both?

Kelly may be one of the newest members of the clique, but it's drama, drama, drama as she learns that her mom and her abuela (grandmother) have kept a major secret from her. While Kelly can forgive them she realizes that she and her mom have a lot in common. Will Kelly be able to ward off the secrets of her mother, or is this going to be a recurring cycle?

Jacinta (a.k.a. Cinny) is also new to the folds of the clique. She and Raheem (a.k.a. Heem) have been seriously dating for two years. Now that she's living in the burbs, Cinny is changing and seeing things differently. Heem is pressing Cinny to remain true to the hood, but while she loves her past, she's enjoying the burbs a lot. Has Jacinta outgrown her past?

Now the clique wouldn't be a clique if some drama didn't ensue around JZ. While he's a super athlete, he's also an awesome student. However, the pressure to maintain a B average and protect his spot on the varsity basketball team causes JZ to put not only himself, but Lizzie in an awkward position. Can JZ right this wrong without jeopardizing his friendships or his starting spot?

Don't Get It Twisted is another winner!!! Teamed with good values, tears, and reminders of genuine friends, this clique grows right before the readers' very eyes. I believe that I enjoy this series because the characters are so real, they have actual problems and fears, and each member of the clique has to deal with the consequences of their actions. I can't wait to read That's What's Up! Paula Chase has written a teen tale that parents can enjoy and feel comfortable with their teens reading.

Who you with???? Rolling with the clique!!!

Reviewed by Nardsbaby
for Urban Reviews

Mina Mooney is back in this second novel of the DEL RIO BAY CLIQUE series, following So Not The Drama: A Del Rio Bay Clique Novel (del Rio Bay Clique Novels).

It's all about the Frenzy, a bumpin' party filled with athletes and held in the most prestigious neighborhood in The Woods. Mina's crush, Craig, has finally come around her way and now she has the invitation she needs. All that stands between her and the party of the century is: her parents. What's up with all these strict dating rules? Can't they see she's not a baby anymore?

But, as usual, Mina's clique has got her back, and they agree to help her find a way to the party. Now, if only there weren't so many other distractions, like the fact that she has to audition to write for the school newspaper, even though she brought her own column idea to the table. And that new kid, Brian, who has already climbed farther up the popularity ladder than she has, even though he just started at Del Rio Bay High. Is he flirting with her? Why does this have to start up now that she's finally got a shot with Craig? High school is hard!

Del Rio Bay is a great setting, brought to life by Paula Chase's wide variety of teenage characters. Every stereotype has its representative, and every representative defies his/her stereotype. These kids are normal. They face normal problems and react realistically to the obstacles in their paths. There is no easy solution, only each character deciding what's right for him or her.

This is the type of book that talks straight and doesn't patronize teen readers. Another novel in the series comes out in June, 2008, so get reading!

Reviewed by: Julie M. Prince

Mina Mooney likes Craig Simpson and he has invited her to the Frenzy, a party the high school coach has for the varsity football team at the end of the season. There's one problem, though. Mina can't date yet. Her parents only allow her to go out in groups. She has a pretty good argument against each one of her parents' rules, but she still might not be able to convince them to let her go. If she can't, she'll figure out how to get there without them knowing. And Mina's friends - Lizzy, JZ (Jason Zimms), Jacinta (Cinny), Kelly and Michael - some of them are dealing with their own issues.
The description of this book gave me the impression that as far as Mina was concerned her story would be mostly about her and Craig Simpson. But Craig doesn't play as big a role as I expected him to. Mina spent a lot of time with her clique and a certain someone. There was much talk of sports (something I know very little about and have no interest in). I enjoyed the high school basketball game, though. The author did a good job with that scene.
I always like it when parents or guardians play a big part in a young adult novel, especially when they're good, caring parents like Mariah and Jackson Mooney. Mina didn't appreciate their rules, but if they didn't love her they wouldn't have any.
I was concerned for fourteen year old Kelly. It was nice that Angel (17) was respectful of her, good to her, but he was still a drug dealer and there's nothing good about that. Kelly didn't have a good relationship with her mother, Rebecca, and that wasn't good. In fact, her mother and stepdad weren't around much, but at least her mother did take time to give her good advice when she needed it.
There were quite a few scenes that took place at high school, where most of JZ's problems came from. He made a bad choice that didn't affect only him, but I was glad he did the right thing in the end.
Michael and Todd were interesting characters.
And Jacinta- She lived with her Aunt Jacqi in the Woods (Suburban neighborhood) but she came from Pirates Cove (low income housing). This girl couldn't win for losin'. When she was with her friends in The Woods, her boyfriend, Raheem, who was from The Cove, couldn't handle it and when she supported Raheem she was treated as if she was being disloyal to her friends in The Woods. Jacinta was stuck in the middle and it was really her story that kept me turning the pages. I really felt for this girl and I just had to know how things were going to turn out for her.
Some of the IMs and text messages slowed my reading down a bit, but that's only because it's all new to me. It took a little while to figure out what some of the abbreviations meant just like it did at times when these young people spoke: nabe - neighborhood, `tude - attitude, hist - history, `rents - parents/ There is teen slang I have heard, but never any of these. This book had me checking a teen slang dictionary, but I didn't mind the extra work. I liked Don't Get It Twisted. I give it 3.5

DON'T GET IT TWISTED
PAULA CHASE

Rating: 4 Enchantments

DON'T GET IT TWISTED is the sequel to the first book in the Del Rio Bay Clique series, SO NOT THE DRAMA.

Mina Mooney's been asked to one of the hottest parties of the year, the Frenzy, by one of the hottest guys at school. Craig Simpson. Only one little problem -- she's not allowed to date until she's fifteen. And her parents aren't exactly willing to let her go to the party, date or no date.

That's where the Clique comes in, they're going to have her back. Her girls are going to be her perfect cover to get to her to Frenzy and more importantly, to her big date with Craig.

But things are never that simple. Aside from the boy drama, Mina now has to tryout for the school newspaper, competing with another student to write a column that was her own idea. Not to be outdone, her clique has their own drama going on. Jacinta has boyfriend problems; JZ's got issues with his schoolwork that could cost him his spot on the basketball team; Kelly's interested in Angel, the hottie hustler from The Cove and the hot new basketball player Brian keeps flirting with Mina, even when she keeps telling him she has a boyfriend.

DON'T GET IT TWISTED shows what high school is like for a lot of teens, the struggle to fit in and make it through the year as unscathed as possible which in Mina's case is pretty impossible.

Readers would probably benefit from reading the first in the series before reading DON'T GET IT TWISTED as I did feel a little lost with the characters at times.

I look forward to reading the continuing stories in the Del Rio Bay Clique series.

Reviewed by Lisa
YA Director
Enchanting Reviews

Don't Get it Twisted, by Paula Chase, took me back to ninth grade, all the way back. Mina is still consumed with being the most popular person on campus and what others think of her. But she has bigger issues currently, like whether she will get to write the `Pop Life" column in the newspaper. Even though the idea was hers she still has to compete against someone to do it. She also has to contend with being singled out by Craig to be his girlfriend. She is technically not allowed to date, but there is no way she is not going to be Craig's girlfriend. He is way too hot and popular for her not to make it happen. Even if it means telling little beige lies to her parents, Mariah and Jackson, and getting her friend, Liz, tied up in her drama. She will also have to fight against her attraction to the new basketball superstar, Brian, because while he knows she is Craig's girl, he will not stop trying to get her attention.

While reading this novel, I felt a part of these young people's lives. I particularly enjoyed the way Ms. Chase allowed the parents and educators to play valid roles in the story. Often in young adult books the other parts of the teens' lives are rarely explored. Although this is definitely Mina's story the other characters are fully fleshed out. I especially enjoyed the story about Kelly, who has become involved with hood-boy Angel and how she discovers parallels between her parent's lives and her own.

Don't Get it Twisted is filled with real portrayals of today's teenagers and is written in a language they can understand and relate to. It is also filled with messages for teens and parents. This young adult novel should appeal to all readers who enjoy realistic, diverse books about young people, their issues and the lives they are living.


Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub