Doormat [Library Binding]

Kelly McWilliams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 14, 2004

WHAT WOULD YOU DO if your best friend got pregnant?

Fourteen-year-old Jaime is used to her best friend, Melissa, being the center of attention. Melissa wants to be a model—she’s beautiful, popular, and talented. There’s just one small problem—Melissa thinks she’s pregnant, and she wants Jaime’s help. But there’s not much Jaime can do. Melissa refuses to tell her parents; Jaime refuses to be the same old reliable doormat. She’s got a lead in the school play and a new friendship with Zach. Jaime is changing, too. And she’s sick of being stepped on!

Fifteen-year-old Kelly McWilliams’s debut novel is an inspiring story about friendship, choices, and learning how to shine.


From the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up–Jaime's drama-queen best friend is used to getting all the attention until she discovers she's pregnant and tries to conceal it, and that's when quiet Jamie learns to be a friend instead of just a doormat. The story is thin, the plot is stale, and the connection between Melissa's pregnancy and Jaime's growth is tenuous. More than anything, the pregnancy serves to contrast the differences between the teens' personalities. Nonetheless, Jaime learns to take charge of her life and gets a lead in the school play and even a boyfriend. Due to the theme and the ease in reading, reluctant readers will find the story interesting. While there is room for her plotting abilities to develop, the 15-year-old first novelist's understanding of human motivation is strong, and her ability to use metaphor to describe it is fresh and appealing.–Catherine Ensley, Latah County Free Library District, Moscow, ID
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-10. The writer of this first novel is 15, and not only does she know the YA scene, but unlike most high-school kids, she also can write about it--with wit and immediacy as well as distance. There are no sprawling diary entries and e-mails here. McWilliams' first-person, present-tense vignettes are taut, funny, and touching, the dialogue is authentic, and both the teen and adult characters ring true. Jaime's gorgeous best friend, Melissa, 14, is distraught that she is pregnant. Jaime tries to help, but, as usual, she feels like the doormat to prima donna Melissa, who makes Jaime buy the pregnancy test kit and refuses to talk about solutions. Although there's a nice reversal by the end of the story, Jamie's passive role is overexplained, and the plot relies on contrivance (an awkward eavesdropping scene reveals the baby's father). But the pregnancy is the heart of the story. Should Melissa have an abortion? Should she tell her parents? YAs will race through the story and talk about it. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Library Binding: 144 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (September 14, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385902042
• ISBN-13: 978-0385902045
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,486,237 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fast-paced, realistic, and satisfying, September 17, 2004

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doormat (Hardcover)

"Can you help me?" These are the four little words that Jaime's best friend Melissa uses to her sum up Jaime's role in their relationship. Jaime lives in "nowhere, California," where she and Melissa have been best friends forever --- which means that Jaime has been doing Melissa's bidding forever. Now is no different, except that Melissa's predicament is a total disaster: she believes she's pregnant.

Guess who hails a taxi and heads for Walgreen's to brave the (male, middle-aged) clerk while purchasing a pregnancy test? Certainly not Melissa. Jaime offers her friend advice when Melissa insists upon it. Yet, the next thing you know, Melissa is angry with Jaime and giving her the silent treatment. Jaime simply does not know what to do.

Even when Jaime's crush asks her to pair up with him for a drama class callback audition, Jaime can't work up any joy; she feels lonely and miserable. She offers to help Melissa, but how? Melissa continues to either ignore all of Jaime's advice or be infuriated by it. In the meantime, Jaime is so distracted by Melissa's plight that she forgets to be self-conscious at the audition and scores a starring role.

Complications ensue when a male classmate discovers Melissa's condition and insists on lending a hand. Will the third person of the team be a help or a hindrance? And will Jaime ever find out who the father of Melissa's baby is? Time goes by without Melissa being able to make any decision. Jaime feels more and more panicked. Why did she say that she'd save her best friend? Will she always be a doormat? And, speaking of indecision, why can't Jaime figure out what she wants to do with her life?

DOORMAT is a quick read, partly due to the short, fast-moving chapters, but mostly because it's one of those "don't disturb me NOW, I've got to find out what happens" books. The conclusion of DOORMAT is realistic yet satisfying. The author's note says that fifteen-year-old Kelly McWilliams is working on her next novel. I can hardly wait!

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon ([e-mail])

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Start, February 23, 2005

By 

Smitty (NY, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doormat (Hardcover)

I congratulate this new author and her first novel. Although the book was short, its writing was unique and enjoyable. Being a high schooler myself, I could relate to the narrator, and I liked the fact that it was written by someone around the same age as both me and the narrator. It made the book seem more realistic. I look forward to more writings in the future.

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Good!, May 5, 2011

By 

Julie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doormat (Hardcover)

I liked the book alot. I am 15 and this book really comes to mind, like its so realistic nowadays! i would def reccomend this book to my friends! though it started out slow it was very good bc i can related to it.my Best friend too go prego. a def read!