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3.0 out of 5 stars
Goofy, summery, fast read, December 13, 2009
Goofy, truthful and teenagerish, Fringe Benefits was a suitable read for summer. Despite its usual bad-time-turns-out-to-be-more-interesting-than-ever, this book had something quite nice in it. Maybe it was the friendly tone - which made you couldn't but feel as if you were talking to a real 11th grader, or perhaps it was just the meanings lied in normal happenings.
Adora had planned out a lovely summer ahead. She imagined hanging about the town with her two best friends, spending time with her boyfriend Noel and having a job to earn money for whatever she wanted to buy. Suddenly, everything went upside down. Everyone seemed to have their own plans, unexpected or not, and Dora wasn't a part of those. She was left behind, practically alone (if excluding her nagging and overprotective parents). The beginning of the story was really funny, because I found us exactly like Dora. When things didn't go according to plans, teenagers usually made a fuss over it and so did Dora. She couldn't stop whining and, even though didn't mean to, made everyone who was to go felt bad. I also liked the part when she talked about how she wanted a job, but wouldn't consider it joyful anymore once her parents forced her to work. Stubbornness, another thing young adults couldn't get rid of.
The story progressed with Dora finding new things that spiced up her summer. She worked at a good restaurant, made friend with a seemingly perfect girl and met with a super duper hot vet. Naive Dora adored the soon to be singer Stella and thought she was falling for the caring and charming Zach. But things weren't going well at all. She soon found the people she just got to know not exactly as nice as she expected. There were mixed emotions in this part and to me the author managed to pull them off. Dora was hopeful, then a moment later, totally hopeless. Like a young girl should act, Valerie let Dora reacted to the situation in a very natural way. She freaked out and messed it up. My favorite part was her parents' lecture on how wrong she was to accuse Zach and Stella. I had thought Dora was right. Then again, after hearing the speech, I changed my mind. Good thing to find out different thoughts from different generation.
The end was cute but nothing really impressive. I liked Noel's return and his present for Dora though. I think you would, too.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Cute but nothing special, December 10, 2008
Adora Benet is so not looking forward to her summer. Her best friends Eli and Liza are off globetrotting and having adventures in exotic locales. Her boyfriend Noel is leaving Brooklyn to go camping of all things. And worst of all, Dora's parents are forcing her to get a job to learn the true meaning of the dollar. But the summer turns out to be not as bad as Dora thought it would be. She lands a waitressing job at an exclusive tennis and squash club and another at a vet's office. There are the cooler and older friends who know how to have fun and an adorable pet cat her parents may or may not know about, not to mention the super hot animal doctor she works with. But this is also Dora's first experience in the real world, and she's about to learn that life is far from being just a big party.
Fringe Benefits was a fun and satisfying read. Dora's character is mostly realistically drawn, from her relationship insecurities to her desire to be universally liked. I really admired Dora's positive relationship with her family and her unwavering loyalty to her best friends because this made her a very likable person. Dora's authenticity made her easy to relate to as well. The story is interesting enough, mostly because of Dora's humor and very unique trains of thought, but much of the plot, especially the ending, left much to be desired. The story end with a huge sense of accomplishment and some of Dora's problems were still left up in the air. I did like how Dora grew as a person, but frankly, I thought the ending was kind of lame. Nothing really stood out to me about this novel, and I probably won't finish reading the series, but it's still a short and sweet read.
Fringe Benefits is the fourth installment in Frankel's Fringe Girl series, but it is still easy to understand on its own. Fringe Benefits is a meaningful and not-too-trashy guilty pleasure for fans of The Queen Geek Social Club by Laura Preble and The Elite series by Jennifer Banash.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, December 3, 2008
It's the end of her junior year, and Adora Benet can't wait for the fun in the sun to begin. Just being able to spend even more time with her best friends gets her excited. That is, until she finds out that each of them have their own plans.
Liza is going to stay with her parents earlier than expected in Bermuda to help them with the snorkeling business down there.
Eli applied to be in the Salzburg Youth Orchestra and finally got the callback. Her dream is beginning to come true faster than she expected - who wouldn't want to learn and play where Mozart lived?
Since both of her friends have deserted her, all Adora has left is her boyfriend, Noel. Unfortunately, even Noel has plans. He and his dad are going to hike the thousand-mile long Appalachian Trail. Of course, Adora knows that this is the perfect opportunity for Noel to spend time with his dad. If only it didn't last the entire summer!
Everyone is going away, even Joya, who is attending an art camp in Vermont. So what's Adora to do with all this free time? Her parents think that instead of volunteer work, Adora should get a job to learn what responsibility really is. At first, Adora is totally against the idea; but, unfortunately, she has no choice since her parents have cut her off. After applying to a couple of places, Adora finally lands a job as a waitress at the local country club, Brick. Although skeptical at first, Adora quickly discovers that a job that has hot guys walking around, mature co-workers, and cool parties isn't so bad.
This will be one summer Adora will never forget - let's just hope that she remembers that responsibility is what she is trying to learn.
Valerie Frankel takes us back to when we all had to learn the value of a dollar and the whole responsibility spiel that our parents reiterated from time to time. We all know that Adora has never had any trouble making new friends and adapting to her surroundings. And this summer right before her senior year is no exception.
Fast-paced and highly enjoyable, FRINGE BENEFITS lets readers finally get a glimpse of Adora outside her high school life and into the one where the real world awaits. After reading this novel, most will wonder why their summer vacations were never as exciting!
Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen
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