89 of 120 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
This is, bar none, the worst book I have ever read in my life., November 21, 2009
This review is from: Gamer Girl (Hardcover)
This is not a book as much as it is a collection of clichéd plot devices and character stereotypes that are more two-dimensional than those found in after-school specials.
It has everything which makes a teen book amount to nothing. A main character named "Maddy Starr" (an obvious author-insert for Mari Mancusi) who constantly bitches about how "nobody gets her, and nobody ever will," and how she's repulsed that no one at her new school is a "mop headed emo boy" or an "Edward Cullen worshiping goth-girl". Rather, they're all "AberZOMBIES" and "Haters." Please note the capital "H," as Maddy expresses such disgust for anyone who is different from herself that she needs to emphasize it with a proper noun. All in all, the result is a grotesque caricature of a gothic teenage girl. She constantly talks about Twilight and My Chemical Romance, at one point even going as far as to complain that the lead singer from My Chemical Romance does not attend her school, because if he did, they would sooo totally be soul-mates.
The reader quickly begins to wonder whether the author truly writes at a middle-school level, or whether this is a devious marketing ploy created to pump the teen demographic for every last one of their parents' dollars. Either way, there is no literary merit to this book. Despite failed attempts at profundity, there's no message deeper than "love is good, follow your dreams, cliques are bad." But even the intended anti-clique message is overshadowed by the fact that all the cliques in the book are so incredibly stereotyped. In the end, they're really more of a straw man to make the main character seem superior than anything more meaningful.
All teenage girls, especially those who self-identify with alternative subcultures, should be insulted at this patronizing blackface show, reducing them to Hot Topic-obsessed, whining cardboard cutouts. I know teenage girls are better than this. The teen market deserves better than what Mari Mancusi has to offer.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent read espeically for teens, November 29, 2010
I am a high school teacher and one of my students insisted that I read this book. Initially I was only going to start reading this book to please the student but once I began reading I could not put it down.
I'm sure many teens could relate to this book especially those with interest in amine or manga or computer games. The book also deals with real life issues like dealing with issues surrounding divorced parents.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
From a Gamer and Arist's persective, January 10, 2011
This was a very...ok book. The plot is your normal teen read, girl is an outcast, girl meets guy, blah blah blah, embarrament blah blah blah romantic kiss and victory at the end. This girl is also a gamer PLUS a artist PLUS your tipical whiny teenager. The book is more focused on younger audiences, giving kids what they actually like, a 'fairy-tale' with a romantic 'heroic' ending. Yes it was very perdictable, full of cliques, drama, and outcast gamers, but it was a litte cute. Alot of teenagers are like that, even though we always say it's sterotypic. So in a way, this does suite teens, but I would end with 9th grade. I give it three stars because it wasn't over the top amazing, but it also wasn't that bad.
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