Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood [Hardcover]

Eileen Cook (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 5, 2010

Popularity is the best revenge.

In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls--and now, at the start of her senior year, she's the cheerleading captain, the quarterback's girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she's ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend.

But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she's moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn’t dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that's ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend.

Watch out, Lauren Wood. Things are about to get bitchy.

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Praise for What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook:

“Sassy and sly and sweet all at the same time, this book made me laugh out loud.” --Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries and Airhead

“Not since Judy Blume’s Margaret introduced herself to God has there been such a funny, genuine, conflicted, wanna-be-sorta-good-maybe-later girl as Emma. Cook’s tone as she takes on the big ones—life, love, faith, and friendship—is pitch perfect.” --Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Midnight Twins and The Deep End of the Ocean

"Smart and fun and full of heart." --Sarah Mlynowski, author of Bras & Broomsticks and How to Be Bad

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—Helen Worthington and Lauren Wood, both 14, were born a day apart in the same hospital in Michigan and seated together from kindergarten through eighth grade. It was only natural that they would be the closest of friends—until Lauren decides that she needs a fresh start in high school and frames Helen for naming the students who participated in the senior prank. The last days of eighth grade are hell for Helen, and she's in heaven when her dad gets a new job and they move to New York. However, after three years spent reinventing herself, her father gets a grant to study at a meditation camp and Helen finds herself sent back to Terrace for her senior year. She sets out to take her revenge on her ex-friend, which involves taking away the four most important things to Lauren, including her boyfriend and her popularity. During the course of the story Helen learns about the true nature of friends, relationships, and family. Characters are funny and devious, and the right amount of high-school drama moves the plot along. Fans of Mean Girls will enjoy seeing the story turned on its head in this enjoyable tale.—Laura Amos, Newport News Public Library, VA
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Review

"Characters are funny and devious, and the right amount of high-school drama moves the plot along. Fans of Mean Girls will enjoy seeing the story turned on its head in this enjoyable tale." –SLJ, June 1, 2010

"Helen's character arc is...well managed and believable, especially when the vestiges of her better self start to niggle at her conscience....Her management of the popularity game deftly reveals how brittle it can be, particularly when being popular isn't coupled with actually being liked." --The Bulletin

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse; 1 edition (January 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416974334
• ISBN-13: 978-1416974338
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,483,199 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Eileen Cook is a multi-published author with her novels appearing in six different languages. She spent most of her teen years wishing she were someone else or somewhere else, which is great training for a writer.

You can read more about Eileen, her books, and the things that strike her as funny at www.eileencook.com. Eileen lives in Vancouver with her husband and two dogs and no longer wishes to be anyone or anywhere else.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Deliciously Wicked! February 5, 2010

By BeatleBangs1964 TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

I have always hated the expression "revenge is a dish best served cold," as I think it sounds just plain asinine. In short, it means give yourself time to cool off before exacting revenge. Helen does just that.

Helen and Lauren, friends since infancy (due to having last names that start with W, they were placed beside each other in the newborn ward as they were a day apart) have a rather rocky friendship. Lauren, the cliche popular blonde, calls all the shots and Helen, eager for a friend goes along with her. She dares not step out of Lauren's good graces as that is infinitely more palatable than losing the one friend she thinks she has.

Lauren is a manipulative, scheming classic bitchy character. She humiliates Helen two weeks before their 8th grade graduation and Helen is left to endure the wrath and ostracism of her peers. Lauren was the one who caused the problem, but set Helen up to take the blame. Her rationale for this was that she had to claw her way up the social ladder and Helen just happened to be social collateral damage. Once she secured a perch on the top rung of the Social Ladder, then she could do Helen the favor of reinstating their friendship.

Crushed and humiliated, Helen retreats from school as much as possible. Luckily, her father has a job offer that moves the family from Michigan to New York State. During those three years on the East Coast, Helen plots her revenge, little knowing that she just might serve Miss Lauren a banquet full of vengeance.

During her senior year, Helen's father accepts a grant to pursue his research in Maine. The area has no school within driving distance, so Helen reluctantly moves back to Michigan to live with her grandmother and ride out senior year.

And what a senior year it is! She is immediately paired with a shy, bookish girl named Brenda Bauer, who turns out to be a real friend with a solid moral core. At 17, Helen has arrived. She is now slender; had her hair done and goes by her middle name and maternal grandmother's surname. Now Claire Dantes, the former school pariah is now a social force to be reckoned with! She worms her way into Lauren's circle of friends, who as it turns out are not so much her friends but satellites who revolve around her so as to maintain some social status. Helen/Claire is brilliant; she exacts revenge on Lauren in ways most people would only fantasize about. Resourceful and clever, she pulls off stunts that really tarnish Lauren's reputation and give the classic bitch a taste of her own foul medicine. I love it!

Brenda remains the voice of reason. It is Brenda who helps Helen/Claire take on a new perspective, as does a kind boy named Christopher who shares Helen/Claire's passion for classic movies.

A delightful read that all ages will enjoy. If these characters were grown women on the work force, it would be considered Advanced Chick Lit. As it is, it is delightfully wicked chick lit and I would recommend this gem to anybody!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun Read January 23, 2010

By Laura Clark

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Lauren Wood is going places and she doesn't care how she gets there or who gets hurt in the process, just so long as she gets what she wants. Which is how she came to be at odds with her best friend Helen. Lauren saw an opportunity to move up in high school's circles and it didn't bother her a bit that her lie to do so took down Helen.

At least the timing was good, since Helen's family had to move away. But three years later Helen has to return to the "scene of the crime" and dreaded it until she realizes she has an opportunity to exact revenge on Lauren because she believes she's changed enough in three years that Lauren won't recognize her. That and the fact that she registers in school under a different name.

We've all known someone like Lauren who will use and manipulate people to get what they want so it's easy to relate to and sympathize with Helen. And author Eileen Cook almost makes revenge look fun - all you need is a definite goal, right? :o)

I read this book in just a few hours time because I didn't want to put it down. The only nit I had with it is I figured if Lauren and Helen were so close that she would've picked up on the fact that Claire and Helen were the same person but that thought didn't even occur to me until about page 179 or so and by that point I was all in and didn't really care if she should've known.

It was a light, fun read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is looking for a feel good, funny book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Read! January 31, 2011

By Elizabeth Wonderham

Format:Paperback

Eileen Cook is a great author. This book is one of my favorites. I still remember most of the book, and I've read it 10 months ago. Helen and Lauren, were best friend, but after middle school they had a falling out somehow. Helen moved away for awhile, but came back as a different person, and with a different name to haunt Lauren, and get revenge on her, it was the best revenge! This book you will find to read quick. This book is amazing, a must read.