Lust (Seven Deadly Sins) [Library Binding]

Robin Wasserman (Author), Howard Pyle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2008 | Series: Seven Deadly Sins

Alpha girl Harper is used to getting what she wants,

and that means Adam,

Beth's all-American boytoy.

Blond, boring Beth, who Kane,

the charming playah, secretly wants too.

Miranda thinks Kane is out of her league,

but she wants him all the same.

And then there's the new girl.

Kaia. Who only wants trouble --

and he's definitely on his way.

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--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Grace, CA, is populated by bored young adults who are obsessed with sex. This first entry in the series contains enough gossiping, scheming, and unrequited love to categorize it as a teen soap opera. Harper can have almost any boy she wants. Unfortunately, she wants Adam, who's infatuated with Beth, but she is not ready to consummate their relationship. Adam's frustration leads him to sleep with Kaia, the new girl who may usurp Harper's position as most popular. After Kaia seduces Adam, she moves on to Kane, who's as self-centered as she is. Meanwhile, Harper's friend Miranda longs for a date with the egotistical Kane. The only adult character is a teacher who makes advances on one of his students. Despite all, this is an entertaining novel. The same impulse that lures teens to Desperate Housewives or Zoey Dean's A-List and Cecily von Ziegesar's Gossip Girls series (both Little, Brown) will draw teens to it.–Stephanie L. Petruso, Anne Arundel County Public Library, Odenton, MD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-11. In this first book in a new series for teens, Seven Deadly Sins, readers are introduced to Harper Grace, whose ancestors founded the now-declining town of Grace, California: Miranda, Harper's ugly-duckling best friend; frustrating good-girl Beth; Adam, who just happens to be both Harper's childhood friend and current fantasy; and new-girl Kaia, whose greatest private fun is attracting already-attached boys. Readers also meet gorgeous bad-boy Kane and the new, also gorgeous French teacher, Jack Powell. Drinking, suggestive conversations, and competition for love and friendships, all somehow related to the book's title theme of lust, develop against the backdrop of Everyteen's high school, Haven High. A teen version of TV's Desperate Housewives,thisis marginally written, but still lightweight, tantalizing, soap-opera fare with just enough loose ends to draw readers back to its subsequent proposed books, each of which will focus on a different deadly sin. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Library Binding
• Publisher: Paw Prints 2008-03-01 (March 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1435228065
• ISBN-13: 978-1435228061
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,713,433 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A fine start., December 29, 2005

By 

Marti Muller "Tiffany Vira" (Conway, AR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lust (Seven Deadly Sins (Simon Pulse)) (Paperback)

Lust is the first book in a Seven Deadly Sins series by the fabulous Robin Wasserman. It is not perfect, but readers will still find it very difficult to put down.

The story centers around six teenagers (instead of the seven the back cover implies): Harper, Adam, Beth, Kane, Kaia, and Miranda. The teenagers all live in a small, boring town called Grace, California. Harper is the town's Alpha girl and of course she is a shallow, vindictive social-climber who will stop at nothing to get exactly what she wants. This week what she wants is her next-door neighbor Adam Morgan. Adam has been dating Beth Manning (the stereotypical "good girl") for two years and is sickingly in love with her. Adam, Mr. American, loves his girlfriend but is put off by her hesitation to have sex. Kane is the underachieving bad boy who is with a different girl every week and decides to steal Beth, his best friend's girlfriend, as a challenge. Kaia is the heckraiser. She has been sent to Grace from New York after being kicked out of all the other schools in New York (the lastest one being the result of being caught with a boy and a bag of pot). She has no goals in life other than to escape small town boredom and decides to seduce the virginal Adam AND her oh-so-hot French teacher, Mr. Jack Powell. Last but not least, we have Miranda. She is the not so girl (not so pretty, not so thin, only popular because she's friends with Harper). She wants Kane, the popular stud, but he's too busy bedding his string of bimbos to notice shy, virginal Miranda.

The entire book is filled with stereotypes like that, and if any other author had written this book it would not be worth reading. But Wasserman thinks outside the box. She makes each charcter unique, enjoyable, and real, which is a feat few authors can manage. Harper may be a mean-spirted witch, but Wasserman makes her vulnerable and allows us to glimpse into her lonely life, even though she's surrounded by adoring "fans". This is also one of the few books that doesn't gloss over the fact that teenage boys "need" sex in a relationship. Wasserman remains true to the book's title and fully explores Adam's sexual drive and the fact that, even though he loves Beth, a non-sexual relationship is not enough. Unbelievably, though, the author's intense characterization makes it difficult to dislike or fault Adam. Readers feel like they know this character and can sympathize, even if they don't necessarily agree. Kaia and Kane have little redeeming value in and of themselves, but they are just so fun to read that readers will probably not care. Kane is adorable, funny, and smooth. He holds a reader's attention whenever he is in a scene and occasionally, "narrates". Miranda is also incredibly easy to understand and sympathize with. She is the voice of every invisible, overlooked teenage girl and her problems (including bulimia) are real and understandable. They are also told in ways only Wasserman could tell.

To get to the point, Lust is a cut above the usual teen fare. It is a story of heartache, love, seduction, and betrayal. It will certainly not bore you.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Is it getting hot in here?, February 17, 2006

By 

Kimberly Pauley "YA Author" (Grayslake, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lust (Seven Deadly Sins (Simon Pulse)) (Paperback)

Whew! Break out the handkerchief for this series - not to wipe away any tears, but to dab away the sweat that will break out. This is one HOT series dealing with seven teens and the seven deadly sins.

Grace, California is a dry, dusty place with little to recommend it. What the town doesn't provide, the teens themselves do as they embroil themselves in complicated plots that would put a soap opera to shame.

In the first book in the series, handsome Adam is dating the sweet and dedicated blonde Beth, while his best friend, the luscious (and lascivious) Harper looks on in jealousy. Harper's best girl buddy, Miranda is her sidekick in all things, including embarrassing Beth any chance they get in the hopes that Adam will drop her for Harper. Then there's Kane, a super-sexy hunk with animal magnetism and no conscience (though he is the object of Miranda's affections). Mix in a beautiful newcomer from the big city, Kaia, and you've got fireworks. The seventh teen, Reed, is only barely mentioned in this first book, but look for him to pop up later in the series.

Oh, and I almost forget the mysterious and sexy Mr. Powell, the new French teacher who's almost as out of place in tiny little Grace as Kaia is. He's got his own agenda, and tries to woo Beth, but it's Kaia that's got his number.

Fans of the Gossip Girl books looking for a new sizzling read will snap up this series. Just remember that handkerchief. You might need it.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars omg, March 10, 2007

By 

leadog2 "Harold & Staci" (Louisiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lust (Seven Deadly Sins (Simon Pulse)) (Paperback)

i absolutely got addicted to this book! you become a part of the story, falling in love with the characters. i own this and envy,pride, and wrath. i'm now purchasing the last 3. i can't wait to see what happens next!