My Angelica [Hardcover]

Carol Lynch Williams (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 12, 1999 | Age Level: 10 and up

Fifteen-vear-old Sage Olivar is writing a Romance novel-with a capital "R." The book's heroine, Angelica, is Sage's ideal
wornan-sensitive, strong, and sexy. There is only one small problem with Sage's novel-it's absolutely dreadful!

Enter George, Sage's would-be boyfriend and unwilling reader of Angelica stories. When she decides to enter her masterpiece in the school writing contest, George is frantic. How can he save Sage from public humiliation?

Told in chapters alternating Sage's and George's point of view, this hilarious story is also a nuanced portrait of teenagers trying to make sense of their feelings and relationships.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this teen comedy cum love story, Williams (The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson) alternates the points of view of Sage and George, two high school wannabe-authors secretly enamored with each other, and, unfortunately, incorporates generous samples of "their" work. When the school announces its annual writing competition, Sage is eager to enter her "steamy" novel-in-progress starring Angelica (with "blacker-than-the-night hair" and "brighter-than-a-blue-sky eyes") and her Native American lover, 247 Bears (whose numeral changes with each rewrite). The problem: George knows Sage's writing is atrocious and although he would like to win the contest himself by submitting some poems, he also wants to spare his beloved a humiliating loss. The solution: George decides to hide part of Sage's manuscript, so the judges will never lay eyes on it. While readers may find the antics of the too-naive heroine and bland hero to be as unconvincing as the pat outcome of this story, extracts of Sage's purple prose may elicit a few guffaws. Overall, the novel holds little suspense and comes embarrassingly close to crossing the "cutesy" line; a similar conceit, pitting a romance novel versus real-life romance, is handled with a great deal more wit in Louise Plummer's The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman. Ages 10-14.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-Lighthearted and sensitive, Williams's latest offering introduces readers to 15-year-old Sage-and to her fictional creation, Angelica. The teen lives and breathes her heroine's exploits as she spends her days writing new versions of her great romance novel. Sage's good friend George listens to each version in agony, since truth be told, Sage is a lousy writer. When she decides to enter her novel in the school writing contest, George decides he must protect her from the ridicule he knows she will receive when others read the story. He sees his choices as either sabotaging her entry (without her suspecting his subterfuge) or competing against her. The story, effectively told from Sage's and George's alternating points of view, reveals that the real romance is between the two main characters as their relationship changes from childhood friends to boyfriend and girlfriend. While the tone is far different from that in The True Colors of Caitlynne Jackson (Delacorte, 1997), Williams's strength of characterization again shines. Angelica's humorous exploits, which Sage writes in all seriousness, set an interesting stage for her own development. The twists and turns of the plot, the way the "real" characters interact, and the concern and caring underlying the humorous situations make this a truly enjoyable novel.
Janet Hilbun, Sam Houston Middle School, Garland,
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (January 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038532622X
• ISBN-13: 978-0385326223
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,877,124 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Just as I Remembered It... And That's Not a Compliment, April 20, 2010

By 

Just Visting Earth (Earth) - See all my reviews

This review is from: My Angelica (Paperback)

I read this book a couple of years after it came out, and I have to say it is one of the worst books I've ever read! I used to own the book many years ago, but I gave it to the library or something. Now that I'm older and I've read a lot more books, I wanted to see if it was still the way I remembered it. It was. Some things I noticed this time around that I didn't the first time was that it has language in it. It's definitely NOT approiate for tweens and under (if it's really appropriate for anyone at all). What's worse is that this book was selected to be a part of a 'series' of books that encourage kids to read and write by a woman with a bachelor's degree, a master's degree in history, a professional diploma in reading, a doctorate of humane letters, AND she was also a teacher and an author! Are you kidding me?? I laughed out loud.

Sage dreams of becoming a romance writer, but her writing stinks (unfortunately, I think she may have gotten it from the author). Sage is stuck in her own little bubble and can't hear anything someone says about her story unless it's praise. Even when George tells her it's bad, she thinks it's a masked compliment. And George's character is pretty unbelievable (not in a good way either). He doesn't try very hard to tell her the truth, and instead opts to hide her hand written story and then lie about losing it (which turned out to be pointless because she saved it on the computer).

And you know what the worst part of this book is? Once you get into the story, it's hard to put down. To me, this book is so bad it's funny. I'd stop and roll my eyes if I wasn't so busy reading it. It should be rated R for ridiculous. Bottom line, if you like sappy and/or gushy romance books, you'll probably like this, and if you're not sure about buying it, borrow it from your library.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romance and Love, May 31, 2002

A Kid's Review

This review is from: My Angelica (Paperback)

Imagine waking up to a mother who is a writer. You love writing. Wouldn't it be great if you love writing and your mother is a writer? Having your first real kiss. Writing a romance novel with Angelica as the star and her one-eyed lover where ever she goes. What a great life! This is a great book if you want to be a writer and love romance novels and you just love reading.
Sage is a fifteen-year old girl who loves writing a lot. Sometimes her work doesn't always turn out right. Doesn't catch a person to make them want to keep on reading thinking of what well happen next. Don't get me wrong. Sage is a good writer, and she won the writing contest with George, her beloved lover. It was supposed to be a romance novel, not a hilarious one and everyone thinks it is hilarious that's why she won. Sage has made it not a hilarious novel because it's supposed to be about a woman who lost her husband. Now likes a one-eyed man that she see everywhere she goes.
You can tell Sage really likes writing. Since Sage has wrote more than 15 chapters in her novel. I know it's not long to some people but it is to her she has actually wrote non stop. Her writing is good, but she needs to read it over, giving other people a chance to tell her what she has did wrong. Not always say you love it don't you. Is it boring, does she get them into it. All of things she should think about first.
Sage has always had a big crush on George, never really admitted it to him, but you can tell she likes him. She pulled him out of a tree and kissed him, when they were younger. When Sage was younger that was the girls favorite game to play. Now she's doing it again, kissing George. She will likely go out with George. Likely marry him.
Sage has had some problems in the past, and now she knows what she did wrong in her writing, in her love life. I think when she gets older she will be a great writer someday just like her mother. Maybe not dress and do the weird things her mother does to get her writing the best. Since she will figure out what she has done wrong by then. Since Sage likes writing so much and George will always be her one-eyed lover and be by her side in the end.
Sage is a good writer. She likes writing. She likes George. She will become a great writer. In all of this, this is a great book about romance and writing. This will be a great book for someone who loves romance, writing, reading, and even to get tips on love and dating. 1

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Novel Ever Written, May 5, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: My Angelica (Hardcover)

This is a totally hilarious book. I loved Sage's novel because it showed me why romance writing gets on my nerves sometimes. I also liked George. He's not a typical guy hero, certainly not one that Sage would write about. But he's very, very nice and perfect for Sage. I think if I ever wrote something really bad I'd want someone to tell me, too. I love everything Carol Lynch Williams writes, but this book is my absolute favorite.