Customer Reviews

Oh My Goth

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I thought the book was cute. The plot was interesting. However, while reading the book I got a sense that the author did not quite understand the Goth subculture. To me it felt like she just went on Google and searched the word "Goth" and used whatever she found as a reference. An example of this would be how Jade kept referring to other Goths as cemetary Goth, asian Goth, and etcetera. In real life most Goths are not that easy to pin point. Most are rather varied in their interests and would fall under many different categories. I was also annoyed at how cheesy and cliche some of the Goths in the virtual world were. For instance, one girl walks up to Jade and says "Darkness rules!". Being a Goth myself I know for a fact that in real life a Goth would not say that to another Goth unless they were joking. I was also annoyed when one girl asked Jade to start a black magic club. Oh come on! Now, if she would've wanted a Peter Murphy or Siouxsie Sioux fan club then that would've been better. It would've been cool if the author could have slipped a few references to bands like Bauhaus, The Sisters of Mercy, The Mission UK, and Sex Gang Children in the book. Also, I think it would've been entertaining to see some new classes added to the virtual high school. Classes like Goth Rock Music History, DIY 101, and Proper Make up Application. Overall this is a very cute book. I would recommend renting it from your local library if you are bored and need something to do.

I'm so surprised that I'm writing a negative review of this book. When I first got Oh My Goth, I thought it'd be one of those books that I'd recommend to all my friends. The premise was great! I mean--here's to showing everyone is human on the inside and labels/appearances should not be the defining factor of a person or their worth.

And then...

Well, first off, we get this huge contradiction right at the opening. Each chapter is prefaced with a blurb from Jade's private journal--here's the first one:

"When people look at me, they automatically assume I'm dark and weird. Why can't they see the truth? I'm just a girl, trying to find my place in the world."

I thought, Okay, we're off to a great start. This character has strong likeable potential. But then the narrative began. Three paragraphs down the first page and we've got:

"Honestly, I'd rather be anywhere else. Even home, where my dad begins almost every conversation with, "You should lose the black clothes and wear something with color." Puh-lease. Like I want to look like every Barbie clone in Hell High, a.k.a. Oklahoma's insignificant Haloway High School. Ironically, Dad doesn't appreciate the bright blue streaks in my originally blond/now-dyed-black hair. Go figure. That's color, right?"

So, Jade complains about being judged based on her appearance, but here she is doing the exact same thing. Is it any wonder people think that about her?

The book went on. Some passages were funny in a teen-angsty way. Others were bland. But mostly, my thoughts went elsewhere while I was reading. By the last page, I didn't care what Jade did, what the book's message was, or even how it ended. I won't say I was happy that it ended. I wasn't. I wanted to like this book. But I didn't and here's why:

Jade was impenetrable. I couldn't figure her out or relate to her at all. In fact, I thought she was highly superficial, which is not something I want from any character, especially one I'm reading about in a first-person narrative. I'll even go so far as to say this book was superficial. It meandered along the surface, never really digging deep enough for me to get any substance. Some passages were unbelievably contrived, like the ones describing all the types of goths there are and how they dress, like it's one big institution. Is this what this girl considers being a noncomformist? Comforming to the "norms" or noncomformity???

Which brings me to my next point. Jade "expresses her individuality" because her mother, at the exact moment before crashing with another car and dying from the collision, told her to always be herself, no matter what. And now Jade thinks she has to be unlike everyone else to be herself. Someone please tell this girl that dressing differently doesn't make you original.

Overall, didn't like the main character; thought the book's message was botched; didn't care much about about anything that happened. I had hoped this book would've gone to say something about how a person's essence is more important than their outer shell. It didn't. It focused exactly on the opposite, which makes it pointless.

Rating: 3/10

Dr John Laroque has the fascinating idea of changing problem teens for the better using virtual reality, and Jade Leigh and her nemesis Mercedes Turner are forced into the game with parental consent. For someone who's supposed to be a heroine, Jade demonstrates contradiction, hypocrisy, double standards and whatnot, and I was close to quitting this book early on. Never have I felt such a negative reaction towards a protagonist within the first three pages. But with Chapter 3 came the "field trip", and things got interesting from there, where Goth was popular - as was Jade - and Mercedes the Barbie was a "freak".

Jade claims to be a non-conformist, though she's proud to be a punk Goth - meaning while she doesn't conform to the Barbies, she still conforms to Goth standards. And while she claims that everyone always judges her, she judges them right back. I realised this straight away, but it took much longer for Jade to figure it out.

Reading about an American high school was somewhat of a culture shock to me. In my Australian public high school we wore uniforms; there were strict rules about hair colour, piercing and make-up; and cheerleaders did not exist. So I had trouble connecting with these fictional teens and their superficial attitudes. Since when can teens seemingly without jobs afford Sidekicks? Mooching off their hard-working (or rich) parents, of course. They just seemed to lack respect for others, and I hated Jade's holier-than-thou attitude. She feels like a teacher is picking on her, but she sinks to his level and serves him right back. Where is the maturity?

While so much about this book annoyed me, it was still interesting enough to read in basically one sitting.

I love Gena Showalter and have been a fan of her adult books for years.
I currently picked up Oh My Goth on a whim at a used bookstore and it was well worth my 4.95

At first the story was way to cliché. Saying Fright instead of cool? Discussing the 'types' of Goth? I mean surely no teen would want to read something so... well obvious.

But once the girls get transformed into the video game I commend Gena Showalter for her eye to detail, she really captured the situation and I was able to cry and laugh with both Jade and Mercedes.

Having said that this book is a great easy read and should be given a chance past the first few chapters.

I plan on reading her teen alien hunter series next.

From her dying mother's last words seventeen year old Jade Leigh learned that being different sets you apart from the clones of this world. As a result she is friends with a small group of Goths who are considered freaks by the in-crowd, which includes Mercedes, the popular girl with the Barbie clones as friends.

When Jade gets into trouble for the third time in a week, her principal decides that it's time for an extreme intervention and convinces her father to sign a permission slip for what he thinks is a field trip but is actually a virtual reality program designed to teach Jade a lesson.

When Jade wakes up the next morning, things are decidedly different. The whole school has turned Goth and her friends have now become the Barbie clones. To make matters worse they hate her and Jade has become the popular girl. But not only is Jade in the program, Mercedes is too and she has taken Jade's place as the outcast.

With the help of Clarik, a strange new student, Jade and Mercedes struggle to find their way out of the program and back to real life but learn a valuable lesson on the way home.

I thought the book was a cute read with a good lesson for teens but I didn't love it as much as I was expecting to. The writing is good and the characters are typical teens but the virtual reality premise was just a little too weird for me. I wish the switch from Goth to popular girl was accomplished a different way. Maybe a bump on the head a la Wizard of Oz or some magical hocus pocus. I just couldn't get into it being a program when Mercedes and Clarik were also in there with her.

I do recommend the book for teens and young adults but I'd skip it if you're on the fence about picking this one up.

Isn't this what youth is suppose to be preventing? I can't stand these cliques and these stereotypes.. and yet Mtv(not surprised by them really) has set out a line of books completing to that. Why are you supporting something that you are fighting at the same time? You can't be on both sides expecting a pass. You all are such hypocrites because you usually have the attitude of, "Don't label us! We're people just like you! We have our own style!". Ha! You are not fooling anyone with this book. When I picked this off the shelf I had not expected such a farfetched standard for the plot. Critisize me on that all you want since I believe it was a waste of my time as well. The concept it creative, yes, but everything that comes with that is such the typical view of a close minded person. And I believe the author has a very fast paced and detailed way of words, making it a better read. Nonetheless, my opinion stands.

Well good job, Mtv. Well done. Now I'll just have even more people questioning why I do the things I do and wear the things I wear.
Oh no, couldn't be Weatherly now could I? Now I have to be known as something riduculous like a "cemetary goth" or "punk goth" and the like.

Storyline was good (other than the somewhat far-fetched virtual reality), descriptions very easy to imagine, and the main character reminds me alot of my daughter and what she goes through at school being emo.

This is a fun book, for teens and adults alike. Gena Showalter always creates fabulous characters that are entertaining yet also accessible. In this case, it's Jade Leigh and Mercedes Turner -- two complete opposites with a mutual hatred for one another. Watching these two navigate the trials of an ultra clique-conscious high school is both amusing and poignant. And then, of course, there's Clarik Spanger. You can always count on Showalter to deliver a hunky, exciting man -- or boy -- to the party. Although, I liked that the romance between Jade and Clarik didn't dominate the story; ultimately, this book is about Jade and her place in the world. There's a wonderful message about identity and acceptance worked through everything. So do read it because I bet you'll like it.

oh my goth was great. and this book shows that even though some people like 2 express their individuality they still have the same insecurities problems and thoughts that other people have. and btw all da people who r complainig saying jade is soooo dumb thinking dressing diffrently will make her so orignal......well its true. 1st of all she told mercedes dat when jade ever saw her mother again she wants 2 stand out. jade wants 2 b herself which just happens 2 b a person who likes da darker side of life. big whoop. so plz stop saying jade is soooo stupid and needs a life. well dat was my spiel for da day. but luved this book. it was engrosiing and da characters were very enthralling.

I thought the book was cute. I don't know if I would have forgive the guy so easy.