Played [Hardcover]

Dana Davidson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2005

Ian Striver is popular and handsome, and all the girls like him. He is also part of a secret boys' club called the CIA, which guarantees his standing in his school's social elite. So when one of his CIA friends throws down a bet, Ian has to take it, or risk losing his rep. The bet is that Ian has three weeks to make a girl fall in love and have sex with him.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–Ian Striver is challenged to prove himself worthy of joining his Detroit high school's elite fraternity. He has two weeks to make plain and unpopular Kylie fall for him and sleep with him. Although he feels uncomfortable, he turns on his charm and asks her out. Kylie has never had so much attention before; though her friends try to convince her that Ian is a player, she develops feelings for him. When she finally has sex with him and tells him how she feels, his deception is accidentally revealed in front of the entire school. Ian has to come to terms with the man he is becoming, and try to convince Kylie to trust him again. This look at high school fraternities is reminiscent of Sharon M. Draper's The Battle of Jericho (S & S, 2003), though the conclusion is not quite so extreme. Kylie is not popular, but she has true friendships. Ian may be popular, but he has sacrificed his integrity to be so, and he is unhappy. It isn't until his sister points out that he is turning out like his absentee father that he realizes he needs to change. Davidson's understanding of teen motivations and language is apparent here. Though the topic is nothing new, the author's voice and the urban setting make it fresh and relevant to teens.–Stephanie L. Petruso, Anne Arundel County Public Library, Odenton, MD
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 9-12. Gorgeous Ian Striver is horrified when he receives his final challenge for entry into the FBI, an exclusive fraternity at Cross High School. Not only must he prove that he has gotten plain Kylie Winship, an obvious virgin, to "give it up," but he must also prove that she has fallen in love with him. Although Ian is prepared to fulfill the challenge, he isn't ready to fall in love himself. Neither is Kylie prepared to fall for Ian, who sometimes even humiliates her. Davidson, the author ofJason and Kyra (2004), has written a disturbing, authentic romance. The characters are African American, but the story is focused on plot and characters rather than ethnicity. Direct and affecting, this will pull at readers' heartstrings while also serving as fair warning for teenage girls everywhere. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Jump At The Sun (December 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786836903
• ISBN-13: 978-0786836901
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #786,386 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Should Be On Required Reading Lists, January 20, 2006

By 

Book 'Em Danno - See all my reviews

This review is from: Played (Hardcover)

Having read Dana Davidson's "Jason And Kyra" I expected great things from her with "Played". I seem to be reading sophomore efforts from some of my favorite authors and luckily Dana Davidson does not disappoint.

Ian Striver is a popular junior at Cross High looking to become even more popular by joining "FBI", aka Freaky Boys Incorporated. I don't have to tell you what the club is about, you get that from the name. Ian's challenge is to find an unattractive girl and get her to sleep with him within a 3-week period. He has to have proof that she slept with him. In comes Kylie. Not popular at all with a hairstyle that she admits needs help, Kylie becomes the girl in Ian's challenge.

Over time, Ian gets to know Kylie and has to make a choice. Will he choose Kylie, the only girl with which he's truly felt like he could be himself? Or will he take the easy route of joining a group that will take away his individuality?

This story sounds like a typical young adult novel of how the characters handle peer pressure. The topic may be typical but the way Dana Davidson brings her characters to life is not. You relate to these characters and root for them to make sound choices which they don't always do, just like in life. For those who read "Jason And Kyra", those two characters make an extremely brief but powerful cameo that's an important thread to this overall story.

I like this book although I think some of the slang that the characters use is dated or just corny. This minor criticism is definitely not enough to stop me from reading Ms. Davidson's future works. Ms. Davidson's bio says that she's a high school teacher in Detroit. Hopefully all of her students read her works and probably give her ideas for characters. I highly recommend this novel to both teenagers and adults alike.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Am Not Your Expectations, February 13, 2006

By 

The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers (RAWSISTAZ.com and BlackBookReviews.net) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Played (Hardcover)

Kylie isn't one of those girls who turns heads when she walks down the hall at school. She isn't a girl who constantly gets asked out and fawned over, and she certainly isn't a girl who the popular crew at school would give the time of day. That is, until pigs seem to fly at a school dance and Ian Striver, one of the most popular and fine boys at school, asks her for a dance and her digits.

Tiny seeds of doubt are planted in the back of Kylie's mind, but her time with Ian is so special, comfortable, and real, she quickly pushes the doubt away despite stern warnings from her girls. Ian has his own struggles. He enjoys the time he spends with Kylie, but peer pressure takes hold of him, and his conscience just won't let him be.

PLAYED by Dana Davidson is an engrossing story of an ordinary girl in an extraordinary situation. Kylie and Ian's characters stand out and , as do many of the secondary characters. More importantly, though, PLAYED teaches youngsters important lessons about teen relationships and hardships, and the underlying theme of not judging a book by its cover is quite prevalent. Although the book's content may seem a little grown for tweens and younger teens, I thought the messages were important for high-schoolers and even adults.

Reviewed by CandaceK

of The RAWSISTAZ™ Reviewers

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Cute story but a bit advanced for a young audience, December 18, 2005

By 

Melinda (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Played (Hardcover)

This story is about a teenage boy and girl in Detroit who attend the same school but don't know each other. The boy, Ian, is dared to get the girl to fall for him and sleep with him. Along the way he develops real feelings for her and must decide if he should proceed with the dare. The book is written with a teenage audience in mind and deals with a lot of sexual topics. Both of the main characters have absentee fathers and they discuss how tough it is to make it in the world when the people they "learn from" have not. Overall, a cute story with an interesting topic but not recommended for very young readers.