Customer Reviews

Played

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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.

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

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.

Dana Davidson, takes the quintessential teenage love story by storm and flips the script in a believable manner. How many of us know, remember or were the "not-quite-ugly" but "not-guaranteed-to-make-a-guy's-tongue-hang-out" girl in High School?

Dana tells the tale of initiation and unexpected love without over-the-top drama and leaves us not only with likeable main and secondary characters, but with a few messages.

- Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

- Be true to yourself

- Even the popular people have issues.

- Accountability for actions

A great read for this forty-year-old "teen" and more importantly an awesome read for an actual teenager.

This title would make a great group discussion book to segue into teenage girls' selfworth, self image, first times etc. and excellent for teenage boys' playa, playa types to teach accountability and the possible outcome of giving into peer pressure.

I totally loved PLAYED! I had read Ms. Davidson first book JASON & KYRA and absolutely loved it from the first page to the last. I was not disappointed in PLAYED. Even though it's alot smaller than her first novel, it was very entertaining.

Ian was really sweet and I liked the fact that even after everything went down Kylie still knew that he wasn't pretending everyday he was with her and she confronted him about that. I'm no longer in high school cause I graduated already, but PLAYED was just as good as any other book I read about adults. Good Job, Dana Davisdson.

I read this book because I have a teenaged daughter that I also read Jason and Kyra with. I loved Jason and Kyra. Played was also well written, well crafted and told a very realistic story of teenagers trying to fit in and going through awful gyrations to do so. I couldn't understand why Kylie still decides that she still likes Ian, after he so betrays her trust. Such an act would be devastating to anyone at any age but especially to a teenager, who does not have a long history with him. My only critisism is that Kylie's reaction to the betrayal almost seems mild. This is also a story about forgiveness and redemption. I will definitely share this book with my daughter and we'll discuss it page by page. Although the sex scene is graphic and makes the book unsuitable for anybody under ninth grade, the book does give the lesson that virginity is important and should not be wasted. Ms. Davidson, even though this book will be very controversial, because you went 'there' it was an eyeopener for any parent who might be in denial that their children are thinking of going there. I think it would make a great discussion book for parents and children about personal integrity and sexual responsibility

I had very high expectations for Played after reading Dana Davidson's incredible book Jason and Kyra. After waiting over 4 months for this book to finally become available on paperback swap, I was really disappointed with the outcome.

In this book Ian is one of the finest more popular guys in Kylie's school. And he suddenly finds interest in her. Little does she know that it is only because of a bet. A bet that consists of Ian getting Kylie to fall for him, and sleep with him, in order to be initiated into some sort of popular fraternity. If you are anything like me, you are cringing at the mere thought of a guy willing to stoop so cruelly and so low in order to be a part of a crowd.

The plot went on like any other contemporary romance, except for the opposing thoughts of the two main characters. Kylie thinking that this guy who seems so ashamed of her at school is slowing falling in love with her, and Ian thinking that he only has a limited amount of time to STEAL Kylie's virginity in order to be part of the innermost in crowd. I could never get into the romance in this book because of how cruel and fake it seemed from my perspective, but I kind of feel like that may have been the author's objective when writing this book.

Ian is a creep. He can embellish all of his feelings and motives as much as he wants, but it takes a truly cruel person to be capable of such a thing. I actually admired Kylie in the beginning of the book. She takes care of her brother and sister, is in charge of a lot of things within her household, and barely utters a complaint. But by the end of the book, I felt she was acting a little bit naive. Emotions get in the way of logic I assume.

Overall, I did not really enjoy this book. But for some reason, I think that Dana Davidson expected this to be a book that will not be welcomed as well as others since this romance didn't spring as true as the others. It may have been meant to teach a lesson, and I have to say: Message Received!

[...].

FBI - Freaky Boys Incorporated. This is an exclusive fraternal group at Cross High and this so-called brotherhood is composed of juniors and seniors. Ian Striver wanted to be a part of FBI since he was in ninth grade and now he's one of the pledges going through the induction phase. There are a few challenges he needs to complete and one of them is to get a girl who isn't stylish or pretty to have sex with him. Ian has three weeks to make this happen and Kylie Winship is the plain girl his friend, Michael, chooses for him. Kylie isn't just plain looking, she's also a virgin. Ian didn't think he could ever care about a girl like Kylie, but even after their first phone conversation he begins to have feelings for her. And the more time he spends with her the stronger those feelings become. But his love for Kylie battles his need to fit in, which leads to choices he wishes he never made. Will he be able to fix things?

Desiree and Tracy have their suspicions about Ian and warn their best friend, Kylie, to be careful. They don't want her to get hurt and only want to protect her. Kylie appreciates their concern but she's sure they don't need to worry about her: Ian is a nice guy. True, he doesn't act the same when his friends are around, but he always has an answer for everything when she has doubts. But she's been alone with him, away from his friends and the rest of the world, so she knows he's kind and fun to be with. And, besides, no guy has ever paid her as much attention as Ian or treated her so good. So, even though her instincts tell her something isn't quite right, she can't make herself believe Ian is the dog Desiree and Tracy think he is. It doesn't take long before this popular guy has her heart... and then he breaks it. Will she ever trust guys again?

This book teaches valuable lessons to teenage girls in need of affection - do not ignore your instincts and losing your virginity should not be taken lightly; you really are worthy of true love. It also shows that no matter how cool some teenage guys appear to be, they also struggle with insecurities.

I enjoyed Jason & Kyra by Dana Davidson and Played was just as entertaining. This author's stories are well-written, fast-paced page-turners! I love the believable teenage characters she creates and I am so ready to read more of her work.

Parents: This young adult novel contains a bit of profanity and there is sexual content.

THIS BOOK WAS AN EXCELLENT READ!!!! I JUST FINISHED THIS BOOK YESTURDAY AND I CANNOT STOP THINKING ABOUT IT. SHE MUST WRITE A SEQUEL! IF YOU BUY THIS BOOK, TRUST ME, ITS NOT A WASTE OF YOUR MONEY!! A STRONG RECOMMENDATION ON MY HALF

I've gone through all of that myself and I know how bad you can feel when a boy does that to you! Played was Wonderful! You could feel the pain in Kylie's heart! I felt real! I never thought someone would come up with a book that reflects so much on a young girls situation like Played did. In real life it's a slight chance that things would end on a good note. For kylie they did and I wish it was more like that in the world! The book touched my heart and is a must read! I couldn't even put it down!!!!!!!!!