Customer Reviews

The Queen of Second Place

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Cassie Howard is used to be second best. Ever since she was a small child, she has never been number one. Nope, she's always come just shy of holding the title of numero uno, and has always fallen into number two. And, lets face it, after years of riding someone else's coattails, Cassie plans on being number one at something. Something good. But with Sterling Carter, that dream seems near impossible to ever reach. Sterling Carter is perfect, from her glamorous tresses, right down to her pedicured toes. Sterling has never been second place in anything, which is why Cassie knows that her new endeavor will land her behind Sterling, once again. You see, Cassie and Sterling are both vying for the attentions of the same guy: Kevin Matthews, and while Sterling will do anything sneaky and underhanded to win his love, Cassie is about to take a trip down clueless lane, that is sure to teach her never to try and beat Sterling at her own game.

Laura Peyton Roberts has done an amazing job with THE QUEEN OF SECOND PLACE. Following closely in Meg Cabot's footsteps, Roberts' Cassie could easily be the step-sister of Cabot's Princess Mia. Cassie's story is told in a batch of useless essays written during her stint in detention, and narrated by Cassie herself, who brings readers through a tale of a twisted love affair, a boy who can halt any line - be it the lunch line, or the line at the movies - a girl who rips out the tags from her jeans so no one knows what size she truly is, and a guy who can find a perfect parking spot at the drop of a hat. Hilarious fun. Reading about the highs and lows Cassie encounters each day will make you as giddy as two shots of espresso!

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Sophomore Cassie Howard is used to being second place. She has been her whole life. When Cassie meets Kevin Matthews, the new boy, in her sophomore Honors English class, she vows that she will come in first this time. But when her school nemesis, Sterling Carter, decides to move in on her crush first, Cassie decides to take action. Cheating on school assignments, taking her father's car without permission, and betraying her friends all to try and win the attention of Kevin. Sterling, a.k.a. Fourteen-Karat, is of course one of those perfect girls that everyone wants to be best friend of and secretly despises. Through her desperate schemes, Cassie ends up making a mess of everything-including losing her best friends along the way. Will the queen of second place finally win what she wants most? As Cassie tries to solve the problems she created, she learns the meaning of real friends, her own capabilities, as well as self-confidence.

The Queen of Second Place by Laura Peyton Roberts is a great book to read on a rainy day. Although the plot is clichéd and Cassie's antics are not surprising, Roberts makes the novel enjoyable through her creative writing. Even though the reader can predict exactly what will happen next, there's still something in this novel that makes the reader want to read on. If you're the person that enjoys a pointless novel just for the joy of reading, then this is the book for you.

Reviewed by a student reviewer for Flamingnet Book Reviews
www.flamingnet.com
Preteen, teen, and young adult book reviews and recommendations

This is a good book. You really feel like you know the main character. Almost as if she's your friend. After I read this book I picked up this author's second book, Queen B, but haven't finished it yet. I also picked up another book, Alpha Dog by Jennifer Ziegler, to read during the summer and thought it was great. It's another book about a girl who feels she's never quite good enough.

Although a little slow at the beginning, Queen of Second Place has become my favorite book. I can totally relate to Cassie; my mom, after reading it told me that she could imagine me saying some of the things that Cassie said. I especially loved the part about how everyone's talent helped Cassie (almost) become Snow Queen. Fitz was hilarious! Overall, a GREAT, easy read.

There's just something about reading stories that you can relate to that make them a joy to read. As someone who grew up feeling like her own version of THE QUEEN OF SECOND PLACE, relating to Cassie Howard was easy. She's pretty, she has friends, she's been on a date or two, she gets good grades--etc., etc., etc. But for Cassie, being a second-bester isn't good enough. She's looking for A-List status, for the admiration of her peers and, maybe more importantly, for her own self-worth.

When she falls in love at first sight--yet again--with the new boy who has transferred to her school, Cassie knows that sophomore year will never be the same. She's determined that this time, for once, she'll be the one coming out on top, at least where Kevin Matthews is concerned. But no sooner does Cassie catch Kevin's attention than her nemesis, Sterling "Fourteen-Karat" Carter, moves in for the kill.

Throughout the story, it's never quite clear if Sterling is as unabashedly vicious as she is out of jealousy or just pure spite. When she learns of Cassie's interest in Kevin, Sterling is, of course, even more interested in landing him as her boyfriend. As Cassie becomes more and more desperate to gain the first place position in this one thing, more important than any that has come before it, her values and morals somehow fall by the wayside. Suddenly she's driving a car without a license, she's plagiarizing parts of a one-act play, she's ditching her friends to work out yet another scheme to get Kevin to notice her.

As Cassie's plans backfire and even second place seems a long way away, it's up to her to realize that people might actually have more than one talent. As her self-assurance and self-confidence both take a tumble and grow as never before, Cassie might just learn that second place doesn't always mean losing, and that good things do come to those who wait.

THE QUEEN OF SECOND PLACE is a thoroughly entertaining, enjoyable read. True to life characters and engaging dialogue make this book a winner, and, if you're like me, you'll be looking forward to reading more about Cassie and her high-school adventures in Queen B, scheduled for release in July 2006.