Customer Reviews

The Ruling Class

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

The Ruling CLass by Francine Pascal appears to be poorly written and poorly thought out. I read this book in a few hours, and was disappointed in it overall.

Working backwards, the ending is a letdown. Being the climax of the book, it is not led up to very well, and is very short. There does not seem to be much of a conclusion on the new status of all the students, and it seems as if Francine was in a rush to finish the book.

As for the characters, they are all a little odd. For one, it is increasingly annoying to read 'like', used by all the characters. It is one thing to be a teen and say it in speech, and a complete other thing to write it in literature. Even when pertraying a teen. The book is written in the perspective to two major characters, Myrna Fry and Twyyla Gay, both of whom are unrealistic.

This book seems to be a bad Harry Potter jock. In the sense that there are a lot of background questions that are not answered. Yet, unlike Harry Potter, there are not 6 more books coming out, and they will not be answered. Why is J.S. so mean? How are the R.C.s choosen? Does the school learn anything? Is there a reason Ryder and J.S. are still messing around with each other yet Ryder is asking Twyla out? Also, I'd like to know what went on with the people chasing Twyla after the mall incident. Sure, it made the night awful.. but were they really nessicary in the book? Especially since nothing else happens with them?

Lastly, I think the book is aimed for an older reading crowd, yet it seems like a book for the younder crowd.

I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick read on a weekend afternoon, but not looking for anything too indepth thinking-wise.

I'm from the East Coast, and know nothing about life in Highland Park, Texas. But after reading the first few pages of this book, I thought, "This is an avalanche of stereotypes. This is obviously an East or West Coast person's idea of what 'those backward Texans' are like." I checked the book jacket, and sure enough the author was from the East Coast. I was not at all surprised to find user reviews from real Texans who objected to the book. The character of Myrna is so stupid that she is totally unbelievable. We are supposed to be reading Myrna's inner thoughts, but what we get is actually the excuses that she might tell someone else to explain her behavior. It doesn't really get to the heart of what a "follower" type feels on the inside.

I found the plot laughable. The characters over the top and over-exaggerated. I know, I know I may be bias being from Dallas and HP, but I truly went into to this book trying to keep an open-mind. It was a waste of my time to read it and to me it seemed that the author was trying a little too hard to make this a novelization of Mean Girls. Anyway this book was quite disappointing and very offensive. These girls act more like junior high students then high school students. Yes HP has a valid reputation of being racist and wealthy. But this book took it to another level and completely over the top.

Poorly done Ms. Pascal.

Francine Pascal is no stranger to the girl world, having her name featured on the many Sweet Valley High books. If written today, Jessica Wakefield may be viewed differently, not as a popular, mischievous cheerleader, but a cut throat bully. She most likely would have been the character Jeanette Sue in Pascal's most recent novel, The Ruling Class. Jeanette Sue is the ring leader of the clique nicknamed the Ruling Class, surrounded by equally snobby rich girls. At their wealthy upper class high school in Dallas' Highland Park, they are the girls everyone fears but the one's everyone wants to be a part of. Myrna Fry is one of those girls, desperate to join the Ruling Class and foolishly thinking that she already has. She is `best friends' with Jeanette Sue, or JS, as she affectingly refers to her, rewriting every negative thing Jeanette Sue says or does to her in a positive way.

Myrna's delusion is not realistic. It is hard to believe that anyone would lie to themselves this much or lower their self respect as much as Myrna has. Then again, there is not much realistic about this book. Jeanette Sue is a one decisional villain, with no insight into why she is the way she is or why she even has such a hold over people.

Even our heroine, Twyla Gay Stark, is unrealistic. A poor girl that just happens to end up in the rich school, the reader is supposed to believe that Twyla Gay is the only poor student at the school. Everyone else, even the losers, are rich. Hard to believe, but lets just go with it. She is the new girl in town, and Jeanette Sue instantly feels the need to destroy her. Why? Because she is just evil. Oh, and Twyla Gay has attracted the attention of Jeanette Sue's sometime boyfriend Ryder McQuaid. However, in this I sympathize with Jeanette Sue. One moment he is dancing with her, the next he's flirting with Twyla Gay. It would have been nice, if in the end, Jeanette Sue and Twyla Gay teamed up to reveal him for the two timing loser he is. That is not to be though.

In the end, Jeanette Sue gets her just desserts and Twyla Gay becomes everything she hated. I believe we've learned this lesson before.

The Ruling Class gives us no new insight into the mind of a "mean" girl. Jeanette Sue is just bad, Myrna is just desperate to join, and Twyla Gay is just innocent. We're not sure why Jeanette Sue is mean to everyone, just that she is. We are just supposed to except that some girls are mean. That said, The Ruling Class is a fluff read, enjoyable, and a quick way to past a lazy afternoon. Just don't expect too much.

This book was one of the worst books I've ever read, and I am a very avid reader. I am a fan of the Gossip Girl and A-List series, and this book is desperately trying to be like these series, but fails miserabley. The author displays little or no talent, the characters are shallow, hopelessly stupid, and annoying. There are also stereoptypes and racial comments that are offensive. Stay away from this book, it's awful and a complete waste of time!!!

"The Ruling Class" came through with the new books to the library where I am the children's librarian. I took it home to my 16 year old daughter, who said she could hardly read 40 pages into the book because it was so full of crap, unbelievable phony characters and pathetic copying of "Mean Girls" that reading it made her ill. I read it myself, cover to cover and feel that it is poorly written with very unsympathetic characters and is more like a badly written teen soap opera than a book worthy of the otherwise excellent author. I have since had 3 more girls attempt to read the book and bring it back unfinished. The parents in this book are totally invisible and while I know from my 4 teens experiences that much of this mean and petty behaviour happens, I can't believe a school exists that allows this kind of behavior or I would have to think the teachers and administration are a bunch idiots. I am insulted on behalf of the Texas schools.
If you want some entertaining teen reads for girls, read the Traveling Pants series or Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicholson series for just pure fun.

As a student of Highland Park High School I found this book completely demeaning. Not only is it poorly written, the author obviously didn't take the time to visit HP and realize that the student body is made up genuinely nice and caring people. Everything about this book is fabricated. I also resent the reviews published by "iloveteenbooks" (or whatever) citing Highland Park as the most racist part of Dallas. I honestly think she is racist for considering Highland Park only a white, racist suberb of Dallas. Elena from CT also must be incredibly narrow minded to believe that Dallas is simply a honky tonk, cowboy hat, and cheerleader demography. All in all, dont buy this book...i feel so embarrassed for Francine Pascal

this book is horrible, i didn't finish reading it because it was so bad. not only was it boring but also horribly written and completely false. Don't waste your money on purchasing this book.

Highland Park in Dallas is a nice area, but come on, people... the author reveals her own insecurity through the awful writing found in this book. Highland Park is not "posh", and the next person I hear of who thinks it is, will wake up to find a meat cleaver sticking out of their face. Hmph. I am extremely puzzled by the way Pascal chooses to portray our area. Her main character lives in "the cheapest house in the area", which is $1.2 million, and often complains of how "her mother couldn't be prettier so she could have married someone richer". Anyone who gave this book a good review has the same IQ as most inatimate objects.

I grew up in Texas (Arlington) and am familiar with the setting of this book. I had to just laugh when I read it. Then I had to laugh harder when I read some of these reviews! Ladies...it's just fiction!! Relax, no one is judging you by this book. It's make-beleive.

I thought it was fun read!