Ally Ryan would rather be in Maryland. She would rather be anywhere, in fact, than Orchard Hill, site of her downfall. Well, not hers exactly—but when your father’s hedge fund goes south and all your friends lose their trust funds, things don’t look so sunny for you. Her mother moved her to Maryland to flee the shame, but now they’re moving back. Back to the country-club, new-car-every-year, my-family-came-over-on-the-Mayflower lifestyle that Ally has outgrown. One bright spot, however, is gorgeous, intense Jake Graydon. But it won’t be easy for the two of them to be together—not if his friends (her former friends) have anything to say about it. Is Ally ready to get thrown back into the drama of the life she left behind?
She's So Dead to Us (He's So/She's So Trilogy, The)
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Book Description
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Grade 9 Up—Mean-girl socialites are an overworked plot device, but this book deftly explores peer pressure, grudges, and decency. Ally shares the narrative with Jake, the desirable boy who moves into her old luxury home. She and her parents left ritzy Orchard Hill when an investment that her beloved father made turned sour. Unfortunately, he also lost money for other families in their tight clique. Soon afterward, he disappeared from Ally's life. Now she and her mom have moved back to their old neighborhood, but into a cheap condo, and find they are personae non grata to those they loved and trusted. Jake, who's been accepted by the "Cresties," falls for Ally, prompting pranks from his jealous "best friend," Shannen. Ally, who's made friends with other "Norms," is thrust back into hostile territory by their relationship. To complicate matters, she feels guilty about making out with her former friend's steady. Chloe doesn't know and has stayed neutral. Shannen, however, is ready to bare all secrets, including something devastating to Ally. The story ends with Ally's father appearing on her doorstep, so there is sure to be a sequel.—Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
From Booklist
Scott (I Was a Non-Blonde Cheerleader, 2005) once again tackles the painful subject of cliques. Sixteen-year-old basketball star Ally Ryan and her parents fled their exclusive community 18 months ago after Mr. Ryan’s bad business deals annihilated their personal fortune. Now, Mrs. Ryan’s gotten a teaching job at Ally’s former high school, so she and Ally return (minus Mr. Ryan, who deserted the family) to Orchard Hill. Ally can’t resist checking out their old mansion, and she finds handsome soccer star Jake has moved into her bedroom and the exclusive clique she’d grown up with. In alternating chapters, narrators Ally and Jake confess their powerhouse attraction to one another, while Ally’s former and Jake’s current crew plans and carries out cruel jokes to humiliate Ally and her mother. Plenty of nongratuitous profanity peppers the realistic dialogue, and subtlety is in short supply. However, Scott knows how to set a hook, and the fast pace will pull readers in for an entertaining (if didactic) read. The surprising, unresolved ending points to a sequel. Grades 8-12. --Debbie Carton
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Nagrom
Format:Hardcover
Okay, let me start off by saying how misleading the cover and title are. I was expecting some light, two-star read. Boy, I was wrong.
It's been two years since Ally Ryan's father swindled millions from the wealthiest families of Orchard Hill, and she and her family were forced to leave town in shame. But now she is back, even though not all of her old friends are happy to see her. When Ally goes to visit her old mansion, she finds someone else living there. The smokin' Jake Graydon who has taken her place among her former Crestie friends. The two feel the sparks, but it ain't so easy because it isn't just them in the equation.
I really like this book. It was one of those that take you completely by surprise. I was sucked in immediately, and I had a really hard time putting it down. The writing was easily consumable, and the characters were a blast. The plot had some twists and turns I wasn't expecting, and it refrained from being gimmicky for the most part.
There were two narrators to this story; Jake and Ally. They provided a nice balance for each other. And surpisingly, I liked both of them. Ally was a great female character. She was athletic and confident, while still having vulnerability. I liked how she wasn't all about "getting her man" and then whining about it. She stood up to the people who tormented her and was always in the game. Jake was swoonworthy and a pretty believable guy. He was arrogant, but had a conscience. I liked the romance between them. It wasn't all about the lust, but had some heat.
The teens acted like teens. Some of the girls were bitches. Some of the guys were dorks. They cussed and partied without being of Gossip Girl proportions. Trevor and Todd reminded me a lot of the Weasley twins. Annie was fun. I really liked the whole cast. Maybe the whole Crestie/norms thing was a little unrealistic, but then again, I don't have any mansions around where I live.
This book is really one of the best of its kind. Entertaining without frilliness. But the one thing I did not like at all was the ending. For all of you that are going to read it, know right now that it is not a stand alone, and that it is the first of a planned trilogy. I was not aware of this going into it, and was very put off by the cliffhanger ending. My rebellious side was like "Nuh-uh, hell no. We ain't gonna get sucked in by this ploy." If the book was of a lesser quality, then I defintely wouldn't read the sequels. It is just because it is so good that I am going to be first in line for the second book.
This is off-topic, but one thing I don't understand is why Kieran Scott uses her pen name for some works, but her real name for her others. What is the point of a penname at all if everyone knows it's a penname?
It's been two years since Ally Ryan's father swindled millions from the wealthiest families of Orchard Hill, and she and her family were forced to leave town in shame. But now she is back, even though not all of her old friends are happy to see her. When Ally goes to visit her old mansion, she finds someone else living there. The smokin' Jake Graydon who has taken her place among her former Crestie friends. The two feel the sparks, but it ain't so easy because it isn't just them in the equation.
I really like this book. It was one of those that take you completely by surprise. I was sucked in immediately, and I had a really hard time putting it down. The writing was easily consumable, and the characters were a blast. The plot had some twists and turns I wasn't expecting, and it refrained from being gimmicky for the most part.
There were two narrators to this story; Jake and Ally. They provided a nice balance for each other. And surpisingly, I liked both of them. Ally was a great female character. She was athletic and confident, while still having vulnerability. I liked how she wasn't all about "getting her man" and then whining about it. She stood up to the people who tormented her and was always in the game. Jake was swoonworthy and a pretty believable guy. He was arrogant, but had a conscience. I liked the romance between them. It wasn't all about the lust, but had some heat.
The teens acted like teens. Some of the girls were bitches. Some of the guys were dorks. They cussed and partied without being of Gossip Girl proportions. Trevor and Todd reminded me a lot of the Weasley twins. Annie was fun. I really liked the whole cast. Maybe the whole Crestie/norms thing was a little unrealistic, but then again, I don't have any mansions around where I live.
This book is really one of the best of its kind. Entertaining without frilliness. But the one thing I did not like at all was the ending. For all of you that are going to read it, know right now that it is not a stand alone, and that it is the first of a planned trilogy. I was not aware of this going into it, and was very put off by the cliffhanger ending. My rebellious side was like "Nuh-uh, hell no. We ain't gonna get sucked in by this ploy." If the book was of a lesser quality, then I defintely wouldn't read the sequels. It is just because it is so good that I am going to be first in line for the second book.
This is off-topic, but one thing I don't understand is why Kieran Scott uses her pen name for some works, but her real name for her others. What is the point of a penname at all if everyone knows it's a penname?
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By D. Quinn
Format:Hardcover
This novel may be geared at teenagers but I thoroughly enjoyed it too, and I'm quite a few years out of high school! Scott alternates narration from both Ally's and Jake's point of view, keeping the voices real, believable and very endearing. I could feel Ally's embarassment, and her anger, and just the unfairness of it all, as though it were happening to me. Jake's emotions were very real too - the pressure of following his friends' lead, the desire to be the cool kid but also nice at the same - his teenage-boy-angst was palpable, and cringe-worthy. Scott did an excellent job with characterization and dialogue, while keeping the story light and highly entertaining. I would absolutely recommend this book, 4 stars!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I was surprised that I actually liked this book. It was chosen as the read for the month in my book club by someone else and I didn't think I would like since from what she said it seemed like a teen romance type book with the typical rich boy-poor girl plot and plus it alternates between first person narrative of two characters, which is something I normally hate since it's confusing at times and while that wasn't any different I was able to get past it to read this good novel.
The main character Ally Ryan, moves back to her old hometown where her father scammed her friends families out of a lot of money. The Cresties, as the rich families in town are called, blamed her for it as well and haven't forgotten it. Ally's mom got a job at her old high school and has moved into a condo and now Ally works for CVS, which makes her a "norm," which is what the non-rich people in town are called. All of Ally's old friends are really mean to her even a girl named Faith, who used to be the nicest of them all but now she's one of the meanest and claims it's because Ally moved away without saying good bye.
The other main character Jake Graydon, is new in town, lives in Ally's old house and doesn't know anything about what happened in the past. However he is being pulled into pranks against Ally and having to hide his growing feelings for her from his friends, who happen to be Ally's old friends. Ally and Jake only date publicly for five seconds before another bombshell makes them break up and there is an even bigger bombshell right after that.
Like I said, this is a good book and it's much more then a rich boy/poor girl romance. The only things I hated about it are Ally's thoughts about her mom's boyfriend's daughter, Quinn. As far as I've seen, Quinn has done nothing to Ally other then not talking to her at first but she didn't really know Ally then. Yet Ally referred to her as the Sugarplum Fairy and Miss America at different times in the book. Also I don't get what is the big deal about Ally. A few times in the Instant Message sections in the book when referring to something Ally wants and why she can`t get it someone else says she will, and when someone asks why they say "because she's Ally Ryan," but I have yet to see what is so interesting about her to make her get whatever she wants. I mean she doesn't stand out and she's not the popular pretty girl. And also the Instant Messages kind of annoy me too. I remember when the It Girl series did that and I hated it then and I don't see the point of books putting them in.
Anyway it's a good book and I look forward to the next book in the series.
Grade: B+
The main character Ally Ryan, moves back to her old hometown where her father scammed her friends families out of a lot of money. The Cresties, as the rich families in town are called, blamed her for it as well and haven't forgotten it. Ally's mom got a job at her old high school and has moved into a condo and now Ally works for CVS, which makes her a "norm," which is what the non-rich people in town are called. All of Ally's old friends are really mean to her even a girl named Faith, who used to be the nicest of them all but now she's one of the meanest and claims it's because Ally moved away without saying good bye.
The other main character Jake Graydon, is new in town, lives in Ally's old house and doesn't know anything about what happened in the past. However he is being pulled into pranks against Ally and having to hide his growing feelings for her from his friends, who happen to be Ally's old friends. Ally and Jake only date publicly for five seconds before another bombshell makes them break up and there is an even bigger bombshell right after that.
Like I said, this is a good book and it's much more then a rich boy/poor girl romance. The only things I hated about it are Ally's thoughts about her mom's boyfriend's daughter, Quinn. As far as I've seen, Quinn has done nothing to Ally other then not talking to her at first but she didn't really know Ally then. Yet Ally referred to her as the Sugarplum Fairy and Miss America at different times in the book. Also I don't get what is the big deal about Ally. A few times in the Instant Message sections in the book when referring to something Ally wants and why she can`t get it someone else says she will, and when someone asks why they say "because she's Ally Ryan," but I have yet to see what is so interesting about her to make her get whatever she wants. I mean she doesn't stand out and she's not the popular pretty girl. And also the Instant Messages kind of annoy me too. I remember when the It Girl series did that and I hated it then and I don't see the point of books putting them in.
Anyway it's a good book and I look forward to the next book in the series.
Grade: B+
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing
A great teenage story about love and jealousy. The main character is played perfectly and its hard to decide who to side with.
Published 27 days ago by Jay Liz
5.0 out of 5 stars
I loved it
Kieran Scott did well in writing this and I thought it was really good. I would say that teens read this.
Published 4 months ago by Sadhbh McDonnell
5.0 out of 5 stars
Please be a movie!
This book is teen drama and romance that could be perfectly adapted into a movie. I was a little hesitant because I thought Ali would be stuck up but she was reasonable and didn't... Read more
Published 17 months ago by dntnnedtoknow
4.0 out of 5 stars
Better than a soap opera!
I almost, almost didn't read `She's So Dead to Us' because of a review I had read about the book. Reading about mean girls and cliques is not really my thing, and sometimes makes... Read more
Published 18 months ago by TheReaderBee
4.0 out of 5 stars
Why highschool was the worst!
I've had this book on my shelf for over a year. It came out in May 2010. Let me just say, I don't know what took me so long.
Ally Ryan is just your average teenager. Read more
Ally Ryan is just your average teenager. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Think Banned Thoughts
5.0 out of 5 stars
Review from Worn Pages and Dusty Shelves
She's So Dead to Us is one of my new favourites. I don't usually
venture out of the fantasy/paranormal category and I've never been one
to read 'chick lit,' so, it... Read more
venture out of the fantasy/paranormal category and I've never been one
to read 'chick lit,' so, it... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Vivacie
4.0 out of 5 stars
Review: She's So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott
I have read other books by Kieran Scott and really enjoyed them so I was glad when I could finally get my hands on this book. I was not disappointed. Read more
Published 20 months ago by Rachel McWilliams
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it, Love it, Love it
I picked this book on a whim and fell in love with it. After researching the author a bit more I realized that I had already fell in love with her and her writing style under a... Read more
Published 20 months ago by jalfermo
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing!
She's So Dead to Us was a-maz-ing! Im a 14 year old girl and totally got hooked reading this book. Instantly I purchased the sequel via-kindle because this book has a huge cliff... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Katie
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very realistic and addicting
Ally Ryan never thought that she would ever see Orchard Hill again, not after leaving two years earlier in the wake of a scandal caused by her father when a bad hedge fund... Read more
Published on May 14, 2011 by The Book Muncher
