Something, Maybe (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Lisa Fyfe (Designer)
Key Phrases: New York, Cowboy Dad, Candy Madison (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up—In this often astute, occasionally awkward take on family and unwanted fame, Hannah Jackson James tries not to live in her parents' dubious shadow. Her father is an aging reality TV star with a Hugh Hefner-esque castle full of girlfriends. Her mother, a minor actress and former girlfriend of Jackson's, now makes her money hosting a webcam show in skimpy underwear. When Hannah moved with her mom to a small town at age 12, she tried her hardest to blend in. Five years later, her concerns include staying unnoticed at school, making sure her mom can pay the bills, and deciding how to approach the object of her affection, a fellow student named Josh who works next to Hannah at the drive-through call center for a fast-food chain. Then her father calls for the first time in five years to invite her to visit him in New York. Hannah is torn between her desire for his love and her suspicion that the gesture is nothing more than a cynical ratings ploy. Scott's portrayal of Hannah's family situation is subtle and convincing. Readers will understand without being told that Hannah and her mother love one another, but that Hannah is as much a parent as a child. Her relationships with her peers are less believable. Her interest in Josh never quite seems genuine, and readers realize long before she does that Finn, a kind but irreverent goofball, is a better match. Though this story treads familiar ground, many teen girls will enjoy it.—Megan Honig, New York Public Library
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From Booklist

Perhaps recovering from the harrowing Living Dead Girl (2008), Scott retreats to cozy romantic shenanigans with this predictable but good-natured entry in the which-boy-will-she-choose canon. Seventeen-year-old Hannah is known for exactly one thing: her mother, current erotic Web-chat hostess and former girlfriend of a Hugh Hefner–like celebrity named Jackson. Hannah is Jackson’s estranged daughter, and her tentative forays into the elderly sex magnate’s bizarre life form the most unique segments of the plot. For someone whose parents were so famously connected to sex, Hannah sure isn’t getting any—instead she plugs away taking drive-through burger orders next to the dreamy Josh and the annoying Finn. It doesn’t take a genius to know immediately that Finn is the one she’ll end up with; in fact, Hannah’s obliviousness to her own feelings is somewhat trying. Given the current popularity of the Hefner-centered reality-TV show, this light offering will undoubtedly find readers, and might even dampen the allure of living a Playboy lifestyle. Grades 8-11. --Daniel Kraus

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Simon Pulse (March 24, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416978658
• ISBN-13: 978-1416978657
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,933 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious, like my best friend wrote it!, March 13, 2009

By	Mint910 (USA) - See all my reviews

Previous to this I had only read Bloom by Elizabeth Scott. I thought that one was ok where as this was fantastic! Right off the bat the book was funny and engaging, it felt like my best friend wrote it, someone with my same sense of humor. I found myself giggling and laughing and possibly even snorting once or twice when reading this book. It was a lot of fun but also had a more serious and emotional side.

The humor was found in all sorts of places from the fact that Hannah works at a call center for BurgerTown (what?!?!?!) with two boys from her high school, one who she has a massive crush on and the other one that annoys the heck out of her. And that basically she has someone not unlike Hugh Hefner for a father. Just a great set-up for a book.

While her family situation is humorous (old playboy dad with lots of girlfriends and a mother that used to be one of them and now has her own internet show) it's also the source for the more serious emotional stuff in the book. Hannah hasn't seen her father in about 5 years and gets made fun of at school because of her family. There is a lot of stuff going on here.

My favorite part, of course, was the love triangle that forms between Hannah and her co-workers Josh and Finn. Pretty much everyone but Hannah knows which one she should go for. It almost gets to the point where she seems kind of dense but finally comes to her senses!

I thought this was a funny, engaging and sweet book and it's just proven to me more why I should read the rest of Elizabeth Scott's books!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unique and strong, March 19, 2009

By	The Compulsive Reader (Big Rapids, MI, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

If you think your parents are bad, try having a scantily clad mother who makes a living by hosting her own web show, and a famous playboy father old enough to be your grandfather. This is Hannah's reality, and her extremely embarrassing parents cause her to strive to become unnoticeable so as not to attract condemnation and rude comments from her sometimes-heartless classmates. But when her father contacts her for the first time in years, it dredges up a lot of buried feelings and resentments, but also may enable her to gain the confidence she lacks.

Elizabeth Scott takes what is a very much a repeated lesson in YA literature and gives it new life with her unique plot line and her trademark heartfelt storytelling. Hannah is a strong, intelligent, and no-nonsense character, yet her inability to see some truths makes her an endearing and convincing character, if not frustrating at times. The family dynamics in Something, Maybe are certainly unique and quite interesting to read about and observe; they are sometimes humorous, and at the same time sorrowful to witness as Hannah is put into an unenviable position of understanding and dealing with her father's distracted and detached love for her. Scott's talent for dealing with love, loss, family, and relationships in a wholly sincere way without being cliché is once again present in Something, Maybe, making her latest an enjoyable and sweet book that is the perfect pick-me-up.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GreenBeanTeenQueen reviews: www.greenbeanteenqueen.com, July 20, 2009

By	GreenBeanTeenQueen (MO) - See all my reviews

I had been in a reading slump before I started to 48 Hour Book Challenge so even though I was looking forward to reading, I wasn't sure if I'd find books I'd want to read straight through. Lucky for me Something, Maybe was near the top of my pile, because without it (and Melissa Walker's wonderful Lovestruck Summer), I don't think I could have made it.


I don't know how Elizabeth Scott does it, but she continues to amaze me with every book. Can I just bottle some of her talent please? Something, Maybe is the perfect love story, but it's not just a romance. It's a story about loss, family, acceptance and forgiveness. It goes beyond what a light romance typically does without feeling like a heavy issue book. How Elizabeth Scott pulls all this off is what makes reading this book so much fun.

The most amazing thing to me that Elizabeth Scott pulls off in this book is that I was totally drawn in to Hannah's world. When Hannah feels frustrated with her father, I felt frustrated. When she was upset, I was upset and when she was happy I cheered with her. I really emotionally connected with the story and the characters, which made this one such a rewarding read.

And Finn....sigh....I love Finn.

If you haven't picked this one up yet, put it to the top of your reading pile now! Something, Maybe is my new must have book for Summer Reading.