Saturday, October 8, 2011

Review (18): Loser/Queen

Loser/Queen
by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Series: None
Other Reviewed Titles: None
Release Date: December 21, 2010
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 260
Source: Bought
Challenge: None
Cammy Hall is what anyone would describe as a loser. She lives with her grandparents and has adopted their way of life...right down to the comfortable shoes and early bedtime. And can she help it that she actually likes to knit?

At school, her skills with knitting needles and some yarn go completely unappreciated: people like Bekka Bell reign while Cammy and her best friend, the fearless Danish exchange student Gerdi, watch from the sidelines. Cammy’s used to being an outsider; after years of humiliating moments, her goal is simply to fly under the radar. Then she suddenly starts receiving mysterious text messages that lead her right to all the embarrassing secrets about the most popular kids in school. Cammy never expected to be able to climb up the high school food chain, and the agenda of the texter may be questionable--but how can she possibly give up the chance to be Queen?
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Characters: I’m pretty sure the characters were either juniors or seniors in high school because some could drive, but it almost felt like they were in middle school. They were slightly immature and I just felt like the dialogue was unrealistic. Cammy wassweet and I don’t really see why she was shunned by everyone. She seemed perfectly alright to me although she was a little too eager to please everyone, especially the more popular kids. I liked Gerdi the best out of all the characters. She knew who she was and didn’t care one bit what other people thought of her. She really cared about Cammy and it was obvious by the way she tried to protect her.

Plot: This whole book kind of reminded me of Teen Spirit, the ABC Family movie that came out a few weeks ago. If you haven’t watched it, it’s about a “Queen Bee” that dies during the Homecoming dance and instead of going straight to Heaven, she is stuck in a sort of limbo. In order to get out of limbo she must help the unpopular girl at her school become popular and get the boy of her dreams. That’s basically what happens in the book except for the whole dying part, but Cammy get’s help from a secret source just like the girl in the movie. The White Rabbit was strange and it was a little obvious as to who was behind the whole thing. The fact that the Rabbit knew so much about everyone and had a yearbook full of secrets was a little creepy. My favorite part were the letters and emails at the end, especially the ones from her grandparents because they were amusing.

Cover: The cover goes really well with the story. It is simple, cute, and represents Cammy’s personality and the White Rabbit which is a major part of the story.

Overall Impression: It was a cute and short read. I love the fact that it was written based on plot twists voted on by readers.

Rating: * * *