Review: Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Eileen Cook
Format: Paperback
Pages: 261
Rating: 5 out of 10

Summary (Thanks for existing Goodreads.com): 
Popularity is the best revenge.

In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls--and now, at the start of her senior year, she's the cheerleading captain, the quarterback's girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she's ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend.

But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she's moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn’t dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that's ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend.

Watch out, Lauren Wood. Things are about to get bitchy.

My Thoughtless Ramblings: This cover is ugly. It is so important for me to say this that I'm going to say it first thing. The cover of the copy I have is beautiful. I had a two-for-one type deal called Used To Be which had two novels by Eileen Cook in it. I liked it much more. I would never have picked a book up off the shelf that had this cover on it. Yes, I judge books by their covers, deal with it.

So, anyway, getting revenge...I understand wanting to get back at people but I don't think I will ever understand wanting to destroy a person's life especially over what the slight was in this novel. It sucks yes, but JUST MOVE ON. I thought the whole plot of this novel was a huge waste of time. It was an interesting concept. It might have been okay if the thing that caused it wasn't so stupid. To Helen, it may have been big, in the moment. It was hardly something to let consume your life. It just didn't seem like a big enough thing to cause all that followed. That's my opinion.

Also, this chick is crazy! Who would do all of this to a person? She couldn't killed Lauren a few times over. I kept thinking, "oh my gosh, Helen is a sociopath!" She didn't seem to be worried about any consequences for what she was doing and I can think of so many right now. The top two would be homicide or suicide or jail time. Those are just the big ones. Having your life messed up is hardly worth ruining someones over. Helen had the opportunity to do just fine with her life but she lost a lot of credibility when she became the cruel person. It's hard to relate to someone who would stoop so low. 

The love interest in this was good. I liked him. I liked him and I liked a couple of the other friends Helen makes at the school. I thought they were way more thought out than the revenge plan. They were honestly my favourite part of the novel, no matter how poorly Helen treated them or the fact that they let her treat them so badly and remained her friends. I wouldn't have been so nice to her, I think.

So: This novel was a quick read and light enough. I didn't appreciate the plot all that much but other than the main character, I liked the people that were found on these pages. I find myself not blaming the author for my dislike of this novel. It's just what it was. I won't be reading it again but I would read more from this author in the future.

Someone Like You

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Sarah Dessen
Pages: 281
Format: Paperback
Rating: 9 out of 10

Summary (GoodReads): Halley has always followed in the wake of her best friend, Scarlett. But when Scarlett learns that her boyfriend has been killed in a motorcycle accident, and that she's carrying his baby, she's devastated. For the first time ever, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight, but it'll never break--because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever.

My Take: For me this book hit far too close to home so I, of course, can relate to the story but you readers should know that things like this actually do really happen. I don't believe that I have ever related more to situations or characters. For the point of understand me, I'm Halley. It was very helpful to know that even though this is a work of fiction, people out there get it and they get you.

Some points during this novel scared me. I worried about some decisions that Scarlett might make. I think that I even yelled at thepages of the book a few times hoping that she would hear me and make the best choices. My parents think that I'm mental.

If you have ever read a Sarah Dessen novel before, you should stand up right now, log of your computer, phone, or Iwhatever and go buy one. Her novels are some of if not the best books that I have ever read. I own them all and have read them multiple times. I even already reviewed one of her novels (I think in October, check it out!). Her novels are always thebest combination of finding your true self, growing friendships, and young loves that make we wish I was a character in these books. Many of her characters go through so much but end up so happy. It's what every girl wants without losing the empowerment...feminist all the way ☺. You should really look into her novels is what I'm trying to say...Right now. Go.

Narrative Loserdom

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Ryan Collins
Pages: 204
Format: Paperback
Rating: 7 out of 10

Summary (from GoodReads): Justin Taggart doesn’t know anything (about being a loser). He likes girls and plays sports and has some friends. Unfortunately his fear of rejection outweighs his ability to deal with these well. Mostly there’s Sterling, the girl of his dreams who knows how to stop his heart by not knowing he likes her. Another thing is trying to get money with Adam, who’s rich anyway so it’s more about hanging out. As for Justin, he makes ends meet by mowing people’s yards with Adam, and sometimes by breaking into vending machines and selling late-night cable programming to peers (also with Adam). But it’s not like he doesn’t feel bad about it, since Jesus died for his sins. School is pretty terrible with all the work and practice, but there are a few people there worth mentioning. Anyone who picks up his journal will be in for something, if they feel like getting through a lot of grammar and spelling problems. They’ll probably end up seeing that they shouldn’t have looked at it anyway, because this is someone’s private anthem of girls, grass, and loserdom.

My Take: So I really did enjoy this book. The characters were somewhat relatable (they would have been more, had I been a boy...). I enjoyed the almost short story format in each of the journal entries. They made it very easy to just pick up the book and read. We also always had enough detail to understand each character and follow each story line.

The best part for me, however, was the moment in each story where I had the "omg, why are they going to do this? It's so stupid." but really it was the funniest thing that I'd ever heard. I also wish that I could get away with as much as these boys do. I was really rooting for them though. They had some real adventures.

Final Thoughts: It was a very interesting book and I was excited to see what kind of trouble the boys would find themselves in next. It was good that they were just normal boys doing normal things. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves journal type stories or trouble making boys. You really get a glimpse into the brain of a teenage boy. I would definitely recommend it if you are a 10-16 year old boy (not that it's not good for girls!). It was good.

The Me I Want To Be

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: John Ortberg
Pages: 254
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 10 out of 10

Summary (From GoodReads): Reading The Me I Want to Be is your first step to becoming God’s best version of you. Join bestselling author and pastor John Ortberg as he guides you through the sometimes difficult but ultimately fulfilling journey towards a uniquely created spirituality. One designed just for you … one that will enable you to experience God more fully each day. Available in four unique colours, customers purchasing at retail will select the cover they prefer.

My Thoughts: So this is probably one of the first 'self-help'y books that's been reviewed on this blog but I just love this book. It's very affirming, has close to a gillion amazing quotes, has personal quizzes, cool tips, and many funny and heartwarming stories. The stories are entertaining but also relatable so that you can learn something from them and you can find the lesson in it. This book really makes you feel good about yourself and if by the end you still don't it gives you tips to help you with that. Personally, I have some issues with who I am, many people do, that's just how I thought life always was but this book told me that there could be something more than just that. It actually really helped. You should give it a look!