Art
Geeks and Prom Queens by Alyson Noel
Paperback, 226pages
Published September 1st 2005 by St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN 0312619227
Genre: YANew or Re-read: New
Series? No
Where I heard about it:Randomly found it.
Why I read it: I added it to my wishlist a long time ago. I randomly downloaded it the other day.
Setting/Time Frame: Current, Newport Beach, California
*****************Spoilers: yes, lots*********
2 stars
This book read like two completely different
novels. If you divide the book into three sections, the first and last section
maybe part of the same book. The middle section was something completely
different.
Rio was not a likeable character. At first I
felt she was a little bit relatable. But just a bit. That quickly escalated to
being a character that I couldn’t relate to, let alone fathom as a person or
like. I understand she was trying to fit in and make her mom happy. However I
just couldn’t imagine throwing away everything that makes a person themselves
in order to do so. This girl couldn’t make the right decision if her life
depended on it, which in high school, it kind of does. Even when the right choice was blatantly
obvious, it was obvious to everyone but Rio. I mean when she was given options
and choices, the bad choice was obviously bad, but the right choice had neon
blazing arrows pointing at it. Yet she still went the wrong way.
This book reminded me of a mash-up of a bunch of
different movies. The first one that came to mind was Mean Girls. Only this
book, was Mean Girls meets Cruel Intentions (hello coke addiction) meets the TV
Show The OC mixed with a little bit of Britney Spears’ nervous breakdown from a
few years ago thrown in for good measure.
Rio has a pretty good life, and a lot of options
that most kids her age would love to have. Including her first friend in
Newport, Mason. However she seems to expect these things instead of be grateful
for them. I think that maybe what irritates me the most. Woe is Rio who is
always begging a ride and complaining because her mom is late to pick her up.
Hello, you could, you know, get your driver’s license. I am certain; absolutely
positive her parents would have bought her a car in order to not have to drop
her off at school. The story lets on
that Rio only starts looking down at the other students around her after she
gets popular. But that wasn’t the case, or so it seemed to me. She was
judgemental and rode her high horse, long before hanging out with Kristy. She
judged Kristy from the get-go while trying to be her friend. Desperate to be
her friend, yet not liking her much to begin with, so seriously than, why do
you want to be her friend!?!
I know it’s easy to look back on life and see
what Rio should have done in this book. However I think I was just so
disappointed by the way this book turned out, that I can’t get over it. I don’t
know what I was expecting, however it certainly wasn’t this story. I know the lesson of the story was to be true
to yourself and not give yourself up for others. However I find that the author
did a poor job of doing this. It would make me nervous to recommend this book
to a teenager to read. While life certainly isn’t great for Rio, it doesn’t
show the consequences of her actions at all. Spoiler alert but if you decide to
try coke a few times there should be some consequences shown to the reader. It
wasn’t like it was the little bit of pot she did in the first part of the book
and she kind of made a big deal about doing it. Coke is a whole different
world. Not to mention the whole Drew situation. Ya, that’s not okay and she
should have spoken to someone about it, because that isn’t something you want
teenage girls just holding inside of themselves and not dealing with. Even to
their friends.
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