Hot Nerds, Drug Lords and Buddhas, Oh My!

Expected Publication:  October 29th, 2013

Notable (Awkward #3)

By: Marni Bates

K-Teen

ISBN-13:  9780758269393

I take no prisoners…

I'm Chelsea Halloway and I will happily destroy your social life if you mess with me. Just ask anyone. There is no situation I can't handle. Divorcing parents? No problem. An ex-boyfriend who wants to date Smith High School's biggest geek instead of me? Just a matter of time before I can make him see reason. At least, until my parents decide to ship me off on a study abroad trip to Cambodia…

Now instead of being admired as the queen of the Notables, I'm stuck with a bunch of college students who don't take me seriously, and a professor who accidentally landed himself on the wrong side of a drug lord. And it's up to me to get us all out of the country alive--even the annoying jerk with the green eyes who won't stop calling me "princess."

Oh yeah, what could possibly go wrong?

Review

     Chelsea Halloway is the Queen Bee of Smith High School.  But lately her life has been changing, with her ex-boyfriend choosing to date the biggest geek in school instead, making friends with another shy geek (Jane) and her parents finally deciding to get a divorce and put them all out of their misery.  Chelsea is downright PISSED though, when her parents decide to send her to Cambodia with a group from her Dad's college, without even asking her opinion first.  Now she's being pulled away from her royal position, her friends, and maybe even having her possible career as a professional dancer destroyed by this too.  Unable to get out of it, Chelsea finds herself stuck with some college kids who thinks she's a spoiled princess, and a party-girl with bubbles for brains.  But when their teacher is mixed up in a crime lord's drug deal gone wrong, Chelsea may be the only one who can figure out a way to save him.  And just what is happening between her and the infuriating, yet hot nerd Houston?

     Having read both of the other books in the Smith High series, I can honestly say that I really enjoyed Awkward but didn't really care for Invisible.  So I wasn't quite sure what to expect from mean girl Chelsea's story.  I greatly enjoyed it, more than I expected to!  As a main character she kept me laughing from beginning to end with her snarky, and sometimes just mean commentary.  But there were plenty of moments where we learned about Chelsea's somewhat strained relationship with parents who don't get her and an emotionally abusive relationship in her romantic past - about her overall vulnerability.  I loved her observations about how to turn something into an opportunity to flirt and using things to her advantage.  I've told some friends about this book and as soon as I mentioned the phrase "Buddha full of cocaine" they looked at me like I was snorting the aforesaid cocaine.  I think this is one you have to read and form an opinion for yourself.

     There were some interesting secondary characters, but I did feel like the plot got a little unbelievable and out of control, with a bunch of everyday American teens taking on one of Cambodia's biggest drug lords, just to get their teacher back!  When they set up a sting and brought in the help of the press, courtesy of her ex's new girlfriend, geeky Mackenzie Wellesley.  The growing love-hate relationship between nerdy Houston, who's been asked by Chelsea's Dad to keep an eye on her, was very interesting to read about.  They antagonized each other like no other, but the chemistry between the two was extremely off the charts.  I really liked the scene between the two at the bar when Chelsea accidentally ingests a substance that drugs her and how Houston takes care of her/fights a guy for her that he believes is responsible.  Chelsea truly grows as a person by the end of the book, and while she's still sarcastic and cocky, she has the confidence in herself to back it up.  The resolution of the main plot is no more believable than the plot itself, but you know what?  I DIDN'T CARE.  Because I had such a good time reading it and really ended up loving Chelsea and Houston too.   Maybe it wasn't perfect, but Marni Bates is one of those rare writers that can make you smile, laugh and cry with never a moment ringing false the entire time.  I will definitely be reading the next one in this series and hoping for another book like this one.  I highly recommend it and it can be read as a stand alone, but I recommend reading Awkward as well.

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication is October 29th, 2013.*

If I Was Invisible...Wait, I Already Am

Expected Publication:  August 1st, 2013
Invisible
By: Marni Bates
K-Teen
ISBN-13:  9780758269386

Jane Smith has survived three years of high school without making a single enemy, all by keeping a low profile. Not even her three best friends, Kenzie, Corey and Isobel, can say the same. But with Corey dating the lead singer from ReadySet and Kenzie in a relationship too, being invisible tends to be lonely. But now she's written an article for her school newspaper that has accidentally snagged the attention of some celebrities. Turns out, people get really upset when their innermost secrets are splashed all over the front page. And new her well-ordered life is being blasted to hell, with results that are wildly unexpected.

Review

 

     Jane Smith has managed to fly under the radar for her entire time in high school and she liked it that way because she still had the support of her truly awesome best friends.  But than Cory started dating a famous lead singer and Kenzie became America's Most Awkward Girl AND got the guy.  Now they never have any time for her and are always going places/doing things that they don't invite Jane along for.  Not to mention they take her for granted any time the opportunity arises. This does nothing for her already non-existent self-esteem.  Than she punches school bully Scott in the lunchroom and gets forcibly teamed up with Scott, a boy she can't stand (because of a perceived snub) for a front page article in the school newspaper that she never even wanted.  All Jane wanted was for someone to let her add a fiction page into the paper - quietly!  Now she's breaking rules, making changes and forcing everyone to actually look at her for once.  But not everything that happens as a result is good and Jane ends up hurting the people she cares for most unintentionally.  Can she fix things before she really does end up invisible and alone?

     To be quite honest, if you have read the first book with Kenzie you may be kind of wary of this one like I was.  And the synopsis is really misleading, because the blow-up with the article doesn't even happen until the last 25% or so of the book.  The main focus is Jane learning to stand up for herself and assert her own needs to the other people in her life.  Also, learning that we can't choose who we have romantic feelings for and that you shouldn't be a douchebag because of it (that last part is something she's REALLY slow at learning, but having Scott on the other end does nothing to help the point across!!!).  Jane got on my nerves for a good majority of the book and that's putting it mildly and politely.  She was one of the most milquetoast 'heroines' that I've read so far this year in the realm of YA.  Yes, teens are not a species of perfection which is perfectly okay.  But she has no self-respect, which kind of detracts from when she does something really awesome (like punching Scott in the face or...yeah can't think of anything else right now).  The whole book is spent with her whining about how no one sees her and her friends are ditching her.  Of course she does NOTHING about it until she blows up at Kenzie closer to the end of the book.  Also, there's something borderline call-the-suicide-prevention-hotline about coming up with ways to die when you're bored, etc.  It kind of creeped me out.  I loved Isobel and honestly thought a book with a romance between her and the girl in the baking club would have been lots more interesting and majorly cute (Mabye I'm inferring something there, but that's what I saw anyways).

   The romance with Scott wasn't swoonworthy at all.  He spent most of the book acting like a complete manipulative, blackmailing douchebag to Jane (who spent the whole book being an a-hole to him cause she wanted to pretend she didn't like him).  Scott crashes her first date, provides the pictures for the ruinous article and goes to a horrible family dinner at Jane's being her fake 'boyfriend.'  All while doing his best to be an arrogant jerk and make her life a living Hell!  And this is supposed to make me root for them as a couple?  WTH???  Their whole dynamic is borderline abusive and after spending the whole book just wanting him to jump off a cliff and with the meanest interactions possible, they suddenly like like each other?  A world of no!  Just not a thing I could get behind.  I did like Jane's crazy old lady, bookstore boss who wanted them to take a picture in the makeout section.  She was hilarious.  The real highlight character-wise for me though was the nice side of somewhat mean-girl Chelsea.  At times she was a better person than Jane's supposed best friends.  By the time the story broke, I had already started skimming through it because this book was boring me and making me cringe.  Some may identify with this book and really like it.  They may even find it somewhat funny and cute.  I just really didn't and wouldn't really recommend it to anyone.  Just re-read Awkward instead, it'll be a much more satisfying experience!

 

VERDICT:  2.25/5  Stars

 

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication is August 1st, 2013.*