Stephanie HaleRezensionen

I didn't find this quite as entertaining as the first book in the series. I think I was hoping for a tiny bit more character development and the mystery solving seems almost accidental this time.

Aspen wants to be homecoming queen so bad she can taste it. Unfortunately Angel Ives, her worst enemy gets it. Then Angel disappears and so does Aspen's mother, at first Aspen thought Angel was just hiding but now that her mother is gone too, she is really worried. Of course she's also falling for the dork that somehow got crowned homecoming king which is also a problem for her.

This book is just completely over the top in a way that I found funny and enjoyable. I will admit I wasn't always sure if it was trying for funny or just working out that way. There is the geek gets the girl romance, the mother shopaholic issues, an outed best friend, the kidnapping mystery and more. Parts of it were predictable and Aspen definitely needed to learn a lesson (although perhaps not quite so heavy handedly) but I found it fun overall.

I didn't find this quite as entertaining as the first book in the series. I think I was hoping for a tiny bit more character development and the mystery solving seems almost accidental this time.

Aspen wants to be homecoming queen so bad she can taste it. Unfortunately Angel Ives, her worst enemy gets it. Then Angel disappears and so does Aspen's mother, at first Aspen thought Angel was just hiding but now that her mother is gone too, she is really worried. Of course she's also falling for the dork that somehow got crowned homecoming king which is also a problem for her.

This book is just completely over the top in a way that I found funny and enjoyable. I will admit I wasn't always sure if it was trying for funny or just working out that way. There is the geek gets the girl romance, the mother shopaholic issues, an outed best friend, the kidnapping mystery and more. Parts of it were predictable and Aspen definitely needed to learn a lesson (although perhaps not quite so heavy handedly) but I found it fun overall.

I didn't find this quite as entertaining as the first book in the series. I think I was hoping for a tiny bit more character development and the mystery solving seems almost accidental this time.

Aspen wants to be homecoming queen so bad she can taste it. Unfortunately Angel Ives, her worst enemy gets it. Then Angel disappears and so does Aspen's mother, at first Aspen thought Angel was just hiding but now that her mother is gone too, she is really worried. Of course she's also falling for the dork that somehow got crowned homecoming king which is also a problem for her.

This book is just completely over the top in a way that I found funny and enjoyable. I will admit I wasn't always sure if it was trying for funny or just working out that way. There is the geek gets the girl romance, the mother shopaholic issues, an outed best friend, the kidnapping mystery and more. Parts of it were predictable and Aspen definitely needed to learn a lesson (although perhaps not quite so heavy handedly) but I found it fun overall.

I didn't find this quite as entertaining as the first book in the series. I think I was hoping for a tiny bit more character development and the mystery solving seems almost accidental this time.

Aspen wants to be homecoming queen so bad she can taste it. Unfortunately Angel Ives, her worst enemy gets it. Then Angel disappears and so does Aspen's mother, at first Aspen thought Angel was just hiding but now that her mother is gone too, she is really worried. Of course she's also falling for the dork that somehow got crowned homecoming king which is also a problem for her.

This book is just completely over the top in a way that I found funny and enjoyable. I will admit I wasn't always sure if it was trying for funny or just working out that way. There is the geek gets the girl romance, the mother shopaholic issues, an outed best friend, the kidnapping mystery and more. Parts of it were predictable and Aspen definitely needed to learn a lesson (although perhaps not quite so heavy handedly) but I found it fun overall.

It was entertaining enough to warrant skimming much of the middle to read to the end, but it was uneven in structure and voice. The crass language scattered hither and thither is unconvincing and superfluous. The protagonist's parents and the "baddy" -- all right, all of the grownups -- are pathetic and weedy. Even the names of some of the characters are distracting: Mr. Lowe and Ms. Hott? Really? That said, I've read worse.

Revenge of the Homecoming Queen by Stephanie Hale
(Book #1: Aspen Brooks Trilogy)
Source: Purchase
Rating: 4/5 stars

Is there anything worse than losing the run for Homecoming Queen? YES!! Losing the race to the biggest skank in school and then having to endure said skank spreading a rumor that you wear knockoffs. Holy Hell!! Can it get any worse? Absolutely 

For Aspen Brooks, the title and the crown for Homecoming Queen were supposed to be a lock: Aspen is beautiful, quite stylish (Dooney and Jimmy Choo, duh!), totally smart and, she knows how to run a campaign. And so, in front of the entire student body and looking her very, very best something goes horribly wrong and Aspen watches as her nemesis Angel Ives and her minions take the crown and court!! The only real consolation is the fact that the biggest nerd in the school, Rand Bachrach took the King crown. Now how did that happen?

As if this first epic fail weren’t enough, over the next few weeks, Aspen’s life becomes a series of dramas, one after the next and all designed to turn her world upside down. First, the nemesis disappears (OK, not so bad!), her ridiculously stupid but totally popular boyfriend dumps her (kind of sucky!), she finds herself strangely attracted to the biggest nerd in school (turns out he cleans up reeeally well), her best friend begins acting quite strangely (more so than normal) and, she lands in the hospital. Huh? It sort of seems like someone just might be out to get Aspen Brooks. In order to figure out why the universe is out to get her and convince the now super-hot Rand that she is more than just a flighty and self-absorbed airhead, Aspen must sharpen her sluething skills and change her behavior.

To be fair, Aspen’s sleuthing skills are quite good and in no time flat, she begins to unravel the mystery of her misfortune. With the help of Rand and some flat-out dogged determination, Aspen pulls all the evidence together and in one final and seriously dramatic showdown, she saves and/or improves the day, her nemesis (BLECH!), her mom, two morons and, her relationship with her bestie and Rand. The final reveal of the big bad and the motivation behind all the drama isn’t all that surprising but it also really doesn’t matter because the ride from start to finish is just flat out entertaining. Some of the things Aspen chooses to say are just mind boggling and laugh-out-loud funny!! I don’t think she has ever heard of either an inner monologue or edit button 

The Bottom Line: Yeah, Aspen is a bit self-absorbed and the tiniest bit clueless from time to time but at heart she is a good and well-meaning person. She is also a phenomenally well-dressed person  Though there were times when I just hung my head in shame for Aspen I also found myself, on more than a few occasions really rooting for her. Aspen has some truly fine qualities (the moments with her mom are great!) and once you get beyond the shallow, Aspen is a character worth knowing. In all, Revenge of the Homecoming Queen has a lot to offer including: light suspense, witty banter and generally good conversation, fairly well-developed characters, naughty bits that are kept to a respectable minimum and, a read that is smooth and entertaining. I can’t honestly say this book is going to make my top reads of the year list but I can honestly say that I have already purchased the other two books in the trilogy! Yes, I need more Aspen Brooks in my life!

This was a pretty quick and easy read. Enjoyed the story and would love to read something else by Stephanie Hale.

It's a cute story. I guess the heroine was likable, but Jack is the one that made the book for me even though what he did with hiding the money and phone battery was wrong. I suppose he had good intentions.
The elder's antics cracked me up so much, I loved them.

However, I think I would have liked this more if it started with the waking up in that van and then slowly revealed what happened before. Or at least, cut before everything happens so that we wonder, a little mystery would have been more exciting than just wondering if Laney will believe Jack what happened. It would have given Jack and Laney more time together on this adventure, too - it takes half the book for things to happen before waking up in Texas, I guess it was just too slow for me.
I did like Stephanie Hale's writing, it's witty and engaging, and there is obvious chemistry between Jack and Laney.

It's a short, light read with a satisfying ending, perfect for days when you just need some sugary YA to get you through the day, and overall I liked it.

Mrs. Beamer's Review:
I really enjoyed this book! I have been looking for what I call "high school drama" books. You know...those books with high school settings and nothing else too crazy (because we ALL know high school alone is crazy enough!) This book fits that label...while managing to give us a smidgen of kooky, too :)

Aspen was developed perfectly. Throughout the book, we witnessed her evolution from a snobby know-it-all into someone... (well...I don't want to ruin it for you!) I thought the author did a wonderful job combining elements from everyday life with plot-fowarding details. I felt connected to the characters (loved some of them...but don't want to spoil anything!), which speaks to the writing. There were some twists in the book I didn't see coming...which I enjoyed :)

This is a quick, easy, fun read. Absolutely I would read more from this author...and look forward to continuing to read about Aspen and her friends! Well done! I'm happy I stumbled across this delightful series :)

Mrs. Beamer’s Wrap-Up Rating: 0-5 (0=none, 5=lots) click here for more info
Language: 0
Violence: 0
Sexual Content: 1
Drugs/Alcohol: 1
Potential Controversial Topics: not listing due to potential spoilers
Recommend for High School Libraries: YES
Comfortable With My Child Reading: middle school

My first impression of Aspen? Like total valley girl! I figured there had to be more to her self admiration, which was pretty comical. The reasons are explainable further into the book. I really don't know what to say about this novel, but I LMAO so many times and found myself liking Aspen. Of course Rand was immediately likeable.

The mystery of the kidnappings was amusing and I love that too. And I loved the relationship between Rand and Aspen and the way he delt with her "A-list" status.

Again, this was another one of those novels which was different and all I can say is keep reading. I'm glad I did because it was a fun read!

I'll be honest at first I thought this book would be about Aspen and her taking revenge out on who won the homecoming crown. I was intrigued by the mention of girls disappearing in the summary. I thought ok I'll give it a shot. I actually enjoyed this book. I was happy to realize that when something happened in the middle of the book I thought it was the end and found myself disappointed. I was glad that I still had 100+ pages left of the book. I like the fact that Hale had a little romance tied in with mystery.

I almost did not give this book a chance. Reading a lot of Mary Higgins-Clark, John Grisham, and others, I was accustomed to the action-packed-keep-you-guessing-killer-totally-from-out-of-left-field types of premise that I was totally bummed out reading this one.

I felt that the author was trying too hard to make Aspen sound cool but to me, it just fell flat. She did not sound cool, she sounded trying hard to be cool. Her confident awareness of herself did not come out like that, it came out very vain, conceited, and self-centered, the only thing holding her together her compulsive sleuthing. You may point out to me that she's actually very selfless to put herself in danger's way for her friends but that's just it. Her personality does not tie up. Or maybe I just think this way because I've decided I'm not going to like this book.

And another thing: the mystery part. I solved this one after a few chapters, and it did not really require much thinking. I hope that the author deliberately did this to make sure the readers knew whodunit first, because if she intended it to become the climax of the story, it's not really the best work.

But okay, kind-of-lame mystery and conceited main character aside, I love how the author worked on her characters to make them seem real except for Aspen, whom I struggled to like but just can't. Most of the characters are likable and interesting, as well as their dialogue. The author paints a vivid picture of the scenes and each character's personality that it's not difficult to get into the story. Maybe reading too much hard-core murder mysteries muddled my brain enough to have a lot of expectations for this story, and if one were to look at this book without that expectation, one would probably think this story is very creative, judging from the mostly positive reviews of this book.

I picked up this book because of the blurb and I thought, "Wow there's a mystery!" And maybe that set off too much expectations that I was expecting but this book was not ready to give. As I was thinking of putting this book down and never finishing it, another voice told me to give it another chance, look at it as how an average teenager would look at it: Aspen Brooks is every girl's dream of becoming when she grows up: capable, cool, fashionable, and smart. And so I did, but even though I still see her as shallow, I did understand how teenagers would look at her differently.

So maybe not the best mystery book to read in my opinion, but something light but exciting enough while passing the time or waiting for another hardcore mystery book to get released.

It is so much fun to read. I was especially able to relate to Grace Kelly's story because I too started college at 16 (but I was an English nerd, not a science geek :o) ) ... Ms Hale does a really good job of capturing the sometime-terrifying excitement of being on a college campus, hanging with college kids, and being one of the group. While I was an Indie all through college, I had friends in every sorority on campus - and the Al...more I was delighted to win this as a First Reads (my first win!) ... It is so much fun to read. I was especially able to relate to Grace Kelly's story because I too started college at 16 (but I was an English nerd, not a science geek :o) ) ... Ms Hale does a really good job of capturing the sometime-terrifying excitement of being on a college campus, hanging with college kids, and being one of the group. While I was an Indie all through college, I had friends in every sorority on campus - and the Alpha-Zeta 'war' is definitely representative of what Greek life is like. Basically, I really really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun read to kick off summer reading :o)

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

Grace Kelly has no idea what she's getting into. She graduated high school early and now she's heading to college, roughly an hour away from home and her overprotective mother. At 16, she's ready to let life take control.

She and her roommate decide to rush the Alphas. Grace Kelly admires the sisters, but unfortunately for her, she's asked to leave due to an altercation with another girl.

She's not ready to let go of her dreams, so she creates the mother of all lies and worms her way back into the running. Now, the three pledges must complete the Alpha Bet, a series of twenty-six tasks set up by the sisters of the house. How far will she go to secure her rush spot?

Grace Kelly knows that while her roommate took care to make her look like an Alpha, she's starting to feel like one, too. She's also feeling guilty about the lie she told to become accepted. What will the sisters do if her secret becomes public knowledge?

This is a cute, fun read with romance, friendship, and one evil girl. I liked the relationships between Grace Kelly and her roommate, especially considering how they first met! I liked the tasks set by the sisters and the sisters themselves. I loved the geek-to-glam part of the book - and not just on the outside.

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Senior year is over and Aspen and her beau, Rand, are off to State for freshman year. After a kidnapping plot in high school, college is going to be a vacation. But before Aspen and Rand pull out of Aspen's driveway, local cop Harry (who Aspen helped solve the kidnapping plot with) comes to tell her goodbye. He makes her promise to not pledge the Zeta house at State because his niece was a sister there and went missing the previous semester.

Of course, telling Aspen NOT to do something is like giving her free reign to do it.

Aspen was the cream of the crop at Comfort High, but things aren't looking so great for her upon arriving at State. The elevators in the dorm only stop on every fifth floor. And of course it's not the floor Aspen's room is on. Entering her dorm room, she is horrified to find out that her new roommate is none other than her arch-rival from high school, Angel Ives. The one bright spot is that Rand's dorm room is literally right below hers.

So the first night on campus, Rand and Aspen rush the Greek organizations. Aspen would much rather be pledging Beta, which is a better fit for her, but in order to find out what happened to Harry's niece, she follows through on her plan to pledge Zeta. Except for Rand, Aspen can't tell anyone what she's about to do.

So as the first semester unfolds, Aspen moves into the Zeta house and tries to uncover the mystery of the disappearing Mitzi. She uncovers various secrets, but none of them seem to bring her any closer to what happened in the spring. Add that to the frustration of Rand's wild antics pledging the Nu house and his psychotically obsessed roommate, and Aspen's freshman year is really shaping up to be everything she didn't imagine.

Ms. Hale writes a fun continuation to Aspen's story. Though Aspen seems almost too good to be true, her heart is in the right place and everything she does is done selflessly for others. I can only imagine what Aspen will end up being involved with in the future!

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Spring break in Las Vegas. What could be better?

Aspen and her boyfriend, Rand, along with their friends Angel and Lucas, are off to Sin City for some well-deserved R&R. Trouble seems to find Aspen, and after her crazy first semester at college, soaking up rays by the pool is exactly what her hot boyfriend Rand ordered.

But fans of Stephanie Hale's novice detective can anticipate that spring break isn't going to turn out the way it was planned.

It starts out with Angel getting overly jealous of Lucas. The group runs into one of Lucas's old friends (of course a girl), Emerson, from his 4-H days. Emerson is at the same hotel as the gang representing Illinois in the Miss Teen Queen Pageant. Aspen and Rand are able to divert that disaster, only to have Aspen come down with food poisoning at a cheap seafood buffet.

When Aspen has to bow out of their planned trip to the Hoover Dam, she stumbles upon the news that Emerson has gone missing and the pageant can't go on if there aren't representatives from all the states. Well, Aspen gets the clever idea to become the new Illinois entry with the assistance of Emerson's mom. They decide that the best way to discover why Emerson has gone missing is to get behind the scenes.

Aspen is positive that the cop on the case, Detective Grant, is incompetent. And Aspen's intuition leads her to believe that the pageant mistress is somehow behind Emerson's disappearance. So Aspen goes undercover, befriending the other contestants to solve Emerson's departure.

Through rough patches with her friends, and crazy encounters on the pageant scene, Ms. Hale creates a fun, spontaneous spring break for Aspen and her friends. If you can suspend your belief that any of this could happen the way it's been written, you will find yourself enjoying every bit of the ride.

Only Aspen could land herself in such a crazy situation on her vacation!

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Debut author Stephanie Hale has written a fabulously quirky and fun tale of homecoming courts, devilish popularity plots, and down-and-out fun.

Meet Aspen Brooks. The girl you love to hate; or, possibly, might hate to love. She has it all - popular, hottie boyfriend, fashionable clothing, a car. (Note to readers: How can you not love/hate a beautiful teen girl with a car??)

Only there's one small, teeny-tiny problem. The Homecoming crown (fine, tiara, what's the difference?) is not sitting on her pretty blonde head. No, instead that glorious moment of uber-popularity went to Angel Ives. Angel. Ives. Obnoxious cheerleader, vengeful rival. And, oh horror of even greater horrors, the Homecoming King is none other than Rand Bachrach. Can anyone spell g-e-e-k?

Aspen is horrified, but she's also in shock. Really, how could she not be Homecoming Queen? This has only been her dream - her goal! - since she was in kindergarten! What kind of conspiracy is behind setting up a nasty girl like Angel with a dork like Rand as the rulers of the Homecoming court?

She's not sure, but she does know that something isn't right. First of all, a lot of really weird things are happening around school, and they don't all have something to do with the Homecoming debacle. And, wonder of wonders, Rand might not actually be the weirdo dweeb Aspen originally suspected. As Aspen puts on her Nancy Drew detective costume (which is so last year, by the way) and ropes Rand in as her assistant, the two are determined to find out just what exactly is behind all the nefarious goings-on at Comfort High.

Ms. Hale has penned a laugh-out-loud, catty winner with REVENGE OF THE HOMECOMING QUEEN. Part frou-frou couture mixed with amateur sleuthing, this book is one guilty pleasure that you won't mind indulging in.

Aspen Brooks is back and once again in trouble. In the third book in the Aspen Brooks series Aspen and her boyfriend Rand head off to Las Vegas for spring break with their friends Angel and Lucas and the trip seems doomed from the start.

Aspen's luck just seems horrible. First, Angel gets plane sick and throws up all over Aspen. If that wasn't bad enough, the airline then loses her luggage which means no clean clothes. After that things just spiral downhill.

On their first night in Vegas, Angel gets overly jealous of Lucas' old friend, Emerson, who just happens to be in the Miss Teen Queen Pageant that is being hosted at their hotel. Aspen and Rand manage to get Angel and Lucas out of that disaster but Aspen gets food poisoning from the buffet they went to later. Things couldn't seem to be any worse but then Emerson goes missing.

As luck would have it, Emerson was representing Illinois, the same state that Aspen is from. Aspen decides that the only way to find out what happened to Emerson is by taking her place in the Miss Teen Queen Pageant with the help of Emerson's mom, Mona. As Aspen starts digging, she becomes absolutely positive that Emerson didn't just walk away for no reason. The only problem is, she has no proof and the police are not exactly willing to help. So, with the help of her old friends and some new ones, Aspen goes undercover to solve the case.

Once again Stephanie Hale has created a wonderful story full of romance, comedy, and, of course, some mystery. I was a little skeptical at first but once I got into the book I couldn't put it down. If you are looking for a quick, fun read this is the book for you. Also, if you are looking for more Aspen, her first two books are, Revenge of the Homecoming Queen and Twisted Sisters.

Aspen is looking forward to a nice spring break spent with her boyfriend, Rand, and two of her best friends, Lucas and Angel. However, it starts out badly the minute Aspen finds out that the airport lost her sparkly purple suitcase. Things only get worse though. Aspen wakes up the next morning to a nasty case of food poisoning (probably from all of the crab she ate the night before). During her day along, Aspen finds out about how the Illinois pageant contestant goes missing, and finding her inner Nancy Drew, sets of to solve the mystery. Aspen decides to enter the contest to help with the mystery and soon finds out how hard being in a pageant really is. Who new? And to top it all of, Angel decides that Lucas should commit himself to her forever and they breakup. Will Apsen and Rand be able to solve the mystery, be in the pageant, and get Angel and Lucas back together? Find out by reading "Spring Breakup" by Stephanie Hale!

I really enjoyed reading this book! It was fun, quirky, and makes a great read. At times the story may not have been very realistic, but Stephanie made it work. I think that its fun to read about things that might not really happen in the real world! Stephanie's writing style is really fun and easy to read and her four main characters are well developed. I thought that Rand made a really good boyfriend and it was nice how perfect Rand and Aspen where for each other. Overall, I really liked this book and hope that you do to! I will be sure to read more of Stephanie Hales young adult books!

Aspen Brooks is headed off to college and she just know it's going to be fabulous! Then as she's leaving she learns about a girl in the Zeta sorority who disappeared and Aspen know she has to get to the bottom of it. She pledges the sorority and vows to find Mitzi. But a lot of things aren't what they seem at Zeta. Has Aspen gotten in over her head?

Okay, I get that it's tongue-in-cheek, but I found Aspen to be pretty obnoxious most of the time and I never really bought her motivation for solving the mystery. A better novel about a sorority gone terribly awry is Hell Week by Rosemary Clement-Moore.