Adrienne Maria Vrettos

I thought The Exile of Gigi Lane would be a cute, fun read. It was, but it was also so much more.

We experience Gigi's popularity downfall in a rigid social hierarchy that is more clearly defined than the structure of most large companies. It's hard to like Gigi, as she is completely delusional in the way she believes others view her. Her delusions make it all the more meaningful when reality begins to set in. Self-esteem is necessary to a healthy life, but in realistic proportions. Gigi's manta - "I'm Gigi Lane and you wish you were me." - speaks volumes of her opinion of herself and others.

Teen girls live in a volatile bubble where flippant an offhanded remark by one can alter another's life monumentally. The Exile of Gigi Lane is an exaggerated inside look at this bubble. We see how mean girl bullying can take on a life of its own, while also leading a person to learn what's truly important in life. Gigi is hugely hurtful to others under the guise of helping. She seems to truly believe that making mean comments is the appropriate way to teach someone how to change their life for the better. The most shocking part of the novel is that I really did sympathize for her once she got her priorities straight.

The Exile of Gigi Lane contained a bit of mystery and a twist ending I never saw coming. This book is extremely fun with some real life lessons to be discovered. The school itself was unrealistic in my mind, but the story itself was truly engaging. The Exile of Gigi Lane is deliciously evil, very funny and surprisingly touching.… (mehr)

I can sum this book up in one word: ridiculous. But strangely, I enjoyed it all the same.

Gigi Lane, our narrator, is an over-the-top caricature of herself. She is the mean girl. The top-dog. The future prom queen. I'm sure you know the type, if not from real life experience, then from pretty much every teen movie ever made.

Anyway, the book starts off at the end of her junior year at Swan's Lake- an all-girl private school run by the beautiful, powerful Hot Spot. The Hot Spot is a trio of flawless, uber-popular seniors which make sure the schools stays in order. They assign the first years tasks (such as cleaning window, vacuuming, etc.), they keep the cliques in line (the Cheerleaders, the Glossies, the Vox Foxes, etc.), have a mysterious Den of Secrecy, and are part of The Network- powerful connections that will have you set for life. Sounds awesome, right? Gigi, who is next in line for the Head Hottie throne, is super excited for her senior year. But as you can imagine, and correctly assume from the title and premise, things go wrong.

I loved this book, though I didn't start out that way. By Chapter Three, I was convinced this was the most unrealistic bag of BS I've ever read. Had the writer ever been to high school in the least? I wanted to stab the very unlikable Gigi with a fork. Then Gigi came back from Alaska (read the book and find out), and a light shined down from the heavens as I finally understood what this book was. It was supposed to be over-the-top bullshit. It was sattire! Ohhhh

After that, the book was a whole lot more enjoyable as I laughed at Gigi's bizarre antics and the absurd plot. Even though it was sort of predictable in the beginning, some of the twists at the end genuinely surpised me. And Gigi changed for the better.....sort of.

So overall, I don't know. This will either be a hit-or-miss for some people. You'll either appreciate the humore, or give up on Gigi from the start. Most of the negative reviews on here complain about Gigi being "unrelatable", to that I say well, duh.… (mehr)