This was a good book, but the ending was very unsatisfying and I feel like the author could’ve wrapped it up better in the end ( )

I enjoyed this book very much, however I felt like there was a ton of build up to the central conflict of the homecoming dance, and it ended very abruptly without a lot of resolution to the many story lines. ( )

This years list is up!! The prettiest and ugliest from each grade has been announced, just as it is every year...
This year the "lucky" 8 who are center of attention all have different reactions to the list. And the book follows all 8 girls over the week after the list is put up:
Pretties-
Abby, is over-joyed to be named prettiest freshman, too bad she is failing science and has a brainiac sister who makes everything that much harder for her.
Bridget, starts feeling the pressure as soon as she sees her name in print... she's been starving herself all summer, and she knows the list has just validated the fact that she was doing the right thing.
Lauren, the new girl. Home schooled, sheltered Lauren has no clue what this list is or means, but she's unexpectedly happy with all the attention she starts getting.
Margo, she's happy that she's going to be homecoming queen, but she doesn't like the attention Jennifer's (the only 4-peat ugly in school history) been getting.
Uglies-
Danielle, student athlete with a newish boyfriend. Completely blindsided by the list, and it immediately starts affecting her relationship with her football player boyfriend.
Candace, she knows she's pretty god-damn it!! So why would she be named ugliest sophomore? Oh yeah, maybe it's because she's a bitch!
Sarah, social outcast and likes it that way (or so she says). After seeing the list she takes a vow to be as ugly and dirty as possible (umm not changing her underwear....ewww!!!)
Jennifer, the only 4-time list maker, and she's proud of it... I mean what else is she gonna do? When Margo's friends start inviting her along with them and actually campaigning to get her elected homecoming queen, it's like a dream come true for her... maybe she can finally be the pretty girl for one night... but then Margo steps in and the whole thing blows up.

This book was definitely one of the ones I've most looked forward to this year... and I wish it would've lived up to the hype, but it kind of didn't. I liked the premise and all of the girls stories were pretty great, but the ending... the ending killed me!! What happened to half of them?? how can you just leave a girl with an eating disorder with no conclusion?? What happened with Jennifer and Margo?? and did Lauren really have to be home schooled by her horrible mother? There was too much left up in the air for me.

The other thing I wasn't crazy about was the tense it was written in. Abby looks down at her shoes... Margo walks across the room.... I guess when you are writing from 8 different POV's it's probably easier to do it that way, but it just didn't flow right for me. And maybe it's just me, but I didn't get the Margo/Jennifer thing. I wanted to feel bad for Jennifer, but the author wouldn't let me... somehow I ended up feeling sorry for the homecoming queen?? I don't know I think I just needed more closure btw those 2.

Overall I gave it a little bit of a higher rating than I wanted to because I feel I am being a little hard on the book based on me having too high of expectations going in to it.
P.S.-It reminded me of Slam Books... remember those things??

See all of my reviews plus more at my blog:
http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com/ ( )

This was an intriguing look into the lives of eight different girls at varying points of high school and the qualities and attributes that supposedly defined them.

Because there were eight girls, I didn't really get to know any of them in depth, and as such it was a bit hard to really get involved in this book as there was no particular one to draw me in and keep me going. I did enjoy getting perspectives from very different characters, however, and I thought the author did a great job at distinguishing them and keeping them from blending together.

Side characters such as the principal were a lot of fun to read about. In addition to the eight main girls, other characters had fascinating reactions to the drama and it was intriguing to see all the reactions from the excluded.

I enjoyed the concept and how an anonymously posted list could make certain girls be the center of attention. Though it was very high school, it was also a fascinating social experiment that shows the power of a certain dynamic.

This was a unique take on a high school popularity book and though I didn't become particularly invested in characters, I enjoyed reading it.
( )

“That's how inside jokes usually are. Funny to those inside, annoying as shit to the rest of the world.”
― Siobhan Vivian, The List

This is going to be a tough book to review. I say that because for most of the book I thought it was going to be five stars. I loved it..until the end. And if you have read this I am sure you will guess my complaint because I have read several reviews that all mention what I am going to mention.

So this book is from the POV of eight different High School girls. Every year, at this school a list comes out. The list contains eight names. The prettiest and the ugliest girl from each grade. That's it.

The book is about the impact of the list for each of those eight girls..the four voted prettiest and the four voted least pretty.

I adore realistic YA Fiction and for most of it, I enjoyed this book. The characters were real and fleshed out and I was amazed at how well the author got into the heads of these young girls.

You know, connecting to characters is pivotal in any book. And I admire the writer for taking us down the path of EIGHT different girls, each so distinctive that their voices were heard clearly and the reader could feel their angst and pain.

And unlike some, I had no issue with having so many POVS. I really didn't. One of my all time favorite YA books, Lois Duncan's "Daughters of Eve" has I believe TEN..or possibly more..POV'S. So what's eight? Works for me!

What did not work for me was the ending. And I am not one to take TWO points off for an ending. But it was such a let down to such an awesome book and the last book I read this year to complete my reading challenge. I was hoping for a five!

ENDING SPOILERS:

OK..I could have understood if one or two of the girls were not touched upon. But the book does not tell us about how things turn out for ANY of the girls! Now that is not my thing. I invested hours of my day reading this. And the end is so sudden I had to go back to make sure I had not missed something.

We do not know ANYTHING. It is like the book HAD no ending. You are just reading and it stops. Meanwhile all the characters you are invested in..I mean you find out NOTHING. You do not even find out what happens at this dance the whole book was leading up to. The book ends with about two percent of the book devoted to the dance.

I do not think these type of endings are hip or cool or thought provoking at all. Not when the books seems UNFINISHED. Unless this is a start of a new series and I don't know that, (in which case I will happily apologize and bump my rating up to a five) then I don't get it.I almost feel like..what was the point?

And I do feel cheated and now the whole book feels a bit manipulative. All that fighting..everyone is mad at someone. And such deep issues are explored. Can we, the reader, not know anything about how one thing in the book turns out? It maybe one of the oddest endings I've ever read. I am not kidding.

I also felt for Jennifer and could not stand Margo even though I felt at the end the writer was attempting to give her some soul. It did not work as she may have been my least favorite character. And she gets crowned Homecoming queen. That's it. None of the other seven girls, all in the midst of deep emotional issues, are even mentioned again. What gives?

What Jennifer did was pretty horrible but she was one hurting puppy and I got that. Margo on the other hand..I could not feel anything for her but contempt.

I LOVED Laura. I want Laura as a friend! In fact she reminds me of one of my closest friends. What a beautifully woven character!

So a three rating it is. I adored the book for ninety percent and that count for something. If you don't mind having literally no ending, you will most likely enjoy the book if you like YA. ( )