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stephxsu's review
2.0
Eighteen-year-old Ed Rochester thinks he has it all. He and his friends’ movie production, Riot Grrl 16, is doing well in MTV’s movie contest, and Ed thinks he has a good shot of winning and becoming the next Orson Welles. He is also a successful ladies’ man, something that he prides himself on but otherwise doesn’t give much thought to. His family is odd—his mother abandoned him, his dad, his stepdad, and his young half-brother for an acting role in Miami—but he doesn’t let that get him down.
Then he remeets Lucinda Dulko. Athletic, unknowingly sexy, and intimidatingly self-confident, Eddy is nearly overwhelmed by her. She’s not his usual delicate, needy, hookup type, but that doesn’t stop him from falling head over heels for her.
However, just when he thinks his life is perfect, everything falls apart. What will Ed do in the face of so much disappointment and feelings he’s never experienced before?
PLAY ME has nearly the same plot of Thu-Huong Ha’s HAIL CAESAR, about a player getting his heart broken, and the story, once again, doesn’t work for me. Maybe I’m a sucker for happy endings, but there are many moments in the novel that I didn’t feel were at all believable, and the first half of the book dragged. The book is chock full of movie references and easy-to-read narration, but I was left not caring for the characters, which is disappointing because I loved Laura Ruby’s first YA novel GOOD GIRLS so much. Perhaps I will enjoy future books of herselfs more. I certainly hope so.
Then he remeets Lucinda Dulko. Athletic, unknowingly sexy, and intimidatingly self-confident, Eddy is nearly overwhelmed by her. She’s not his usual delicate, needy, hookup type, but that doesn’t stop him from falling head over heels for her.
However, just when he thinks his life is perfect, everything falls apart. What will Ed do in the face of so much disappointment and feelings he’s never experienced before?
PLAY ME has nearly the same plot of Thu-Huong Ha’s HAIL CAESAR, about a player getting his heart broken, and the story, once again, doesn’t work for me. Maybe I’m a sucker for happy endings, but there are many moments in the novel that I didn’t feel were at all believable, and the first half of the book dragged. The book is chock full of movie references and easy-to-read narration, but I was left not caring for the characters, which is disappointing because I loved Laura Ruby’s first YA novel GOOD GIRLS so much. Perhaps I will enjoy future books of herselfs more. I certainly hope so.
kaitrosereads's review
2.0
I don't know that I have ever given a book a D before but this one, I hate to say, deserves it. I barely made it through this book and I only did because I hoped it would get better. It didn't.
Let's start with the characters. I didn't like any of them. They were impossible to sympathize with and pretty impossible to like. Eddy was a greedy cheating jerk. Lucinda was a bitch. Joe was a terrible friend. Rory was an idiot. Eddy's family was quirky but not in a fun way. His bird, Tippi Hedren, may have been the best character in the book.
The writing itself was juvenile. It made it seem like the book was written for a younger audience even though the characters were 18 and the book contains sex and alcohol. It was very contradictory.
The book also had no real conclusion. It just ended. It was a terrible way to end the book.
Overall, I don't recommend this book at all. Definitely give this one a pass. If you want to check out a better book by this author, go with Good Girls.
Let's start with the characters. I didn't like any of them. They were impossible to sympathize with and pretty impossible to like. Eddy was a greedy cheating jerk. Lucinda was a bitch. Joe was a terrible friend. Rory was an idiot. Eddy's family was quirky but not in a fun way. His bird, Tippi Hedren, may have been the best character in the book.
The writing itself was juvenile. It made it seem like the book was written for a younger audience even though the characters were 18 and the book contains sex and alcohol. It was very contradictory.
The book also had no real conclusion. It just ended. It was a terrible way to end the book.
Overall, I don't recommend this book at all. Definitely give this one a pass. If you want to check out a better book by this author, go with Good Girls.
mrs_george's review
2.0
Just not feelin this one. I feel like there wasn't much of a plot to it. Or maybe there was but it just wasn't developed very much? What piqued my interest was the line on the cover, "What happens when a player gets played?"...catchy & intriguing, right? But I totally don't get how he got "played". If that was "being played" then I went to high school with some seriously messed up kids because our "being played" was a lot more dramatic than that!
melhara's review against another edition
2.0
Play Me explores the mind of an 18 year-old teenager, Eddy Rochester. Eddy loves movies and is convinced that his online show Riot Grrl 16 will definitely win a spot on the MTV show, The Producers. While he hooks up with his star actress Gina and flirts with his groupies, he unexpectedly falls head over heels for the wonderfully perfect and talented tennis player, Lucinda Dulko.
I really enjoyed reading Play Me in Eddy's point of view. I think Ruby did a great job at portraying the mindset of an 18 year-old boy who thinks he has a shot at everything he's ever wanted - fame, fortune, and girls.
I found Eddy to be kind of geeky (I mean, I have guy friends who loves movies but being able to quote movie lines from every Hitchcock movie...?). I was also a bit disappointed that the story didn't revolve around the "player" side of him. The story mostly focused on Eddy's show, Riot Grrl 16 and his relationship with Lucinda Dulko, which is fine and all but a bit boring for the most part.
I really enjoyed reading Play Me in Eddy's point of view. I think Ruby did a great job at portraying the mindset of an 18 year-old boy who thinks he has a shot at everything he's ever wanted - fame, fortune, and girls.
I found Eddy to be kind of geeky (I mean, I have guy friends who loves movies but being able to quote movie lines from every Hitchcock movie...?). I was also a bit disappointed that the story didn't revolve around the "player" side of him. The story mostly focused on Eddy's show, Riot Grrl 16 and his relationship with Lucinda Dulko, which is fine and all but a bit boring for the most part.
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