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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
3.5/5
In eighth grade, Helen is betrayed and humiliated by her best friend, Lauren Wood, in front of the whole school, in order for Lauren to gain popularity. Helen is left lonely and hated, and is relieved when her parents announce that they will be moving that very summer. Four years later, right before senior year, Helen is forced to move back to her old town, which she is dreading, until she hatches a plan to formulate a new name, identity, and look in order to, of course, get revenge on Lauren Wood, for ruining her life all those years ago. Lauren is the most popular girl in school now, and Helen is adamant about taking her down, under the guise of the “new girl” Claire.
I thought this was a fun, fast read, very reminiscent of the film, “Mean Girls.” Very realistic in the sense of cattiness, cliques, backstabbing, etc. I felt like I was watching some of the girls from my high school days all over again. Oy – I am so glad to be done with that nonsense – but it’s still fun to read it about it once in a while! Now, I’ve got to say, I really did not like Helen! I felt for her, I really did. It was not cool at all what Lauren did to her, but she took it too far and was way too obsessive and kind of whack! I didn’t like Lauren either. Her two catty friends were the most tolerable between her and Helen. They also reminded me of the sidekicks in “Mean Girls.” All in all, this was a fun read but without a whole lot of substance.
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
In eighth grade, Helen is betrayed and humiliated by her best friend, Lauren Wood, in front of the whole school, in order for Lauren to gain popularity. Helen is left lonely and hated, and is relieved when her parents announce that they will be moving that very summer. Four years later, right before senior year, Helen is forced to move back to her old town, which she is dreading, until she hatches a plan to formulate a new name, identity, and look in order to, of course, get revenge on Lauren Wood, for ruining her life all those years ago. Lauren is the most popular girl in school now, and Helen is adamant about taking her down, under the guise of the “new girl” Claire.
I thought this was a fun, fast read, very reminiscent of the film, “Mean Girls.” Very realistic in the sense of cattiness, cliques, backstabbing, etc. I felt like I was watching some of the girls from my high school days all over again. Oy – I am so glad to be done with that nonsense – but it’s still fun to read it about it once in a while! Now, I’ve got to say, I really did not like Helen! I felt for her, I really did. It was not cool at all what Lauren did to her, but she took it too far and was way too obsessive and kind of whack! I didn’t like Lauren either. Her two catty friends were the most tolerable between her and Helen. They also reminded me of the sidekicks in “Mean Girls.” All in all, this was a fun read but without a whole lot of substance.
Note: I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book was a fun, light-hearted read. It definitely had a lot of Mean Girls vibes throughout - unpopular girl pretends to be popular to humiliate the It Girl, hijinks ensue, unpopular girl turns into the kind of girls she supposedly hates. Watching Helen get her revenge was a lot of fun, the way she went about it was ingenious and clever! I just wished we got to see even more pranks! I liked how the narrative wasn't portrayed as being just black and white. Helen has to deal with a lot of conflicting emotions on whether or not what she's doing to Lauren is right.
One complaint would be that it did feel very similar to Mean Girls, almost too much so. In addition, I really wanted to see more "revenge" and more of Helen/Claire becoming popular. We never saw the process of Helen becoming popular - on the first day she sits with the new kids and that's about it. In later chapters Helen tells the audience that everyone in school likes her now and tries to copy her style but as readers, we never see this happen.
To sum it up, this story isn't anything new, but I had a lot of fun with it. If you're in the mood for some light-hearted high school drama, this is probably a good pick!
One complaint would be that it did feel very similar to Mean Girls, almost too much so. In addition, I really wanted to see more "revenge" and more of Helen/Claire becoming popular. We never saw the process of Helen becoming popular - on the first day she sits with the new kids and that's about it. In later chapters Helen tells the audience that everyone in school likes her now and tries to copy her style but as readers, we never see this happen.
To sum it up, this story isn't anything new, but I had a lot of fun with it. If you're in the mood for some light-hearted high school drama, this is probably a good pick!
Having have had a best friend exactly like this and being made fun of, this book hit close to home. And I'm just as petty as person as Helen, but my ex BFF didn't do anything nearly as bad as Lauren, so no revenge for me. The best revenge is to move on.
P.S.: The love interest wasn't that bad. Thumbs up.
P.S.: The love interest wasn't that bad. Thumbs up.
A cute, quick read. Helen's former BFF, Lauren, made her the most hated girl in school right as they began their freshman year of HS. Helen ends up moving but always thinks about getting Lauren back. She ends back in her hometown, just in time for her senior year of HS and is determined to make Lauren pay. She looks completely different and has enrolled under a different name to have a fresh start and to catch Lauren totally off-guard.
Cook does a great job capturing all the feelings associated with HS - the daily dramas, the rigid caste-like social hierarchy, and desire to fit in. I liked the character of Claire/Helen and think the plot had a good pace. This would be a great read for vacation.
Cook does a great job capturing all the feelings associated with HS - the daily dramas, the rigid caste-like social hierarchy, and desire to fit in. I liked the character of Claire/Helen and think the plot had a good pace. This would be a great read for vacation.
This was a weird one, guys. There were some great things about it, but ultimately, its downfalls prevented me from rating this one any higher.
I love a crazy heroine, I really do. And any girl who, after three years of separation, is still so focused on revenge is obviously not right in the head. I don’t necessarily need to like the protagonist to enjoy a book, but Helen aka Claire of Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is just too unlikable to handle. It’s obvious from the synopsis alone that we know Helen is obsessed with getting back a Lauren, but I was disappointed when that was all there was too her. I was hoping for some underlying mental condition or psychosis to really drive this one over the edge, but instead I got a too-pretty ending that was rushed and seemed unnatural.
Helen is crazy. She has spent the past four years plotting her revenge on Lauren, her ex-best-friend who completely betrayed her just before the start of high school. So when she is given the change to exact that revenge she snatches it up. She changes her name, and after an accident, even had some cosmetic surgery done, and when she arrives at her old neighborhood no one recognizes her. From there she systematically destroys Lauren’s life, taking away her boyfriend, her friends, her appearance, her spot in the school play, and her status as cheerleader. It’s hard to like Helen, someone who would go to such lengths to make another person miserable, and in fact, I didn’t like her at all. She has her funny moments, but there is nothing inside her except for Lauren Wood. There is nothing more to her except a vague interest in art and old movies. I was wholly unable to connect with her.
That lack of connection could have been made up for if the plot had delivered. The story of obsession and stalking and vengeance could easily have been darker. Instead there was a semi-HEA ending. I wish that Helen had gone the other way into true psycho territory. Unfortunately the author didn’t go there.
This read was very much like Mean Girls, except Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood wasn’t quite as funny, but was definitely more preachy towards the end. I get the idea that revenge doesn’t really help (though I have to say that, like Kara, I’m sure that’s exactly true.) The side characters, Helen’s friend Brenda, and love interest Chris, were actually quite interesting. And even the popular girls, especially Bailey, were nice to read about. Sadly, as much as I love the last book I read by Eileen Cook, Unraveling Isobel, I just wasn’t wowed by this one. I can say, though, that it was a quick read, and definitely a bit entertaining and cringe-worthy at times.
I love a crazy heroine, I really do. And any girl who, after three years of separation, is still so focused on revenge is obviously not right in the head. I don’t necessarily need to like the protagonist to enjoy a book, but Helen aka Claire of Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is just too unlikable to handle. It’s obvious from the synopsis alone that we know Helen is obsessed with getting back a Lauren, but I was disappointed when that was all there was too her. I was hoping for some underlying mental condition or psychosis to really drive this one over the edge, but instead I got a too-pretty ending that was rushed and seemed unnatural.
Helen is crazy. She has spent the past four years plotting her revenge on Lauren, her ex-best-friend who completely betrayed her just before the start of high school. So when she is given the change to exact that revenge she snatches it up. She changes her name, and after an accident, even had some cosmetic surgery done, and when she arrives at her old neighborhood no one recognizes her. From there she systematically destroys Lauren’s life, taking away her boyfriend, her friends, her appearance, her spot in the school play, and her status as cheerleader. It’s hard to like Helen, someone who would go to such lengths to make another person miserable, and in fact, I didn’t like her at all. She has her funny moments, but there is nothing inside her except for Lauren Wood. There is nothing more to her except a vague interest in art and old movies. I was wholly unable to connect with her.
That lack of connection could have been made up for if the plot had delivered. The story of obsession and stalking and vengeance could easily have been darker. Instead there was a semi-HEA ending. I wish that Helen had gone the other way into true psycho territory. Unfortunately the author didn’t go there.
This read was very much like Mean Girls, except Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood wasn’t quite as funny, but was definitely more preachy towards the end. I get the idea that revenge doesn’t really help (though I have to say that, like Kara, I’m sure that’s exactly true.) The side characters, Helen’s friend Brenda, and love interest Chris, were actually quite interesting. And even the popular girls, especially Bailey, were nice to read about. Sadly, as much as I love the last book I read by Eileen Cook, Unraveling Isobel, I just wasn’t wowed by this one. I can say, though, that it was a quick read, and definitely a bit entertaining and cringe-worthy at times.
Well I’m kind of disappointed with the ending but the rest of the book was good
I would've given this book 5 stars, but the ending felt so inconclusive. I wanted to know what happened at school after her story had been published!
With high school looming on the horizon, Helen wasn't worried. She has her best friend Lauren and that's all she needs. Lauren had other plans. She wants to be popular so if that means dumping her best friend and spreading terrible lies, so be it. But for Helen it revenge!
I really loved this book! I try not to start off my reviews by saying that but I had to! It was a witty and intelligent tale of what revenge and popularity can do to people. It was also scandalous but still had a great message in the end.
Lauren was definitely one of those girls. You know, we all had one in high school. The one girl that just makes life a living hell for you. There's a little of Helen in all of us I think. The only difference is Helen goes out and gets her revenge. She doesn't just sit around and think about it. If you are not sure about reading this book, then read it just for the revenge tactics that Helen uses. They are genius! I would have never thought of them in a million years but they would work perfectly on any mean girl.
Overall this was a fun quick read that I recommend to everyone that didn't like high school. I will definitely be reading more by Eileen Cook.
http://www.pureimaginationblog.com/
I really loved this book! I try not to start off my reviews by saying that but I had to! It was a witty and intelligent tale of what revenge and popularity can do to people. It was also scandalous but still had a great message in the end.
Lauren was definitely one of those girls. You know, we all had one in high school. The one girl that just makes life a living hell for you. There's a little of Helen in all of us I think. The only difference is Helen goes out and gets her revenge. She doesn't just sit around and think about it. If you are not sure about reading this book, then read it just for the revenge tactics that Helen uses. They are genius! I would have never thought of them in a million years but they would work perfectly on any mean girl.
Overall this was a fun quick read that I recommend to everyone that didn't like high school. I will definitely be reading more by Eileen Cook.
http://www.pureimaginationblog.com/