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3.51 AVERAGE
3.51 AVERAGE
Helen and Lauren have always been best friends. Now Helen and Lauren are at the end of 8th grade. Helen is a bit frightened of what’s to come whereas Lauren is ready to grab popularity by the horns, no matter what the cost. When Lauren and Helen witness an extreme senior prank while at the school for freshman orientation and the news leaks out who was responsible, all fingers point to Helen as the snitch. In reality, Helen said nothing about what she saw but no one will believe her, except Lauren who actually tattled to the principle and started the rumors of Helen’s apparent confession. Fortunately, Helen doesn’t have to deal with the abuse for long. Helen’s parents inform her they are all moving to New York. Now Helen gets her shot of a fresh start in high school.
Three years later, things are fairly uneventful at Helen’s New York high school. She’s finally a senior, which is fabulous. Then her parents tell her the worst news they could ever come up with. Helen has to move back to her old town to live with her grandmother and finish school while her parents move upstate to conduct research. At first Helen refuses to go. After a bit of thinking, she decides she really wouldn’t mind going back because then she could finally get even with Lauren. Helen decides to change her name and get in close with Lauren and her friends and do anything she can to ruin Lauren’s life, including causing Lauren and her boy-friend to break-up, ruin her clothes, and turn her friends against her. At first, Helen thinks she is feeling vindicated. Soon, with the help of two outcasts, Helen learns that maybe revenge is not the answer after all.
Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is what The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas would be if it took place in the present day with high school girls. The girls prove to be just as spiteful and cruel as the characters in Dumas’ classic tale. There are few redeeming qualities found in the main characters, but the lesson is hammered home by the end of the story. High school proves to be a dangerous game.
I gave it such a low rating because a was mostly disturbed by Helen's actions when she moves back. She did so many terrible things, but I don't think that her self-realization at the end is enough to make her a likable character. I don't mind reading books without likable characters, but Helen just kind of rubbed me the wrong way.
Three years later, things are fairly uneventful at Helen’s New York high school. She’s finally a senior, which is fabulous. Then her parents tell her the worst news they could ever come up with. Helen has to move back to her old town to live with her grandmother and finish school while her parents move upstate to conduct research. At first Helen refuses to go. After a bit of thinking, she decides she really wouldn’t mind going back because then she could finally get even with Lauren. Helen decides to change her name and get in close with Lauren and her friends and do anything she can to ruin Lauren’s life, including causing Lauren and her boy-friend to break-up, ruin her clothes, and turn her friends against her. At first, Helen thinks she is feeling vindicated. Soon, with the help of two outcasts, Helen learns that maybe revenge is not the answer after all.
Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is what The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas would be if it took place in the present day with high school girls. The girls prove to be just as spiteful and cruel as the characters in Dumas’ classic tale. There are few redeeming qualities found in the main characters, but the lesson is hammered home by the end of the story. High school proves to be a dangerous game.
I gave it such a low rating because a was mostly disturbed by Helen's actions when she moves back. She did so many terrible things, but I don't think that her self-realization at the end is enough to make her a likable character. I don't mind reading books without likable characters, but Helen just kind of rubbed me the wrong way.
Somewhat typical story about a girl seeking vengeance upon an ex-best friend who threw her under the bus for popularity. However, there is something that I like about a book with the cover art being a girl with a knife in her back. This book was a quick read; it was funny at parts, but brutally predictable at others. Overall, I probably wouldn't read it again, but it wasn't too bad.
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!
From 8th grade until 12th grade, can a person change in looks as to be unrecognizable to her former best friend?
Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is a teen drama full of betrayal and revenge. When your best friend of 14 years ruins your life and you are forced to move town and schools, what do you do? You get your own back of course, you destroy everything they care about. And that is what Helen is going to do. But while taking everything that means anything to Lauren away, Helen soon learns that revenge isn't always sweet.
"The truth isn't important. What matters is what people think is the truth"
A coming of age story about friendship, identity, love and betrayal. Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is sure to keep you entertained.
"The truth isn't important. What matters is what people think is the truth"
A coming of age story about friendship, identity, love and betrayal. Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is sure to keep you entertained.
Totally loved this book. I think Eileen Cook is an awesome writer and I've enjoyed all her books so far. :)
The plot was hilarious - there were so many laugh-out-loud moments and some of the schemes that Helen plotted against Lauren were pure geniuses. Well, there were some parts that seemed ridiculous and over-the-top but they were still amusing in nature.
Helen was an awesome main character. She had lots of spunk and guts to go ahead and exact her revenge against Lauren. Thinking about it is one thing but actually doing it? That takes a lot of courage and audacity. I actually respected her for it.
Lauren was also the perfect antagonist. At first, you have all these negative vibes from her and she's totally bitchy to her friends as well as those who aren't. So you understand why Helen feels that her revenge is justified especially after the way she was treated by her so-called best friend. However, at the end, you can't help by sympathize with her and understand why she did what she did to Helen.
The one thing I liked was how both characters grew up and matured at the end. They both came to understanding with each other and even though the friendship won't ever be the same, at least, it has some sort of closure. I thought that was pretty meaningful.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood and I will most likely read another Eileen Cook's book. :)
The plot was hilarious - there were so many laugh-out-loud moments and some of the schemes that Helen plotted against Lauren were pure geniuses. Well, there were some parts that seemed ridiculous and over-the-top but they were still amusing in nature.
Helen was an awesome main character. She had lots of spunk and guts to go ahead and exact her revenge against Lauren. Thinking about it is one thing but actually doing it? That takes a lot of courage and audacity. I actually respected her for it.
Lauren was also the perfect antagonist. At first, you have all these negative vibes from her and she's totally bitchy to her friends as well as those who aren't. So you understand why Helen feels that her revenge is justified especially after the way she was treated by her so-called best friend. However, at the end, you can't help by sympathize with her and understand why she did what she did to Helen.
The one thing I liked was how both characters grew up and matured at the end. They both came to understanding with each other and even though the friendship won't ever be the same, at least, it has some sort of closure. I thought that was pretty meaningful.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood and I will most likely read another Eileen Cook's book. :)
Helen and Lauren were best friends since birth. Sure, Lauren was a high-maintenance friend, but Helen thinks it's worth it. Until Lauren sells her out for popularity. (And when I say "sells her out," I mean "betrays her and ruins her life.") It's so bad that Helen's family moves to another state. Flash forward several years. Helen's lost a ton of weight and is now pretty and semi-popular at her New York school. And then her parents drop the bombshell: they have a great job opportunity which means that Helen's heading back to her old school. And Lauren.
Helen's like, "What? NO!" but then she gets a wonderful/awful idea. She is going to take down Lauren Wood. She writes a list of everything that's important to Lauren (popularity, boyfriend, drama club lead) and sets out to take away all the things. She goes by Claire (her middle name) and all goes according to plan...until she meets this guy, Christopher and makes a real friend (Brenda). Is her plan really worth risking the good things in her life?
This book is an updated version of The Count of Monte Cristo (which I still haven't read) but it also works as a retelling of Mean Girls. It's not exactly a secret that girls are completely awful to each other in middle and high school, and this book is a perfect example of the way that girls are cruel. I think it's probably so much easier to be a guy. You have a problem with someone, you punch them in the face and it's done. With girls, you're nice to each other on the surface, but you make little joking comments that are just a little bit too cutting to be legitimately teasing, or you bash someone whenever they aren't around.
But this book isn't a sociological story of the way that teenage girls deal with their problems. It's incredibly fun (and funny) and it's hard not to root for Helen-as-Claire, even as you know that she's getting farther and farther away from the person she should be.
I'm hoping to read her other novels (What Would Emma Do, Unraveling Isobel and Unpredictable) next year. The two I've read so far are completely delightful.
Recommended.
Helen's like, "What? NO!" but then she gets a wonderful/awful idea. She is going to take down Lauren Wood. She writes a list of everything that's important to Lauren (popularity, boyfriend, drama club lead) and sets out to take away all the things. She goes by Claire (her middle name) and all goes according to plan...until she meets this guy, Christopher and makes a real friend (Brenda). Is her plan really worth risking the good things in her life?
This book is an updated version of The Count of Monte Cristo (which I still haven't read) but it also works as a retelling of Mean Girls. It's not exactly a secret that girls are completely awful to each other in middle and high school, and this book is a perfect example of the way that girls are cruel. I think it's probably so much easier to be a guy. You have a problem with someone, you punch them in the face and it's done. With girls, you're nice to each other on the surface, but you make little joking comments that are just a little bit too cutting to be legitimately teasing, or you bash someone whenever they aren't around.
But this book isn't a sociological story of the way that teenage girls deal with their problems. It's incredibly fun (and funny) and it's hard not to root for Helen-as-Claire, even as you know that she's getting farther and farther away from the person she should be.
I'm hoping to read her other novels (What Would Emma Do, Unraveling Isobel and Unpredictable) next year. The two I've read so far are completely delightful.
Recommended.
all I can think about while reading this is mean girls minus the burn book
In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls--and now, at the start of her senior year, she's the cheerleading captain, the quarterback's girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she's ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend. But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she's moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn't dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that's ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend. Watch out, Lauren Wood. Things are about to get bitchy.
The first thing I want to say about Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is that it's very, very similar to Mean Girls, in that someone who is allegedly a friend backstabs our main character, who then sets out on a revenge campaign. It's fun, it's frothy, and I absolutely whizzed through its 272 pages because despite it being similar to Mean Girls, it wasn't so similar that I was constantly comparing the two. Mean Girls is a fantastic movie and Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is a fantastic book that anyone who has ever felt the knife slide into their back, will be able to get to grips with, because who doesn't fantasize about what it would be like to get revenge on someone you hate? And to see it play out across the pages was thoroughly enjoyable as Helen is determined to make Lauren Wood pay for what she did three years previously.
The first thing that will strike you about the book - before the Mean Girls comparisons - is the striking cover. It has a bright yellow background, with a barbie doll (Lauren Wood) lying on grass with her eyes wide open with a knife sticking out of her back. It is incredibly eye-catching and is one of those book covers that captures the story perfectly. That is, mainly, why I picked the book up, because a cover that beautiful and that striking deserves to be read! I was entirely captivated by the story within and anybody who likes a good tale of backstabbing and rivalries set in a high school will undoubtedly love the book.
I thought all of the characters were well-thought out, Helen in particular is a fantastic character who knows exactly what she wants and will stop at nothing to destroy Lauren Wood. Not once did I ever question what Helen was doing, because I knew that what Lauren did was 100 times worse and everything that happened to her was fully deserved. So, as you can probably tell, I didn't like Lauren. She's the kind of girl you want to see fall, and fall hard, who will also stop at nothing to get what she wants, which is popularity and adoration from everyone in her school, not even being bothered about losing her best friend in the process. One of my favourite characters though was Brenda, who helps Helen (or Claire as she's known then) on her "first day" back at school after three years away. She was such a lovely character and I liked how her friendship with Helen developed. Finally, there is Christopher, a bit of a loner who Lauren sets her sights on but who Helen (as Claire) finds herself liking. He was another fab character. I thought Lauren's sidekicks, Bailey and Kyra were a bit stereo-typical but harmless with it.
Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is narrated entirely by Helen, which completely works with this kind of novel and I enjoyed listening to her thoughts and seeing what she was planning for Lauren next. I was a bit worried about how the book would end, but I found it satisfying enough an ending for me. It wasn't at all wishy-washy or any kind of cop-out and I was pleased with that. If you're looking for a quick and fun read about friendships, what it is to be a friend and high school back-stabbing, this is definitely the book for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to all contemporary YA fans!
The first thing I want to say about Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is that it's very, very similar to Mean Girls, in that someone who is allegedly a friend backstabs our main character, who then sets out on a revenge campaign. It's fun, it's frothy, and I absolutely whizzed through its 272 pages because despite it being similar to Mean Girls, it wasn't so similar that I was constantly comparing the two. Mean Girls is a fantastic movie and Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is a fantastic book that anyone who has ever felt the knife slide into their back, will be able to get to grips with, because who doesn't fantasize about what it would be like to get revenge on someone you hate? And to see it play out across the pages was thoroughly enjoyable as Helen is determined to make Lauren Wood pay for what she did three years previously.
The first thing that will strike you about the book - before the Mean Girls comparisons - is the striking cover. It has a bright yellow background, with a barbie doll (Lauren Wood) lying on grass with her eyes wide open with a knife sticking out of her back. It is incredibly eye-catching and is one of those book covers that captures the story perfectly. That is, mainly, why I picked the book up, because a cover that beautiful and that striking deserves to be read! I was entirely captivated by the story within and anybody who likes a good tale of backstabbing and rivalries set in a high school will undoubtedly love the book.
I thought all of the characters were well-thought out, Helen in particular is a fantastic character who knows exactly what she wants and will stop at nothing to destroy Lauren Wood. Not once did I ever question what Helen was doing, because I knew that what Lauren did was 100 times worse and everything that happened to her was fully deserved. So, as you can probably tell, I didn't like Lauren. She's the kind of girl you want to see fall, and fall hard, who will also stop at nothing to get what she wants, which is popularity and adoration from everyone in her school, not even being bothered about losing her best friend in the process. One of my favourite characters though was Brenda, who helps Helen (or Claire as she's known then) on her "first day" back at school after three years away. She was such a lovely character and I liked how her friendship with Helen developed. Finally, there is Christopher, a bit of a loner who Lauren sets her sights on but who Helen (as Claire) finds herself liking. He was another fab character. I thought Lauren's sidekicks, Bailey and Kyra were a bit stereo-typical but harmless with it.
Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is narrated entirely by Helen, which completely works with this kind of novel and I enjoyed listening to her thoughts and seeing what she was planning for Lauren next. I was a bit worried about how the book would end, but I found it satisfying enough an ending for me. It wasn't at all wishy-washy or any kind of cop-out and I was pleased with that. If you're looking for a quick and fun read about friendships, what it is to be a friend and high school back-stabbing, this is definitely the book for you. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to all contemporary YA fans!
3.5 stars.. a fast read, it was a bit childish and the romance was rushed but overall pretty okay.