A review by stephxsu
Airhead by Meg Cabot

3.0

When I read AIRHEAD, I remembered in full force the strength of Meg Cabot’s writing. She is able to take even the most ludicrous or most overused scenarios and make them fun and interesting. AIRHEAD has Meg’s usual charm and humor, though it is not really a standout novel of hers.

Emerson is a great protagonist, earnestly devoted to her video games without overdoing her “outsider status” among her classmates. Nikki is a surprisingly deep and conflicted character—not just your average bitchily perfect “queen.” The plethora of supporting characters are just the slightest bit two-dimensional, but they all have distinct personalities, and all have their good and bad parts, which makes me content to look forward to what else they will do in the sequels.

The plot stalls for most of the book as Em slowly pieces together what happened to her. Indeed, the pace is so slow as to be very nearly infuriating. AIRHEAD seemed like a huge introduction for the rest of the series: nothing in terms of conflict and resolution occurs. It’s difficult to appreciate this as a stand-alone novel. Luckily, the second book in the series, BEING NIKKI, is out already, and the third, RUNAWAY, is coming out in Spring 2010. I am admittedly still curious to find out what happens to Em inside Nikki’s body, so I will probably continue reading the series to find out. After all, it’s Meg Cabot, and her books are like candy: some are better than others, but you just can’t stop eating any of them!