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A review by stranger_reader
All-American Girl by Meg Cabot
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I read this book in middle school once and then forgot about it. Then one day I remembered parts of it and was like, “huh, I wonder what it’s actually like.” And so I read it and here are present me’s thoughts. And just so you know, I don’t remember what past me thought of this book. I only remembered a few scenes before rereading it.
The characters: I thought the characters were fine. I liked Sam. Did she have a serious case of I’m-not-like-other-girls syndrome and was kind of pretentious? Yes. But I also understood where she came from, as it was quickly established how everyone around thought she was weird.I didn’t think it was realistic but I just wanted to have a good time. So I rolled with it. She also grows out of her pretentious mold, so while her mindset hasn’t aged that well, Sam was a decent protagonist. Everyone else was kind of boring and forgettable to be honest.
Plot/Pacing: This book wastes no time. Every chapter there is something going on and this book keeps you sucked in. It’s also pretty funny, although I feel like some scenes that weren’t intended to be funny were funny to me. Still I read this all in one day. That’s impressive for me since I’m a really slow reader.
Writing: The only thing I really like about the writing is that Sam has a distinct voice that makes it sounds like a teenager is relaying the story to you. However the author kept using way too many ellipses—those long dashes in sentences—throughout the book. It got really noticeable after a while, and confusing. Another thing I couldn’t help but notice was how Sam would have like a line of narration that used a little bit of figurative language, and the next sentence would be, “or something,” or “you know what I mean.” Something like that.I’m clearly not any better. It got really annoying because most of the time the sentence actually made complete sense and so I didn’t understand why Sam was second guessing herself.
Well, that’s all I have to say about it. Overall I don’t regret it. It was a nice quick read. But I don’t think it’s going to stick in my head for long. I don’t know how I even remembered reading this book back in middle school.
The characters: I thought the characters were fine. I liked Sam. Did she have a serious case of I’m-not-like-other-girls syndrome and was kind of pretentious? Yes. But I also understood where she came from, as it was quickly established how everyone around thought she was weird.
Plot/Pacing: This book wastes no time. Every chapter there is something going on and this book keeps you sucked in. It’s also pretty funny, although I feel like some scenes that weren’t intended to be funny were funny to me. Still I read this all in one day. That’s impressive for me since I’m a really slow reader.
Writing: The only thing I really like about the writing is that Sam has a distinct voice that makes it sounds like a teenager is relaying the story to you. However the author kept using way too many ellipses—those long dashes in sentences—throughout the book. It got really noticeable after a while, and confusing. Another thing I couldn’t help but notice was how Sam would have like a line of narration that used a little bit of figurative language, and the next sentence would be, “or something,” or “you know what I mean.” Something like that.
Well, that’s all I have to say about it. Overall I don’t regret it. It was a nice quick read. But I don’t think it’s going to stick in my head for long. I don’t know how I even remembered reading this book back in middle school.
Content Warnings
Minor: Gun violence
In chapter 23, the R slur is used in a character’s dialogue. It’s also used in a shortened version at the beginning in dialogue by the same character.