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A review by andye_reads
The Julian Game by Adele Griffin
4.0
This review is based off of an ARC and could possibly change slightly in the final copy.
What first attracted me to this book was the cover! I mean, wow, awesome job! One of the best covers I've seen in awhile! When I started reading this book, I thought it was a remake of "John Tucker Must Die" and there are some similarities, but the book quickly took a turn and I thought it was really well done.
Raye wasn't the typical nerdy girl that let the popular girls run all over her. She wanted popularity and was willing to go pretty far to get what she wanted. Even if that meant changing her appearance and pretending to be someone she wasn't. Ella, the most popular girl in school, wanted to get back at her ex-boyfriend, Julian, for breaking her heart, so Raye came up with a plan to get back at him. She made a ficticious facebook account and "friended" Julian. As Raye gets to know Julian, however, she's not sure if she wants this game to continue, but Ella isn't ready to stop, and when Raye puts her foot down, Ella turns her venom on Raye instead. And Ella has a lot of venom.
What I liked about this book was that it really showed how putting yourself out there on Facebook etc. can come back to haunt you in a big way. It also spoke to bullying and how unyielding bullies can be when they fix on a target. I loved that Raye stayed strong with the girls, and that her friend, Natalya stood by her side even though it could've hurt her too. I also really liked Raye for the most part. I thought she was smart and funny, and I enjoyed all the IM chats between the characters.
What I didn't care for in the book was how pathetic Raye got around Julian. No matter what happened, she just melted around him and it drove me crazy. But, I know that happens to a lot of girls, and it's good that it brought up so much emotion in me. It shows that I actually cared about Raye and how she was treated (a sign of good writing). The other things I didn't care for were the descriptiveness of a physical relationship between two of the characters, and some of the language. The intense "make-out" scene was too much, in my opinion and it didn't seem right anyway. It seemed like an afterthought that was put in for shock value. And the language is just a personal preference. It wasn't too bad, it's just not something I care for.
Overall, I did really enjoy it and I finished it in a day, so it was a quick, fun, easy read that had my emotions running the gamut!
~Andye http://ReadingTeen.blogspot.com/
What first attracted me to this book was the cover! I mean, wow, awesome job! One of the best covers I've seen in awhile! When I started reading this book, I thought it was a remake of "John Tucker Must Die" and there are some similarities, but the book quickly took a turn and I thought it was really well done.
Raye wasn't the typical nerdy girl that let the popular girls run all over her. She wanted popularity and was willing to go pretty far to get what she wanted. Even if that meant changing her appearance and pretending to be someone she wasn't. Ella, the most popular girl in school, wanted to get back at her ex-boyfriend, Julian, for breaking her heart, so Raye came up with a plan to get back at him. She made a ficticious facebook account and "friended" Julian. As Raye gets to know Julian, however, she's not sure if she wants this game to continue, but Ella isn't ready to stop, and when Raye puts her foot down, Ella turns her venom on Raye instead. And Ella has a lot of venom.
What I liked about this book was that it really showed how putting yourself out there on Facebook etc. can come back to haunt you in a big way. It also spoke to bullying and how unyielding bullies can be when they fix on a target. I loved that Raye stayed strong with the girls, and that her friend, Natalya stood by her side even though it could've hurt her too. I also really liked Raye for the most part. I thought she was smart and funny, and I enjoyed all the IM chats between the characters.
What I didn't care for in the book was how pathetic Raye got around Julian. No matter what happened, she just melted around him and it drove me crazy. But, I know that happens to a lot of girls, and it's good that it brought up so much emotion in me. It shows that I actually cared about Raye and how she was treated (a sign of good writing). The other things I didn't care for were the descriptiveness of a physical relationship between two of the characters, and some of the language. The intense "make-out" scene was too much, in my opinion and it didn't seem right anyway. It seemed like an afterthought that was put in for shock value. And the language is just a personal preference. It wasn't too bad, it's just not something I care for.
Overall, I did really enjoy it and I finished it in a day, so it was a quick, fun, easy read that had my emotions running the gamut!
~Andye http://ReadingTeen.blogspot.com/