by Elise AllenPublisher: Harcourt Children's
Release Date: Aug 1, 2011
Source: ARC sent by publisher and Book Sparks
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Summary from goodreads.com:
Cara has never been one of those girls: confident, self-possessed, and always ready with the perfect thing to say. A girl at the very top of the popularity tower. One of the Populazzi.
Now, junior year could change everything. Cara’s moving to a new school, and her best friend urges her to seize the moment—with the help of the Ladder. Its rungs are relationships, and if Cara transforms into the perfect girlfriend for guys ever-higher on the tower, she’ll reach the ultimate goal: Supreme Populazzi.
The Ladder seems like a lighthearted social experiment, a straight climb up, but it quickly becomes gnarled and twisted. And when everything goes wrong, only the most audacious act Cara can think of has a chance of setting things even a little bit right.
My Review:
This book was a scandalous roller coaster ride through high school's social ladder. I think the book will appeal to teens because of all of the scandal, parties, and make out sessions. The overall message is good, though, and as long as you don't take the rest too seriously, it's a really fun ride.
Cara herself was likable enough. I think she meant well, she just let the peer pressure of high school lead her into one bad decision after another. Cara's best friend, Claudia was an aggravating character, she seemed to talk Cara into most of her huge list of bad decisions. With friends like these, who needs enemies?
My favorite character was Archer, he was the most real in my opinion. Along with the Star Wars super-fan, Archer was the only character who was a genuine friend to Cara. I actually felt sorry for the other boyfriends that Cara used on her climb to the top of the Populazzi stratosphere.
There's quite a bit of sex, drugs, and alcohol in the book, which was a little surprising to me for YA. But I guess there is a lot of this in teen movies and tv, too. Overall, it's more of a 'what not to do' type of story, though.
Main Characters: 3/5
Supporting Characters: 3/5
Setting: 4/5
Romance: 3/5
Uniqueness: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Bottom Line:This is a fun, Gossip Girl-esque page turner that I think teens will gobble up!