Title: Faketastic
Author: Alexa Young
Pages: 244
Published by: HarperTeen, 2009
Genre: Realistic fiction
Recommended to: Girls, 12 and up
Cover: B
Overall: A-
Halvalon is back together, and ten times as fabulous before!
BFFs Halley and Avalon think life is good: their huge fight is behind them now, their new "Style Snarks" blog is up and more amazing than ever, and best of all, Halley's longtime crush, Wade, has just confessed that he likes her back. But what about Sofee, Wade's ex and Halley's friend? That's when the girls have a brilliant idea: Avalon will pretend to like Wade so Halley can see him in secret and not break "friend code" with Sofee. In exchange, Halley will boldly nominate Avalon for the pep squad captain (a position that Avalon's cheer friend Brianna already holds). And all the time, the girls will be pretending that they've broken up again. Genius, right? Until Operation Halvalon goes totally, utterly wrong...
I was so happy with the second book in the Frenemies series. First off, I was worried about Ms. Young not coming up with a fresh plotline for this book. How would she carry on the plot to a second novel without being repetitive? Luckily, having a unique new twist in the story was no problem for Ms. Young: I was pleasantly surprised by how brilliant and fun the second book was. I loved all the twists and turns: just when I thought the conflicts would resolve themselves, another problem would appear. And once again, the dialogue was fresh and funny. My favorite part was the snippet from the Style Snarks blog at the end of each chapter, it totally gave me something to look forward to, and it really reflected the girls' voices. Once again, I was thrilled with the great characters, style, great writing, and amazing descriptions of setting, clothes, etc.
Some parts, to me, were a little hard to follow, and all of the back-and-forth was a little bit confusing. But I really liked how Ms. Young went from one girl to another, and how they each had a different story to tell! For instance, Avalon was trying to distract Wade from Halley because Sofee was nearby, but Halley thought that Avalon was flirting with him! Sometimes this drove me nuts, but mostly it just drew me farther into the plot. I loved how Ms. Young totally captured eighth grade in a nutshell: drama, friendship...
Faketastic was a very quick read: I finished it in only 2 days, the whole time eager to find out what would happen next. After this book's sort-of-cliffhanger ending, I can only desperately wait to find out what's next for Halvalon in the next book, Glamnesia--I'm so excited! (:
Click here for my review of Frenemies
14 comments:
The cover seems to say that it would be geared towards high-schoolers or something. Oh well...I liked your review. I've heard a lot on this series which means that it's probably worth checking out!
I love quick reads - thx for review :)
Sigh. I'll have to read this, but after my The Clique binge, it doesn't sound good. Thanks for the recommendation, though!
I'm glad you were impressed with the twist and the new plot elements. Sounds like a fun read.
When they come up with a plan, it usually goes wrong. -.-
This sounds like a great sequel. I like the cover, it makes it look like a fun, summer read.
After I read Frenemies, I'll have to check this one out!
Great review!
I'm glad this one is a worthy successor of her first book!
I should really check it out...after I read Frendemies of course!!
I haven't read Frenemies but after I will be sure to check this out. Great review!
Nice review. I still need to read Frenemies, but this one looks great too!
Nice cover. :)
The Style Snarks blog seems so cool. Thanks for the review!
I love the "Halvalon" combo! I also need to read the first one but it sounds like a good sequel. With all of the catty girl fights I am so glad that I have boys! I really enjoyed your review.
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