"Things are Gonna get Ugly" by Hillary Homzie
Blog Post by Natasha S
Ernestine Smith renamed herself - to Taffeta - when she moved to California, and is the leader of the school. She cheats off tests, plays tricks on people, and doesn't care for anyone but herself and her friends. When the teacher catches her cheating off Winslow, a school 'nerd,' he gives her a chance to have a complete do-over. What she doesn't know, is that when her teacher gives her a do-over, it's a real one, where:
1. Her name is Ernestine
2. She is a big school 'nerd'
3. Tyler was going to ask her to the dance
4. Her new friendship with Winslow...?
5. She doesn't know how to get out of it
A quote from the book is, "Normally, I wear my glasses only in the morning before I put in my contacts. Okay, this is weird. I really thought I put my contacts in before school. I scratch my neck like mad, which makes everyone laugh... The scary part is that I'm wearing a black skirt with an elastic waist band. Elastic! And ankle socks with unicorns. I've got on some kind of polyester blouse, too, with horses jumping over fences. how had I not noticed this before?" (Homzie, 46). This shows that 'Taffeta' is freaking out about her changed identity. She hangs out with Winslow a lot in her 'changed form,' but she was supposed to say yes to Tyler when he asked her to go to the dance with her as Taffeta! She thinks she likes Tyler, but her new friend, Olivia, likes Tyler a lot. In the past, Taffeta and her friends sent a letter to Olivia from "Tyler" (when they were the ones who wrote it), and she feels really bad because Olivia has turned out to be a really nice and kind person, not like how Taffeta and her friends treated her. Ernestine starts to like Winslow, until she changes back into Taffeta, a world where Winslow hates her and Tyler wants to dance with her. She knows now that Tyler likes Olivia, and she might like Winslow. Tyler and Olivia are talking and having fun, while Taffeta herself isn't having fun at all. How will Taffeta get Winslow to like her again? Her life is spiraling out of control and she can't stop it! What will happen with Winslow and Taffeta? Read the book to find out!!!
I liked this book because it was funny but at the same time it makes me think of how Taffeta felt, being stuck in her own body, but feeling trapped, where your parents don't know Taffeta, but Ernestine.
I would rate it a 5/5 because I loved this book because it was funny when Taffeta realized that it wasn't "her." I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a funny read. The author adds parts about where Taffeta doubted herself and so it makes you relate to her situation.
"The Reece Malcolm List" by Amy Spalding
Blog Post by Natasha S
Devan Malcolm just moved in with her mom, Reece Malcolm after her dad died. She moved to L.A., a long way from St. Louis. She's nervous because she hasn't talked a lot with Reece. When she gets to L.A., her mom just ignores her and immerses herself in work. Devan's upset because a mom should be encouraging to her daughter and want to talk with her to know her life. Instead, Reece ignores her and even Reece's boyfriend, Brad, spends more time with Devan. Devan explains that she loves to act, and so she tries out for the New City School, a school that has a prestigious acting program. There, she meets Sai, a cute boy who is also interested in acting. They get close, and Devan might have feelings for him, but she gets a boyfriend, Elijah Cross, while Sai gets Nicole Ediss as his girlfriend. Devan has more problems at home, with her mom starting to share her problems with Devan.
So, she makes "The Reece Malcolm List:"
"1. She graduated from New York University.
2. She lives in or near Los Angeles (even the internet can't confirm).
3. Since her first novel (Destruction) was released nine years ago she's always had at least one book on the New York Times bestseller list.
4. She likes strong coffee and bourbon, the only personal details she gave in a rare interview with The Daily Beast.
5. She's my mother." (Spalding, 1%)
I like how Devan makes this list because it shows how ironic it is that the only facts she knows about her mom are things she can find on the Internet. When you first read the list, from #1- #4, you think that Reece Malcolm is just an author and not Devan's mom. When you get to #5, and it says that she's Devan's mom, it makes you go, "Whoa. Reece Malcolm is Devan's mom and the only four things she knows about her are found on the Internet?" I also like how the author said "...(even the Internet can't confirm)..." it makes you know that Devan had looked on the Internet to find the facts about her mom. Devan continues on with her list:
"6. She is a hermit sometimes...
7. Reece is Reece, which never really describes someone likeable...
8. She always runs late, even to pick up her long-lost daughter.
9. She is bizarrely really enthusiastic about hamburgers..." (Spalding, 2%, 3%, 6%)
When Devan gets to the 24th fact,:
"24. " (Spalding, 40%).
By including this, it makes you think, "Why didn't Devan add anymore facts? Did her mom stop talking to her?". I think that this is also the most important 'sentence' in the chapter because it's the one line that grabs your attention. It also makes you think about it and makes you panic a little bit, because in the book before, she always had something to write, and now she doesn't.
The list goes on and on but you can see how the author uses to crossing out of the words to add emphasis on her thoughts. For example, "...(Honestly, Nicole or no Nicole, who runs home to email anyway? Besides me.)" (Spalding, 23%). This shows that Devan isn't confident in herself and always changes her thoughts to make herself more confident. By thinking that she is the only person who runs home to email someone, she's decreasing her confidence by then thinking how she is lonely and no one else is like her. Another example of Devan's conflicting feelings is, "'Night.' I wave and walk upstairs, where I focus on homework only, definitely not picturing the cast list sheet or Elijah or Sai or every single thing and person I'm scared of." (Spalding, 54%). It shows how Devan has conflicting feelings because she's not sure if she cares more for Elijah or Sai, but then she crosses Sai's name out because she feels like that's what other people would want her to do. Make sure to read the book to find out more about how Devan and her mom get along!
Devan's characterization is that she has her own thoughts and feelings, but then she changes those ideas so that other people feel like she did the right thing and she doesn't feel conflicted about it at the second.
I would rate this book a 2/5. I didn't really enjoy it because it was a slow book. The type of reader who would enjoy this book is someone who likes books that go into detail about a daughter's distant relationship with her mom. The writing style was from Devan's point of view and her thoughts about herself and her mom.
