TEEN CHICK LIT
That summer, Hurricane Emily was in the news. The headlines shouted things like: "Emily Rocks South Florida." I wanted to be like that Emily in the headlines. I wanted to take the world by storm. Not that I wanted to knock over mango trees or whip power lines across the sky like spaghetti. But I wanted to rock in my own way.
Emily Bennet has some impossible projects on her "To Do" list, like landing her longtime crush, Brian Harrington, and winning the job of editor in chief of the school newspaper over her arch nemesis, Daniel Cummings. And, on top o fthat, she's determined to do something special. Something important. Something good.
Suddenly, Emily's checking things off her list left and right. She's kissing Brian on a semiregular basis and she's raising money for a good cause by planning an Alternative prom (but she would secretly rather go to the real one). The only item that remains is knocking Daniel Cummings off his pedetstal. But when did he start to look, well, cute?
Emily's finding it harder and harder to stick to her list. And she still needs to conquer the most important item of all. Can she find her inner prom queen and figure out how to rock?
Emily, the main character, definitely did not seem like a high-schooler to me. I think that was probably my biggest issue--she sounded a lot more like a hyped up nine year old with a schoolgirl crush. Her vocabulary was really dumbed-down, and nothing in this book made her seem smart academically, other than the fact that she's vying for a prestigious position in the school newspaper. But even that made her sound stupid: group projects happen, just like shit. Get over it.
Prom Kings and Drama Queens was full of cliches. For starters, Emily was head-over-heels for The Boy Next Door. On top of that, she wanted to do something special. Does that remind you of, oh, maybe gazillions of other books about immature high-schoolers you've read? Yep, I thought so.
I have to admit, the plot was okay. I mean, it's not my usual reading--I tend to go for 400 page paranormal or really deep contemporary books that'll draw me in for a while. But I picked this one up from the library on a whim, just because I was tired of really long books. I guess that goes to show I'm not one for fluffy novels, because Prom Kings and Drama Queens drove me crazy.
When I read the blurb, I thought that maybe this book has potential. Maybe Emily is a strong character who has a REAL crush that isn't full of fluffy, stupid dreams about Prince Charmings and hot basketball players with perfect pecs. Maybe Emily's position on the newspaper proves that she's in touch with her inner nerd while still being an awesome main character. Maybe I'll actually want to root for this girl, simply because of the way the blurb is worded.
But when I got into the book, my hopes were dashed. I get that teen protagonists aren't all strong, kick-ass heroines like the chica from Vampire Academy. I totally get that. But come on! This girl was so full of crap I could hardly believe it. I mean, even third graders would start throwing this book at the wall in frustration. Everyone wants a great main character. Unfortunately, not everyone gets one.
Plus, how did she and Brian get so close, so fast? If you really want to depict a fluffy, perfect high school relationship, at least make it realistic. There's no way Brian can be noticing this girl because his Grams says so after years of living next to her all of a sudden. Yeah--their love life revolves around his "Grams," the adorable little matchmaker who's being befriended by Emily. Totally authentic, huh?
If you're looking for a book as frothy as whipped cream and about as fun as watching paint dry, Prom Kings and Drama Queens is the way to go. Because of that, it gets one big, fat star.
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