By Jody Gehrman
Pages 320
Genre YA contemporary
Recommended by Me
First sentence My name is Natalie Rowan.
Synopsis
Natalie writes a relationship column for her high school paper and thinks she does a pretty good job. When she's accused of not knowing anything about guys and becomes the laughingstock of her high school, she comes up with a plan to change all that. She's going undercover as a boy at an all boy boarding school to learn what guys really think.
What is has going for it
Well, I love books about girls pretending to be guys. It's a premise that's always good for a laugh. The cover, while weird, is sort of eye catching and fun...and, yeah, that's about all there is to say for this one.
What's lacking
It started off with promise. Sure these types are always rather unbelievable. After all, there's only a small percentage of people that could actually cross dress and be convincing, but it's still fun to read about. Or it was supposed to be. What really irked me about this one was it's blatant copycatting of the hilarious movie, She's The Man. I tried to ignore the first offense when our heroine, dressed as a guy, tells a girl she likes her shoes in front of another guy. Obviously that's not something a normal straight guy would do so, sure, it makes for an awkwardly funny moment but, once again, it's been done. Then, our heroine is playing basketball in gym and gets hit in the nether regions with a ball. Just like in, She's The Man, our character pauses and then, realizing how she should be acting, starts screaming in false pain. But when our heroine is ostracized and considered a loser by the "cool guys", how does she get them to think she's cool? By getting caught by one of these said cool guys with her two girlfriends in a provocative situation. Suddenly she's a cool guy...Really?! Now maybe the author wrote the book before she saw She's The Man, or maybe she hasn't seen the movie at all, but those sure are a lot of coincidences. Don't you think? Besides all that I just didn't care for the characters overmuch and the plot was fine but was obviously ripped off from STM.
Yea or Nay?
No. Just no. Watch She's The Man, at least it has Channing Tatum in it!
"Watch She's The Man, at least it has Channing Tatum in it! "
ReplyDeleteBaha. So true.
Isn't it? :)
DeleteLOL - I thought of She's the Man as soon as I saw the cover. I'll stick with the movie.
ReplyDeleteSmart move. ;)
DeleteIt seems like, if you're going to write such a DONE plot, you should probably be familiar with the other books in the genre and avoid those plot lines! Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteYeah, even if the author never saw the movie she should have so as not to so blatantly copy it.
DeleteI'll be honest - that cover is freaking.me.out. Her eyes are creepy...
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen the movie, but I'll keep it in mind for a night when I need a laugh.
Yeah, she looks cross eyed. Oh, you HAVE to see the movie it's so funny.
DeleteI tried reading this book and when I noticed how much like STM it was, I gave up. I was annoyed. But She's the Man is a freaking fantastic movie :)
ReplyDeleteYes, it is. I almost gave up but I was hoping the ending would redeem it...it didn't.
DeleteI wanted to read this, but I think I'll just check out that movie instead. I love silly stories where people dress as the other gender. Have you ever seen Some Like Hot? It's like a 50's movie with a sort of similar idea, but it's kind of hilarious.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember if I've seen that one. I'll have to look it up. You really should watch She's The Man, it's hilarious.
DeleteLol, I loved that movie! It stinks that the book was pretty much the same. I mean, there are OTHER things that could have been done instead to make it original. I dunno. I'm glad to get some insight into the details though before I think about jumping into it anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I love the movie and having the book copy it was just off putting.
DeleteThat movie was so good! But, seriously, a book decides to rip it off 10 years later? Not so good. I would think I'd like this one if it were going to go in a unique direction, but if it's just STM all over again, then what's the point?
ReplyDeleteYou get Amanda Bines if you watch the movie (I'm not a fan of Channing Tatum).
Exactly! She should have come up with some original stuff. It would have made all the difference. I love Amanda too!
DeleteThink I'll skip this one, but the cover did make me smile! Hope you like your next read better!
ReplyDeleteI'm enjoying the books I'm reading now so hopefully they'll end well.
DeleteI'm one of those people who could get away with cross dressing.
ReplyDeleteYou wish! ;)
DeleteThe first time I saw this book I immediately thought of She's the Man! I love that movie! Glad to now I can happily skip the book then! I think I would have been weirded out reading about a character with my name too....It would have been like I was going crazy and talking about myself in the third person lol
ReplyDeleteLOL! Yeah, it's always unnerving to read a book with a character who has the same name as you.
DeleteI hate it when you read a book and all you can think is 'yeah, I've seen/read this all before'. I really have trouble finishing books like that.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's really hard.
Delete+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteI'm usually fascinated by the premise of a girl going undercover as a boy. (How very Shakespearean, yes?) But your review has convinced me to skip this one. I haven't even seen She's the Man, but even I can sense the lack of originality in the plot points you bring up.
Yeah, it wasn't well done. Just watch She's the Man.
Delete