kricketa's review against another edition
2.0
gail giles is excellent at foreshadowing and suspense. but the book (first published 2002) seemed really dated, as if it was set in the 80s. and after all that suspense, i found the ending dull & anticlimactic. the whole premise didn't seem very plausible. all in all, didn't add up to a winner for me.
heidipretzel's review against another edition
5.0
This book is suspense done right. Never have I seen suspense over an entire book carried out so effectively.
agirlsnightbookbash's review against another edition
1.0
This book has stuck with me for almost a decade. Not for a good reason. The majority of the book must have been good bc I wouldn't have read it. I remember detesting the ending or lack there of so much that I launched it down the stairs. Two years ago I read another book by the author not realizing the similarity and came to the same annoying conclusion with the non-ending. I shall skip this author for the rest of eternity. But that is just my opinion.
mmchampion's review against another edition
4.0
A scary book about the power kids can have over one another. I really like the way snippets of what happened were given at the beginning of each chapter to keep the reader interested in finding out what actually happened. A good book for YA readers with a bit of teenaged sex.
sc104906's review against another edition
2.0
Simon is at the bottom of the social ladder and Rob and his friends plan to remake him into someone popular. Rob needs to control everything and believes that it would be a funny social experiment to take someone who everyone used to despise and turn him into someone everyone loves. While Rob's friends follow all of his orders, it is possible that Simon may be just beyond Rob's control. The remodel story ends tragically.
The characters weren't really appealing, but they really weren't supposed to be. However, it was hard to find something to connect with. The story had great potential, but in actuality it was not all that great. Characters needed to further fleshed out and the plot needed a bit more to work.
The characters weren't really appealing, but they really weren't supposed to be. However, it was hard to find something to connect with. The story had great potential, but in actuality it was not all that great. Characters needed to further fleshed out and the plot needed a bit more to work.
tuck2literature's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This book has very good immersive wording. I could envision exactly what the author was describing without them trying to hard with “descriptive imagery”
This book is about love and mistrust and power and it all ruminates until the very end. There are very crucial details that are kept under wraps until The very end but get revealed perfectly, very solid read.
I read this book for AP Lit
This book is about love and mistrust and power and it all ruminates until the very end. There are very crucial details that are kept under wraps until The very end but get revealed perfectly, very solid read.
I read this book for AP Lit
lisajha's review against another edition
3.0
Gail Giles’ Shattering Glass tells the chilling story of a twisted popularity contest in a Texas high school. In what began as a kind of dare, the four most popular boys in school, Rob, Young, Bob, and Coop, begin a quest to make Simon Glass, the hated class nerd, into the class favorite. They teach him how to dress, talk, and act cool, and gradually, he wins the favor of the rest of the student body. However, things don’t go quite as planned when Simon Glass begins doing what he wants to do, instead of doing the things that the group’s ringleader, Rob, has in mind for him. His nonconformity results in the disclosure of dark secrets, eventually culminating in the novel’s horrifying, vicious climax.
Giles’ book is a prime example of mature, bleak young adult fiction, dealing with themes such as peer pressure, abuse, sexual/romantic relationships, difficult parent-child relationships, teen violence/cruelty, and hatred. Although the reading level is easy enough for younger readers, these topics are dealt with in such a way that makes this book more appropriate for older teens. My initial response was a little bit of outrage at the shocking ending, but after thinking about it for a few days, I began to appreciate what Giles was addressing, and even more, what it made me think about regarding violence and hatred in high school and in the real world. Overall, it was a positive experience for me—just took me a little while to realize it.
Giles’ book is a prime example of mature, bleak young adult fiction, dealing with themes such as peer pressure, abuse, sexual/romantic relationships, difficult parent-child relationships, teen violence/cruelty, and hatred. Although the reading level is easy enough for younger readers, these topics are dealt with in such a way that makes this book more appropriate for older teens. My initial response was a little bit of outrage at the shocking ending, but after thinking about it for a few days, I began to appreciate what Giles was addressing, and even more, what it made me think about regarding violence and hatred in high school and in the real world. Overall, it was a positive experience for me—just took me a little while to realize it.
librariann's review against another edition
When Simon Glass, the school nerd, is suddenly made over into a popular kid by Rob, charismatic leader of the Senior class, no one expects the trouble that will follow. From the outset, the reader knows Simon's fate - death. What unfurls is the account of the boys that first made him popular and then contributed to his demise, told in first person by Young, the only person to go to jail for the crime, interspersed with quotes from the supporting cast of characters. Rob, the architect of Simon's rise and fall is a boy with charm to spare - and a hidden dark past.
jessieg154's review against another edition
4.0
This book was good, but way too creepy for my taste. I was absolutely shocked by it.