lazygal's review
3.0
Silly me: I thought that the "Clueless" in the title would have something to do with the movie and/or Emma. Not so much. Instead there's girl, Marty, torn from her GBF (Gay Best Friend) and sent to an all-girl's Catholic school where she needs to make new friends and fit in. Said GBF, Jimmy, easily finds friends at his HS, including a boyfriend. Then the school announces its fall musical, Into the Woods, and boys are needed for some roles. Etc.
It's probably perfect for the Sarah Dessen/Stephanie Perkins readers despite reading a bit lower than that. Oh, and American girls do not say "gobsmacked". Nope.
ARC provided by publisher.
It's probably perfect for the Sarah Dessen/Stephanie Perkins readers despite reading a bit lower than that. Oh, and American girls do not say "gobsmacked". Nope.
ARC provided by publisher.
isweedan's review
4.0
This was a total delight of a book set during a school production of Into the Woods - drama! misunderstandings! romance! betrayal!
hayley_mariep's review
2.0
Posted on thereadingwonderland.blogspot.com
I'm not sure about this book if I'm being honest. It was good, but it wasn't that good. It was pretty basic. I enjoyed it but I felt like I was reading it just for the sake of it, not because I was invested in it. It was a very strange feeling.
The characters are quite annoying, especially Jimmy. He came across as very selfish. His best friend moves to a new school and he rarely sees her, so the day she can come visit him he invites all his new friends along? That's rude. If one of my friend's did that I'd turn right back round and leave. Rude.
If I was to recommend this book to anyone, it'd be 13-16 year olds. I feel like past that point you're too disconnected from teenage drama to love this book. But anyone of those ages would probably love it. To be honest it was a bit of a fail on my part to request this really, I'm 20 after all, I can barely remember what school drama was like. Perhaps it's time to hang up the YA and move onto mature books!...Or you know, not.
I gave this book 2 stars on Goodreads.
This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own and are in no way affected by the author or publisher.
I'm not sure about this book if I'm being honest. It was good, but it wasn't that good. It was pretty basic. I enjoyed it but I felt like I was reading it just for the sake of it, not because I was invested in it. It was a very strange feeling.
The characters are quite annoying, especially Jimmy. He came across as very selfish. His best friend moves to a new school and he rarely sees her, so the day she can come visit him he invites all his new friends along? That's rude. If one of my friend's did that I'd turn right back round and leave. Rude.
If I was to recommend this book to anyone, it'd be 13-16 year olds. I feel like past that point you're too disconnected from teenage drama to love this book. But anyone of those ages would probably love it. To be honest it was a bit of a fail on my part to request this really, I'm 20 after all, I can barely remember what school drama was like. Perhaps it's time to hang up the YA and move onto mature books!...Or you know, not.
I gave this book 2 stars on Goodreads.
This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review, all opinions are my own and are in no way affected by the author or publisher.
hazelstaybookish's review
4.0
Actual rating: 3.5
YES
- ALL THE THEATER!!
- Marty's voice really sparkles with fun
- fruit/vegetable nicknames are the BOMB BERRIES
- all the gay friends!!!
- Oliver and everything he did (photoshoot, signs up for assistant stage manager, drive to the lake)
- even those who are (basically) background characters are interesting (kate, jenny, etc)
- nuns! all girls catholic school! not shaving legs!
- the appreciation for twix!
- socialization/friendship dynamics. hanging out with friends of friends who don't even go to your school.
MEH
- the cluelessness
- predictability
- the deciding to hate parents all of a sudden
- xiang's character confused me, especially the becoming super close to kirby and sort of ditching marty part
- i put this down for a bit at first because i thought it was taking a while for the plot to pick up but then i realized that that was just it, that's the plot
- the F person. F him.
YES
- ALL THE THEATER!!
- Marty's voice really sparkles with fun
- fruit/vegetable nicknames are the BOMB BERRIES
- all the gay friends!!!
- Oliver and everything he did (photoshoot, signs up for assistant stage manager, drive to the lake)
- even those who are (basically) background characters are interesting (kate, jenny, etc)
- nuns! all girls catholic school! not shaving legs!
- the appreciation for twix!
- socialization/friendship dynamics. hanging out with friends of friends who don't even go to your school.
MEH
- the cluelessness
- predictability
- the deciding to hate parents all of a sudden
- xiang's character confused me, especially the becoming super close to kirby and sort of ditching marty part
- i put this down for a bit at first because i thought it was taking a while for the plot to pick up but then i realized that that was just it, that's the plot
- the F person. F him.
meridian's review
I found the main character of this book so unlikable and unappealing that I didn't want to continue reading.
kennedy62442's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
cheermio's review
3.0
I think I'm rounding up to 3 solely because it's about doing into the woods in high school and nostalgia reared it's head. I think I saw that play 3 or 4 times when a bunch of my friends were in it in high school and I still love it. it's a cute little story, forgettable, but cute. lots of GSA friendly moments. some awkward/scary sexual pressure/advances.
tamaraniac's review
1.0
Beyond Clueless felt like it really tried but it was rather half baked.
The plot couldn’t seem to decide what it wanted to focus on. It was difficult to follow, and I didn’t really care at all. The characters blended into each other and weren’t particularly interesting.
Beyond that, there were some things in this book that really bothered me. Constant negativity from the main character, characters basing worth on relationships and constantly obsessing over them, and generally bad friendship dynamics. I think the main character was meant to learn at the end that these things were bad, but I don’t think it really worked.
Another thing is that the writing and point of view of Beyond Clueless felt like a middle grade/younger YA novel, but it has themes and language more characteristic of older YA.
Plain and simple, I just really didn’t like it.
The plot couldn’t seem to decide what it wanted to focus on. It was difficult to follow, and I didn’t really care at all. The characters blended into each other and weren’t particularly interesting.
Beyond that, there were some things in this book that really bothered me. Constant negativity from the main character, characters basing worth on relationships and constantly obsessing over them, and generally bad friendship dynamics. I think the main character was meant to learn at the end that these things were bad, but I don’t think it really worked.
Another thing is that the writing and point of view of Beyond Clueless felt like a middle grade/younger YA novel, but it has themes and language more characteristic of older YA.
Plain and simple, I just really didn’t like it.
smonmaney's review
2.0
A fluff read for younger teens. Stereotypes and weak characterization detract from a story with potentially good messages about friendship, identity, and first infatuations.