Tall Cool One

 
 Reviewed by Alinka


Tall Cool One by Zoey Dean is part of the captivating A-List Novels that are all written by this author. The story is written in the different perspectives of Anna Percy and her friends. These girls live Beverly-Hills a very superficial environment. These girls are rich and very popular so they are used to be around a lot of people and grown accustomed to living life like a party.

Even though she lives like this, Anna Percy is not a self-centered, spoiled, rich girl. She might have everything she wants but there is more to her character and she actually cares for things that are important to her and she is a very responsible girl. Anna is a very profound character, through out the book you will find her wondering if love really does exists and if she will someday find the one. She was really affected when her relationship with a guy (Ben) that she really liked was over, but that left her wondering if it was really love what she felt or just lust. She believes that love is for everyone and that maybe she will find the one that will sweep her off her feet; this is why she isn’t into hookups like everyone else. The book starts with her and ends with her even though it has chapters in the perspectives of her friends; but I think that the book is mainly about her because she is the one that carries most of the story and the friends come in now and then.

This book has many surprises inside other than what you can expect, Anna’s and her friends lives take unexpected turns in this book. The girl, who didn’t believe in love, finds a guy she will fall head over heals with. The one who thought she was never liked for who she really was finds the support of a friend and a guy who loves her for everything that she is. The troubled family still has problems but Anna learns how much she loves the ones that have cared for her. Everyone seems to be getting involved in relationships that will last for a long time except for Anna wonder that if what she had for Ben was real and she doubts that letting him go was the right decision after all; even though she has strong feelings for him long after he is gone. This will haunt her for a long time to come. Some dangerous stunts are performed by these girls at a place where everything is at the palm of their manicured hands.

Friendships are put to test, parents are going to prove that they are worth it and they would do anything for the safety of their daughters, even if it means risking their reputation with the media. Some people will be taken down memory lane and healed wounds will open suddenly. Relationships are made stronger while other start to fade away but in the end what matters the most is the ones that stayed with you the whole time. Readers will be eager to learn what will happen, page after page and will never put the book down.

The Girls

Reviewed by Luciana P.

Amy Goldman Koss has another dramatic, clique, crushing, and friendship story, The Girls, about teenage protagonist: Maya, Renee, Darcy, Brianna and Candace. It’s a story about true friendship, the survival of middle school, and making wise choices.

Maya was just one of the popular girls until she was put out of her group of “friends” and Candace the antagonist, begins to separate them all. As the book is developed, each chapter is told in the point of view of one of the five girls, and shows there feeling about the protagonist exactly through their eyes.

This book appeals to those who interest in gossip, cliques, true friendship, or just simply want to read a book about middle school life from a girl's perspective.

Maya—the newest of the group—realizes that she is no longer part of that clique. She finds out that she was not invited to Darcy’s birthday party while everyone else was. Maya was confused and could not make out what she had done wrong, when actually she was just being kicked out of the group because of Candace, the leader “said so.” Renee—the next one in line to get exclude and whose parents are going through a divorce knows that leaving Maya out is bad but she fears that she will no longer be popular if she speaks her mind. Brianna—is just one of the followers of Candace—who doesn’t want to risk to get kicked out of the group either. Darcy—Candace’s “best friend”—obeys Candace as if she was her slave. The mystery is that no one in the group knows what wrong Maya had done, except Candace who decides who’s in and who’s out.

The author Amy Goldman Koss gives support to the story with coming of age issues that are common in the adolescent life. At the same time, the climax and resolution was blunt and brief. The climax as well the resolution was pointless because she went through so much trouble with the description and development of the characters but she didn’t end up with a strong and solid ending of the book.

The Girls is a short and fast read (121 pages) that displays many teen moments. It portrays a serious peer-pressure issues occurring in every school in the world. All of the characters really give the reader a perspective of their feelings and thoughts.