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Overview
Kate Brown's life has gone downhill fast. Her father has quit his job to sell vitamins at the mall, and Kate is forced to work with him. Her best friend has become popular, and now she acts like Kate's invisible.
And then there's Will. Gorgeous, unattainable Will, whom Kate acts like she can't stand even though she can't stop thinking about him. When Will starts acting interested, Kate hates herself for wanting him when she's sure she's just his latest conquest.
Kate figures that the only way things will ever stop hurting so much is if she keeps to herself and stops caring about anyone or anything. What she doesn't realize is that while life may not always be perfect, good things can happen -- but only if she lets them....
Synopsis
Kate Brown's life has gone downhill fast. Her father has quit his job to sell vitamins at the mall, and Kate is forced to work with him. Her best friend has become popular, ...
KLIATT
Kate's sophomore year is shaping up to be a spectacular mess. Her former best friend is now popular and acts like Kate doesn't even exist. Kate's father suddenly quits his job to pursue his dream, which is to sell Perfect You vitamins at a booth in the mall. His impetuous and irresponsible behavior lands the family in money trouble, so life at home is tense and stressful. To make matters worse, poor Kate is forced to work for her father, spending most of her free hours trapped at the mall, trying to avoid humiliation. At school and at work, she verbally spars with Will, a boy she supposedly can't stand, yet admits to being "reluctantly lust-ridden" for. With her family falling apart and her best friend turning her back on her, the last thing Kate feels she can handle is being made a mockery of by Will, a notorious womanizer. When Kate's critical grandmother moves in, Kate is horrified to see that she often acts quite a bit like her grandma. She's so busy building up walls around her feelings and so set on things turning out terribly that she can't see what is good in her life. Both Kate and Will are excellent characters, and Scott's dialogue is superb. Kate is witty, sarcastic, and stubborn—all wonderful traits that Kate learns can work against her at times. Scott manages to capture the common high school troubles of family issues, dating and friendships without making it all seem too overwhelming. Kate may start out feeling alone, but she ends up with some surprising allies in her corner. Reviewer: Amanda MacGregor
Editorials
KLIATT -
Kate's sophomore year is shaping up to be a spectacular mess. Her former best friend is now popular and acts like Kate doesn't even exist. Kate's father suddenly quits his job to pursue his dream, which is to sell Perfect You vitamins at a booth in the mall. His impetuous and irresponsible behavior lands the family in money trouble, so life at home is tense and stressful. To make matters worse, poor Kate is forced to work for her father, spending most of her free hours trapped at the mall, trying to avoid humiliation. At school and at work, she verbally spars with Will, a boy she supposedly can't stand, yet admits to being "reluctantly lust-ridden" for. With her family falling apart and her best friend turning her back on her, the last thing Kate feels she can handle is being made a mockery of by Will, a notorious womanizer. When Kate's critical grandmother moves in, Kate is horrified to see that she often acts quite a bit like her grandma. She's so busy building up walls around her feelings and so set on things turning out terribly that she can't see what is good in her life. Both Kate and Will are excellent characters, and Scott's dialogue is superb. Kate is witty, sarcastic, and stubborn—all wonderful traits that Kate learns can work against her at times. Scott manages to capture the common high school troubles of family issues, dating and friendships without making it all seem too overwhelming. Kate may start out feeling alone, but she ends up with some surprising allies in her corner. Reviewer: Amanda MacGregorSchool Library Journal
Gr 7-10- Kate's father quit his job and is now living his dream by selling infomercial vitamins at a mall kiosk. The teen's college-graduate brother is living on the couch, her mother is working two jobs, and her friend Anna isn't talking to her now that Anna has lost weight and become popular. Making Kate's life completely miserable, her overbearing grandmother has moved in, and Will, the boy Kate tries to pretend she doesn't like because of their contentious history, is constantly making approaches at school and at their mall jobs. When the two start meeting to make out (but otherwise mostly ignore each other), and Anna hints that she might want to be friends again, Kate is more confused than ever about how to get her life back on track. Scott does a good job portraying a teen who is simultaneously self-centered and sympathetic. Kate's confusion and frustration over her lost friendship as well as the possibility of a budding romance are believable. Background regarding the difficult relationship between her mother and grandmother is skillfully woven in, as is the information regarding her long-standing friendship with Anna and her love/hate relationship with Will. Supporting characters are well fleshed out, and the ending, while encouraging, isn't all sunshine and roses, making it believable as well as hopeful.-Natasha Forrester, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR