The X-Factor--Reviewed by: Sarah Roberts

 

 

 

 

  Maja is your normal, everyday 17-year old. She dreams of becoming a an actress, and her role model is Marilyn Monroe. So when things take an interesting turn at a celebration party for her boyfriend, Maja doesn't quite know how to handle it. One minute she is an average teen, and then the next minute she is at a test modeling photo shoot because some guy thinks she could have 'The X-Factor'. 

                                   
                     But things don't go the way they should have.
 
            Maja becomes exhausted from the countless photo shoots, diets, and a always being in the public eye. So what does Maja do? Well she turns to some "friends" that get her into a lot of trouble. When it all explodes in her face, Maja is left with a drug addiction, no self-esteem,and no true friends. She now is left with one question: How far will she got to reach her dream and land among the stars?


         I really thought this book was well written and enjoyed it immensely. I enjoyed how this book touched on subject matter that others would have been afraid to write. That is why I gave this book a 4 and 1/2 star rating. The characters were well developed and I felt almost everything that Maja felt. The lack of self-esteem that Maja had felt like it would have been experienced by teens today. He book really gives you an inside view of what the modeling industry really is, the it isn't all the glamour and beauty it's made up to be. So all in all, this book was a great experience and I would definitely recommend it to my friends and family.

Perfect reviewed by Molly Varney

By Ellen Hopkins *****

What would you do to be perfect? For four high school students, they can't seem to find perfection. Cara's brother, Conner was put into Aspen Springs after he tried to kill himself and she was left at home with their parents. While dealing with her mother, who expected nothing but perfection from her, and her father, who offered no emotions whatsoever, she found herself dealing with her feelings for another girl, Dani. Sean was Cara's old boyfriend before she left him and felt like the only thing he could do was play baseball. His problem was steroids- lots of them. After Cara broke up with him he started to do more than he normally would. Andre finally found the one thing he was good at, which was dance. Although his parents disproved of it he wanted to pursue his dream. His new girlfriend, Jenna was a bit of a problem. She was beautiful and liked showing it off, but she was getting into a bad habit of drinking away her problems and Andre felt compelled to help her. Kendra thought that her whole life revolved around winning pageants and eventually becoming a professional model. She doesn't know how far she will take it to get to the top though. She already had an eating problem and her mother ignored it because she also wanted her to accomplish her dreams, at any cost. All four of these teenagers are trying to be perfect, but how far will they go?

I gave this book five stars because I love all of Ellen Hopkins' books, although all of them are pretty depressing. Perfect is the companion to Impulse and I loved both of them. The way all of the characters know each other, one way or another, was really cool. I also really liked how the book is set up, so you really know all of the characters. The books are really sad near the end, but the stories of all the different characters are really interesting.

Wintergirls- Review by Aspen Gates

Wintergirls

Laurie Halse Anderson

*** stars

Wintergirls is about this girl named Lia who's life used to be about losing weight at all costs with her best friend Cassie. However, things change when the two girls get in a car accident and wind up in the hospital becasue Lia was so skinny she passed out at the wheel. Now Carrie blames everything on Lia and how she is such a bad influence and Lia can't believe this when it's clear that it's the other way around. Carrie is the bad influence so Lia completely ignores Carrie from now on, and doesn't answer any of her calls for the next couple of days. Then one morning Lia catches the news saying they found Carrie's body in a hotel room, and all Lia can think about is not answer Carrie's phone call last night, or listening to her voicemails. While stuck with this feeling of guilt, Lia has another problem. She can't stop telling herself that she should lose more weight. Every time she eats food calorie numbers start popping in her head and she will just stop eating it or spit it out when no one is looking. Can Lia ever forgive herself for not taking the chance to save her friend Carrie and to stop being anorexic? Read the book which is in the O'Hara library and find out.

I personally did not like Wintergirls because at first I thought the book was about Lia trying to get over the fact that she could have saved her friend from committing suicide, but then it changes to her getting over her sickness of becoming anorexic. It was just very confusing and a little bit predictable in some areas as to what the possible outcome of her decision making would be. I gave this three stars because it felt like Laurie Halse Anderson was trying to write a story that went a completely different rought.