April 12, 2012

Review: How to Rock Braces and Glasses

The title of this novel really caught my attention - I mean, we all had that awkward growing period, right? No...just me?! Well let me tell you, when I was a tween, I did NOT rock glasses. I was fortunate enough not to have braces, but the glasses were enough torture. I'm not talking the cute ones you see today. I'm talking Sally Jesse Raphael glasses. And YES, I had a pair **shudders at the memory**. 
 
For those who have no clue of what I type, here is a reminder ------------------------------------------------->

Now you get me - imagine being a tween with THOSE glasses! Just sayin'.

But I digress...

Summary (from book jacket):

Super-stylish and uber-harsh, Kacey Simon is the social dictator of Marquette Middle School. She's BFFs with the prettiest girls, and she even hosts her own TV segment dispensing advice and the cold, hard truth to her classmates - whether they want to hear it or not.

But then an eye infection and a visit to the dentist leaves her with coke-bottle glasses, a mouth full of metal, and...a litthp. Dismissed by her popular friends, she falls so far down the social ladder she can barely see the top, even with her magnifying specs.

With nowhere to turn, Kacey has to hang with her nerdy neighbor and a boy who walks to the beat of his own drum - or rather, to the beat of the drummer in his band. Zander wants Kacey to be their singer, but she's determined to reclaim her throne. Will she climb back to the top? Or will she discover that hitting rock bottom kind of...rocks?

In her hilarious debut novel, Meg Haston tells the story of a mean girl who gets more than a new prescription for glasses - she gets a new perspective on life.

My thoughts:

An absolutely adorable novel.

Readers are introduced to Kacey Simon, the IT girl of her middle school. She is famous for her Simon Says segments, and while it seems to give her fame amongst her crowd, is it the way to help people?

Kacey is popular, she is beautiful, and she is talented. She also has a problem - can you guess what it is?

If you guessed braces and glasses, you get the prize. This combination leads to her social suicide, so to speak, and it turns out that friendship can be fickle.

While Kacey struggles with her new "self" and the blatant ousting from her own circle, she also discovers there is more to life than being Kacey Simon...like being in a band...but that does not mean she does not crave her old "scene" and will stop at nothing to re-claim her spot at the top of the middle school fame game.

Throughout the novel readers will fall in love with Kacey while she discovers her true self and what it really means to be a true friend.

With a cast of minor characters to sweeten the deal, re-living the braces and glasses era has never been so fun. Although, I was fortunate enough not to have braces - but glasses, oh yes I did. And they were not pretty, they were not cool, and thank goodness I did not have to have braces too.

Discover Kacey and her friends, and re-discover why you are so grateful to be done with that awkward tween age. OR...if you are a tween yourself, hop into the pages of the novel to discover that (1) you are not alone and (2) sometimes you trade in one thing and find several others.

2 comments:

  1. This one sounds SO GOOD :D Even though it's an MG novel, I really should check this one out. Great review, and I'm a new follower!

    Rabiah
    Confessions of a Readaholic

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  2. I agree. Most of us had a fair share of awkward growing period just like your experience and the story on the book. It’s just a good thing that nowadays, having braces is now a trend. Somehow, it will be less of a problem with today’s generation. They will have strong teeth without worrying about what others will tell them, right? Thanks for sharing this post. The book and your experience is a good example and can be an inspiration to others.

    Bruna @ DRLeondentist.com

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