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jessyjoyyoung's review against another edition
5.0
Read in the tenth grade. Loved the geeky but strong female character.
anelya's review against another edition
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
This book was ultimately so not up my alley that I'm wondering why exactly I thought it was a good idea.
The thing is, I had just rewatched First Daughter and was looking into other similar films/stories. I saw a lot of people on Reddit mentioning that they'd personally loved All-American Girl, which had the roles reversed. And it was enough people that I really wanted to give it a shot and see if I liked it or if it had the same vibes.
This... does not have the same vibes *laughs* Gosh, I dunno! I don't even know how to review this! It's way more of a 2-star read for my enjoyment of it, but I didn't think it was bad, you know? It just really wasn't for me.
So okay, this is a kids' novel, like this is for kids who are in high school, so different from First Daughter and Chasing Liberty, which I think both take place in college. That was like, a clear tonal difference that I just somehow missed going in. Also, unexpectedly, we read this from the point of view of the character who is not the president's child, so instead of an exploration of that experience, we get... very little of that.
Ultimately, I guess it really just doesn't give me nearly the same vibe as the films at all.
Okay, reasons why this book is both good and bad, I guess?
It straight up reads like a teenager. By which I mean that Meg Cabot is able to capture the teenage voice/feelings/actions/thoughts so well that it's seriously uncanny. I have no idea how she was able to do that. And that's phenomenal, honestly. I think I would've absolutely seen myself in this novel as a teen and really enjoyed it. However, teens are often stupid and extremely cringe, so as an adult now, I kept thinking, 'Oh my god, no don't say that, please don't believe that, oh no, please don't do that.' But then of course the character does and thinks and feels all of the possible cringey things, and I couldn't actually fault any of it because that was 100% me as a teen!
I guess minus the insane self-confidence this character had. I mean, seriously, Samantha (ironically the same name as the MC in First Daughter) is so full of self-confidence about her own artistic capabilities it was absolutely insane to read about, because I cannot at all relate to that.
Anyway, I don't really know what else to say. There was a lot that I didn't like, but so much of it just boils down to the characters being teenagers. Like I cannot think of a single complaint that can't just be countered by that phrase, and how like... teens do think that stupid shit sometimes, and then sometimes they even act on the stupid shit they think. And I can't say that's bad writing at all, because I'm sure that seeing yourself in a novel like this is probably really nice for teenagers.
Edit: Because someone mentioned that in another review, I just wanna say that I also completely forgot just how like... dated it was. It was really weird to read about all this president stuff, everything about terrorists, everything about immigrants and all that, like... considering what the US seems like today. I kept thinking that the book seemed really tone-deaf with its flippancy about the political topics (the um... the animal abuse that is part of the pharmaceutical industry being a big one that I think was handled SUPER weirdly in the novel), and I had to keep reminding myself that this came out in 2002. So yeah, it definitely feels bizarre when it comes to the political stuff.
Edit: Because someone mentioned that in another review, I just wanna say that I also completely forgot just how like... dated it was. It was really weird to read about all this president stuff, everything about terrorists, everything about immigrants and all that, like... considering what the US seems like today. I kept thinking that the book seemed really tone-deaf with its flippancy about the political topics (the um... the animal abuse that is part of the pharmaceutical industry being a big one that I think was handled SUPER weirdly in the novel), and I had to keep reminding myself that this came out in 2002. So yeah, it definitely feels bizarre when it comes to the political stuff.
zahralwaysreads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
lexaleigh's review against another edition
1.0
Read this one yeaaaaarrrsss ago, (over a decade, for sure) just happened across it in my collection.. it's getting burned
epilieaspiechick's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
There's nothing wrong per se with this book, but it's just very dated based on the story itself.
fitton128's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kerri_strikes_back's review against another edition
3.0
just re-read again as I was going through a No Doubt listening phase. Rushed the reading of the last 10 pages since I had people coming over - missed the main romantic bits. Oh well. I liked this more when I read it in high school (which shouldn't be surprising, but for some reason, it is!)