Belle's Bookshelf: robert downey jr

Thursday, 4 August 2011

Review: Spoiled by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan (a.k.a. The Fug Girls)

This was fun but a little disappointing.

I think it was a case of THE (Too High Expectations). Disappointment was probably inevitable because they were ridonkulously high. Go Fug Yourself is one of my fave blogs; Heather and Jessica are so damn brilliant and their blog posts are hilarious, intelligent and extremely witty. So when I found out they were releasing a YA novel, I was super excited - so much that I couldn't wait for it to be released in Australia, and ordered it on Book Depository (that site knows no borders).

I thought Spoiled would be as awesome as GFY, and in some parts it was, but overall I have to say it was nothing I haven't read or seen before. The plot - focusing on a sweet girl named Molly who finds out her dad is a big time Hollywood star and her half-sister Brooke is a big time bitch - was entertaining, but predictable, and while the authors' flare for language shines at times, for the most part I felt anybody could have written this story. I guess that's why I felt let down - I wanted to be blown away by unique quirkiness and instead I got just another fluffy teen read.

Of course, I like fluffy teen reads as much as the next YA addict, so I did enjoy the book - in fact, I really, really liked it. I just didn't love it, and I wanted to SO. BADLY. I adore the authors so much I was tempted to say I loved it, anyway, but I can't lie. I will say there are some gold one-liners in there, which made me mentally fist-pump the Fug Girls and think, "Oh, there you are!" The pop culture references are also a lot of fun, though I think they'll date the book very quickly - I mean, the description of Molly as a homewrecker for allegedly hooking up with Pete Wentz already rings untrue because he's split from Ashlee Simpson. But for now, it's a colourful, glossy, perky read that's enjoyable as a quick pick-me-up (which I needed after Forbidden).

Rating: 3/5

Spoilery Talking Points

I didn't like the lack of closure at the end. It's pretty obvious what's going to happen, but I wanted to see the big happy family reunion scene for myself. I guess they're saving that for the sequel...
I wanted more Teddy - he was a cute character and I really loved the romance between him and Molly, but I feel like it wasn't given enough attention.

Eye Candy
Revealing how obsessed I am with trashy TV, I pictured...