Title: Art Geeks and Prom Queens
Author: Alyson Noel
Series:
Pages: 240
Release Date: September 1st 2005
Format: Paperback
Series:
Pages: 240
Release Date: September 1st 2005
Format: Paperback
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Buy it: Amazon
Add it: Goodreads
Synopsis: Being the new girl is tough, just ask sixteen-year-old Rio Jones. A New York transplant, Rio has no clue how she's going to fit in at her fancy new private school in Southern California. Plus, being late, overdressed, and named after a Duran Duran song doesn't make the first day any easier for her.
Then Rio meets Kristi. Beautiful, rich, and a cheerleader, Kristi is the queen bee of Newport Beach. And Kristi isn't friends with just anyone, so Rio is thrilled when she's invited to be part of the most exclusive, popular clique. Of course, like any club, Kristi and her friends have rules: Always smile (even if you don't mean it), always dress cute (and never repeat outfits), and always flirt (but only with jocks, preps, and rich college guys).
At first Rio is having a great time, but as she becomes more immersed in this jet-set crowd, she figures out there is one last rule that her new friends forgot to mention: Don't cross Kristi . .
Synopsis: Being the new girl is tough, just ask sixteen-year-old Rio Jones. A New York transplant, Rio has no clue how she's going to fit in at her fancy new private school in Southern California. Plus, being late, overdressed, and named after a Duran Duran song doesn't make the first day any easier for her.
Then Rio meets Kristi. Beautiful, rich, and a cheerleader, Kristi is the queen bee of Newport Beach. And Kristi isn't friends with just anyone, so Rio is thrilled when she's invited to be part of the most exclusive, popular clique. Of course, like any club, Kristi and her friends have rules: Always smile (even if you don't mean it), always dress cute (and never repeat outfits), and always flirt (but only with jocks, preps, and rich college guys).
At first Rio is having a great time, but as she becomes more immersed in this jet-set crowd, she figures out there is one last rule that her new friends forgot to mention: Don't cross Kristi . .
My Review: Rio is starting a new school mid term, she is a geek and proud but her mum - an almost super model - thinks that Rio could be less geeky and more girly and popular and she goes as far as choosing what Rio should wear on her first day at school so that she will get noticed and become popular.
On her first day she is late and the girl sat next to her in her first class spends the whole time staring at her but during her second class Rio makes friends with Mason and Jas, they are in her art class and they invite her to Jas' house for lunch, while there Rio find out that they smoke weed and because she doesn't want to seem like a loser she joins in and when the three go back to school they end up being late getting caught and getting a weeks detention.
This incident makes her mum tell Rio that she shouldn't hang with Mason and Jas as they are bad for her but Rio doesn't really care what her mum says and the next day she continues to hang out with Mason and Jas.
After a few days Rio becomes friends with Kristi, Kristi is the popular girl but becoming her friend comes at a price, she MUST stop hanging out with her fellow art geeks and spend her time shopping and doing whatever else Kristi says. When Rio invites her new friends home her mum is finally happy to see that she is now friends with the popular group. The problem is deep down Rio is really unhappy being Kristi's friend as there are rules she must follow, but she doesn't want to go back to being the kid no one notices.
Kristi helps Rio to get with JC who just wants to sleep with Rio but she keeps putting it off, Rio's mum and Kristi even plan a party for her that she doesn't want. While being Krisit's friend Rio starts to take drugs, partying and drinking.
Rio eventually starts to date Tyler a senior and becoming more popular than Kristi and she doesn't like this, Rio even has a date to the Moondance and all the seniors like having Rio hanging with them and Drew the guy who Kristi is hooking up with all the time doesn't ask her to go to the dance with him.
Rio, Tyler, Kristi and the others attend a party where they play spin the bottle, at first Rio doesn't want to join in as she doesn't think its right to hook up with someone else while Tyler is with his friends drinking but when he asks her to join in she does. This is where everything starts to change, Drew spins the bottle and ends up kissing Rio and Kristi doesn't like it and when Kristi spins the bottle it lands on Tyler, Rio hopes that Kristi and Tyler won't do anything but instead they leave to go upstairs to hook up. Rio takes herself off upstairs and cries but after re applying her make-up she goes downstairs and have a few drinks and ends up making out with Drew who starts to make a move on Rio who has to kick him to get him off her.
While trying to leave the party Rio and Kristi get into an argument and Rio's whole world starts to fall down around her. Kristi starts to spread rumours about Rio and everyone at school starts to ignore her even Tyler and the rest of the seniors. Kids in the hall start pointing and laughing at her and calling her names, someone also defaces her locker and puts dog poo in the locker and when she tries to tell the Head Teacher what had happened to her locker and who she thinks did it he doesn't believe her.
Now she has no friends Rio pretends to her mum that everything is wonderful until one day her mum tells her that she needs to pick out a dress for the Moondance, Rio snaps she can't take it anymore, she goes into the bathroom and cuts all her hair off and then goes down for her dinner and her mum freaks out and Rio finally tells her everything.
The following Monday Rio goes to school and confronts Kristi and calls her out on all her rubbish and she starts to become friends with Mason and Jas again.
The ending was great as Rio finally gets to be who she wants to be and her mum is happy for her she is even happy with Rio being friends with Mason and Jas again. This story tells it like it is for most young people who go to High School, especially if your new. It basically tells you to be who YOU want to be and NOT what everyone else wants.
On her first day she is late and the girl sat next to her in her first class spends the whole time staring at her but during her second class Rio makes friends with Mason and Jas, they are in her art class and they invite her to Jas' house for lunch, while there Rio find out that they smoke weed and because she doesn't want to seem like a loser she joins in and when the three go back to school they end up being late getting caught and getting a weeks detention.
This incident makes her mum tell Rio that she shouldn't hang with Mason and Jas as they are bad for her but Rio doesn't really care what her mum says and the next day she continues to hang out with Mason and Jas.
After a few days Rio becomes friends with Kristi, Kristi is the popular girl but becoming her friend comes at a price, she MUST stop hanging out with her fellow art geeks and spend her time shopping and doing whatever else Kristi says. When Rio invites her new friends home her mum is finally happy to see that she is now friends with the popular group. The problem is deep down Rio is really unhappy being Kristi's friend as there are rules she must follow, but she doesn't want to go back to being the kid no one notices.
Kristi helps Rio to get with JC who just wants to sleep with Rio but she keeps putting it off, Rio's mum and Kristi even plan a party for her that she doesn't want. While being Krisit's friend Rio starts to take drugs, partying and drinking.
Rio eventually starts to date Tyler a senior and becoming more popular than Kristi and she doesn't like this, Rio even has a date to the Moondance and all the seniors like having Rio hanging with them and Drew the guy who Kristi is hooking up with all the time doesn't ask her to go to the dance with him.
Rio, Tyler, Kristi and the others attend a party where they play spin the bottle, at first Rio doesn't want to join in as she doesn't think its right to hook up with someone else while Tyler is with his friends drinking but when he asks her to join in she does. This is where everything starts to change, Drew spins the bottle and ends up kissing Rio and Kristi doesn't like it and when Kristi spins the bottle it lands on Tyler, Rio hopes that Kristi and Tyler won't do anything but instead they leave to go upstairs to hook up. Rio takes herself off upstairs and cries but after re applying her make-up she goes downstairs and have a few drinks and ends up making out with Drew who starts to make a move on Rio who has to kick him to get him off her.
While trying to leave the party Rio and Kristi get into an argument and Rio's whole world starts to fall down around her. Kristi starts to spread rumours about Rio and everyone at school starts to ignore her even Tyler and the rest of the seniors. Kids in the hall start pointing and laughing at her and calling her names, someone also defaces her locker and puts dog poo in the locker and when she tries to tell the Head Teacher what had happened to her locker and who she thinks did it he doesn't believe her.
Now she has no friends Rio pretends to her mum that everything is wonderful until one day her mum tells her that she needs to pick out a dress for the Moondance, Rio snaps she can't take it anymore, she goes into the bathroom and cuts all her hair off and then goes down for her dinner and her mum freaks out and Rio finally tells her everything.
The following Monday Rio goes to school and confronts Kristi and calls her out on all her rubbish and she starts to become friends with Mason and Jas again.
The ending was great as Rio finally gets to be who she wants to be and her mum is happy for her she is even happy with Rio being friends with Mason and Jas again. This story tells it like it is for most young people who go to High School, especially if your new. It basically tells you to be who YOU want to be and NOT what everyone else wants.
Currently Reading: Drusilla: Story of an Ugly Stepsister by Melissa Frost
Read in 2019: 6/30
Read in 2019: 6/30
