The Hot List
by Hillary Homzie
Aladdin Mix (Simon & Schuster)
2011
244 pages
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Hilarious, poignant, and believable, The Hot List will have tweens and teens rooting for Sophie!
Tweens will love Sophie Fanuchi, the principal's daughter who (cringe) can't stand the fact that she goes to school where her dad is the principal, and they will be equally drawn to her BFF Maddie. Maddie and Sophie have been BFF's since grade school: having sleepovers, discussing magazine clothing and make-up, staying up late, sucking down Cherry Slurpee's, but then Nia Tate--the most popular girl at Travis Middle School--starts texting Maddie and wants to be her friend. Sophie feels left out and comes up with a brilliant, on-the-spot, fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants idea: why not create a hot list? A list of all the hottest boys and girls in the middle school? What could go wrong?
Sophie and Maddie get right to work and post their colorful, glittery creation in the last stall of the girls' room. Sophie should know better than to write on walls with permanent marker, but once in the moment, she wants to impress Maddie and keep her as her very own BFF--excluding Nia.
When word gets around about who is hot and who is not--the social fabric of the entire school changes. Everyone is talking about who made it and who didn't. If you were lucky enough to be on the Hot List, you have an instant "in" with all the popular crowd and you are suddenly fabulously cool. When Nia makes an impossible bet with Sophie, Sophie will go to any lengths to make nerdy Squid Rodriguez "cool" and list-worthy. The Hot List becomes its own entity--like magic, someone keeps posting a new list weekly. It's not Sophie and it's not Maddie.
How can Sophie win her BFF back and control the list?
Highly, highly recommended for tweens ages 11-14.
No sex, no language--just middle school angst.
FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this novel from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.
This book is the best.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad to see this review.
My favorite line is from the uncool Squid Rodriguez: "The digs chick me."
But I also loved this description of Maddie: "The most exercise Maddie ever got was turning the page of a romance novel."
Okay, Pamela. You truly made my June, July and August with your review!!!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you enjoyed the book!
Hillary
www.hillaryhomzie.com