Girls

Rating:
Summary: Believable and compelling
Review: Amy Goldman Koss's "The Girls" is a horribly realistic portrayal of the nastiness that goes on in middle-school cliques. The story is alternatingly told from the points of view of all five girls in the group, which was a wise decision on Ms. Koss's part as it allows us to develop a varying amounts of sympathy for all the characters, even the meanest ones.

One of the most sympathetic figures here is Maya Koptiev, who at at the outset of the story has been the most recent one to be ostracized from the group. The ostracization of Maya (and others, as the tale progresses) is initiated by the clique's ringleader, Candace Newman. Nasty, gutsy, charismatic, and possessing the power to make everyone around kowtow to her, Candace is altogether too believable a character - as is her ugly-acting sidekick, Darcy. Yet at the same time, both girls' characters are three-dimensional. You might want to hate them, but you can't.

Rounding out the group are weak-willed Brianna, who wants to remain friends with the excluded Maya but can't quite manage to wriggle out of Candace's proverbial clutches; and shy Renee, who dithers her way through sentences and worries about her father, the "jukebox man". Also prevalent are supporting players Keloryn (Darcy's college-bound older sister) and Nicole (a redhead Candace adopts for what Brianna refers to as her "girl collection").

At 121 pages, "The Girls" is a short novel, but everything is there that needs to be. It is an (unfortunately) accurate and very compelling story from beginning to end.

Rating:
Summary: Believable and compelling
Review: Amy Goldman Koss's "The Girls" is a horribly realistic portrayal of the nastiness that goes on in middle-school cliques. The story is alternatingly told from the points of view of all five girls in the group, which was a wise decision on Ms. Koss's part as it allows us to develop a varying amounts of sympathy for all the characters, even the meanest ones.

One of the most sympathetic figures here is Maya Koptiev, who at at the outset of the story has been the most recent one to be ostracized from the group. The ostracization of Maya (and others, as the tale progresses) is initiated by the clique's ringleader, Candace Newman. Nasty, gutsy, charismatic, and possessing the power to make everyone around kowtow to her, Candace is altogether too believable a character - as is her ugly-acting sidekick, Darcy. Yet at the same time, both girls' characters are three-dimensional. You might want to hate them, but you can't.

Rounding out the group are weak-willed Brianna, who wants to remain friends with the excluded Maya but can't quite manage to wriggle out of Candace's proverbial clutches; and shy Renee, who dithers her way through sentences and worries about her father, the "jukebox man". Also prevalent are supporting players Keloryn (Darcy's college-bound older sister) and Nicole (a redhead Candace adopts for what Brianna refers to as her "girl collection").

At 121 pages, "The Girls" is a short novel, but everything is there that needs to be. It is an (unfortunately) accurate and very compelling story from beginning to end.

Rating:
Summary: This book has no plot!
Review: I found this book in my 11 year-old sister's room, and thought it looked interesting. Boy was I wrong! This book can be confusing to follow because each chapter is writted from another character's point of view. Not only does this book have so weak a plot that it seems to be non-existent, but the portrayel of the four teenage girls who are the main characters is totally false! The plot in this book is so unbelievable! I wouldn't waste your money on this book. If you desperatly want to read this book, then borrow it from the library, but do not spend your own money on it!

Rating:
Summary: Pre-Teen Peer Pressure
Review: I thought that this book was really good because it describes about how the life of being a teenager really is.Its not easy fitting in or choosing the right group of friends and just because you think you fit in doesnt necessarily mean it is the right group. Choosing your friends is hard and I think this book really describes that.

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Maya's a member of a middle-school clique, until one day, when their "leader" decides to ditch her. Maya's confusion, along with three of the other girls in the clique's emotions are explored in short chapters that switch back and forth from one girl to another. What emerges is a sad, but very true picture of how cliques function and how girls treat their "friends." My main gripe with this book was that it was far too short and read more like a short story than a novel. I wish that the characters had been expanded a bit more, but maybe by keeping it short, the author was trying to prove a point.

Rating:
Summary: The Girls
Review: Since I am 18 yrs old, this book was a little bit young for me but it won more than one award so I decided that it was worth my time. The book shows the members of a clique from each individuals perspective. The book is a little bit juvinile but it shows the troubles that preteens face- divorce, the want for acceptance and watching their parents age.


Rating:
Summary: This book has no plot!
Review: The Girls consist of Maya, Renee, Candace, and Brianna. All of a sudden the 4 girls decided not to be friends with Maya, leaving her to wonder why they don't like her anymore.
The book wasn't very detailed. It didn't even tell where it took place. It was hard for me to stay focused because I kept forgetting who the characters were or getting them mixed up, and not knowing who did what in the book. Personally, there were just too many girls to keep track of.
However, I think a lot of girls can relate to it or atleast understand the concept. It wasn't horrible. I don't think I would recommend it to anyone just young girls like my neice because she is 13 and going in to middle school. Younger girls would maybe like it more.

Rating:
Summary: The Girls
Review: The Girls Puffin Books, 2000, 121 pp., $4.99
Amy Goldman Koss ISBN 0-14-230033-0

Could you put yourself in the position where all of a sudden, your closest friends begin teasing and taunting you? Well, that's the position that Maya is in when friends Renée, Brianna, and Darcy turn on her, and she can't figure out why. Then popular, intimidating Candace calls her and says some awful things, and suddenly it becomes crystal clear: the other girls don't like her because of Candace; if they did stay Maya's friend after Candace began to dislike her, they would be out of Candace's clique. The book The Girls shows how hard it is to be left out, mocked, and how to get back on your feet.

I really loved this book because I felt as though I could instantly connect with Maya. She has the same problems every middle school girl has, and Amy Goldman Koss describes her emotions very well. The writer's craft was unique; with each new chapter, a different girl would narrate the story and the "Maya problem" as she saw it through her own eyes.

The book The Girls was addictive. I enjoyed reading the different perspectives that each individual girl had on the problems going on within their clique. Once I picked it up, I just couldn't put it down!