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Making Out #16
Lara Gets Even
They've all grown up together on a tiny island. They think they know everything about on another...but they're only just beginning to find out the truth. Lara gets even with Kate because she can't bear to watch Kate stealing Jake. Kate's been searching for the boy who rescued her at Ben's party and now it seems she's about to find him. Can Lara dream up a scheme that will lead Kate straight to the wrong guy? Lara gets even They've all grown up together on a tiny island. They think they know everything about one another...but they're only just beginning to find out the truth. Lara gets even with Kate because she can't bear to watch Kate stealing Jake. Kate's been searching for the boy who rescued her at Ben's party and now it seems she's about to find him. Can Lara dream up a scheme that will lead Kate straight to the wrong guy?
176 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published September 27, 1996
192 people want to read
About the author
Katherine Applegate
263 books6,310 followers#1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Applegate has written many books for young readers, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal.
Katherine’s picture books include THE BUFFALO STORM, illustrated by Jan Ormerod (Clarion Books); THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF IVAN, THE SHOPPING MALL GORILLA, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Clarion Books); SOMETIMES YOU FLY, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Clarion Books); and ODDER: AN OTTER’S STORY, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Feiwel & Friends).
She’s written or co-written three early chapter series for young readers: ROSCOE RILEY RULES, a seven-book series illustrated by Brian Biggs (HarperCollins); DOGGO AND PUPPER, a three-book series illustrated by Charlie Alder (Feiwel & Friends). With Gennifer Choldenko, she co-authored DOGTOWN and MOUSE AND HIS DOG, illustrated by Wallace West (Feiwel & Friends).
Books for middle-grade readers include HOME OF THE BRAVE (Feiwel & Friends); THE ONE AND ONLY series, illustrated by Patricia Castelao, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, THE ONE AND ONLY BOB, THE ONE AND ONLY RUBY, and THE ONE AND ONLY FAMILY (HarperCollins); the ENDLING trilogy (HarperCollins); CRENSHAW (Feiwel & Friends); WISHTREE (Feiwel & Friends); WILLODEEN (Feiwel & Friends); ODDER (Feiwel & Friends); and the forthcoming POCKET BEAR (Feiwel & Friends).
With her husband, Michael Grant, Katherine co-wrote ANIMORPHS, a long-running series that has sold over 35 million books worldwide. They also wrote two other series, REMNANTS and EVERWORLD, and a young adult novel, EVE AND ADAM (Feiwel & Friends.)
Katherine’s work has been translated into dozens of languages, and her books have won accolades including the Christopher Medal, the Golden Kite Award, the Bank Street Josette Frank Award, the California Book Award Gold Medal, the Crystal Kite Award, the Green Earth Book Honor Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award, and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Many of her works have appeared on state master lists, Best of the Year lists, and Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and New York Times bestseller lists.
Katherine lives in Nevada with her husband and assorted pets. She is represented by Elena Giovinazzo at Heirloom Literary and Mary Pender at WME.
Katherine’s picture books include THE BUFFALO STORM, illustrated by Jan Ormerod (Clarion Books); THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF IVAN, THE SHOPPING MALL GORILLA, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Clarion Books); SOMETIMES YOU FLY, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Clarion Books); and ODDER: AN OTTER’S STORY, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Feiwel & Friends).
She’s written or co-written three early chapter series for young readers: ROSCOE RILEY RULES, a seven-book series illustrated by Brian Biggs (HarperCollins); DOGGO AND PUPPER, a three-book series illustrated by Charlie Alder (Feiwel & Friends). With Gennifer Choldenko, she co-authored DOGTOWN and MOUSE AND HIS DOG, illustrated by Wallace West (Feiwel & Friends).
Books for middle-grade readers include HOME OF THE BRAVE (Feiwel & Friends); THE ONE AND ONLY series, illustrated by Patricia Castelao, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, THE ONE AND ONLY BOB, THE ONE AND ONLY RUBY, and THE ONE AND ONLY FAMILY (HarperCollins); the ENDLING trilogy (HarperCollins); CRENSHAW (Feiwel & Friends); WISHTREE (Feiwel & Friends); WILLODEEN (Feiwel & Friends); ODDER (Feiwel & Friends); and the forthcoming POCKET BEAR (Feiwel & Friends).
With her husband, Michael Grant, Katherine co-wrote ANIMORPHS, a long-running series that has sold over 35 million books worldwide. They also wrote two other series, REMNANTS and EVERWORLD, and a young adult novel, EVE AND ADAM (Feiwel & Friends.)
Katherine’s work has been translated into dozens of languages, and her books have won accolades including the Christopher Medal, the Golden Kite Award, the Bank Street Josette Frank Award, the California Book Award Gold Medal, the Crystal Kite Award, the Green Earth Book Honor Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award, and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Many of her works have appeared on state master lists, Best of the Year lists, and Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and New York Times bestseller lists.
Katherine lives in Nevada with her husband and assorted pets. She is represented by Elena Giovinazzo at Heirloom Literary and Mary Pender at WME.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 8, 2018
What a dramatic ending.
I'm not a big fan of Kate. She's living in Lala land. I mean really, you believe you're destined to be with a guy (who's identity is unknown to you) because he did want any human being would do when you where passed out. 🙄
I actually think Lara may be bipolar with the way her moods constantly change and how she's become so obsessively attached to Jake. Her behaviour is creepy and I don't know why no one is pulling her up on it.
At least Benjamin seems to be coming out of his funk a little but can Zoey and Lucas get it together already!
Aisha, Aisha, Aisha smh 😂
I'm not a big fan of Kate. She's living in Lala land. I mean really, you believe you're destined to be with a guy (who's identity is unknown to you) because he did want any human being would do when you where passed out. 🙄
I actually think Lara may be bipolar with the way her moods constantly change and how she's become so obsessively attached to Jake. Her behaviour is creepy and I don't know why no one is pulling her up on it.
At least Benjamin seems to be coming out of his funk a little but can Zoey and Lucas get it together already!
Aisha, Aisha, Aisha smh 😂
December 22, 2015
After a few less than stellar books, we're finally back on track. There's forward motion, drama, humour, and more than just girls sitting around talking about boys (except Aisha, whose scenes I can't even read anymore). Finally, this is about secrets and friendships and kids trying so hard and screwing everything up anyway. And poor little Nina; she's always been so good at tugging at my heart strings.
December 21, 2015
A really good one, not one of my absolute favourites, but notable for its sheer drama. It’s Lara’s first book, she’s on the cover sporting a bleached, cropped do and an inebriated-looking smirk. Perfect!
My favourite part of it is Kate’s search for the guy who carried her out of Benjamin’s birthday party when she got punched out 2 books ago. She thinks she’s destined to be with this guy. Now, if she had any sense she’d figure out it was Jake. There were four guys at the party:
-Aaron: been there, done that. Plus he probably couldn’t/wouldn’t lift another person.
-Lucas: Kate’s already said he’s like a brother to her.
-Benjamin: He’s blind. He’s very capable but I’m not sure he’d be able to lift a woman off the floor and walk outside with her.
-Jake: The only person who could possibly be the person she’s looking for.
Kate decides to confide the details of her search in Lara. Kate has a strip of shirt from her rescuer, which she shows to Lara. Lara sees Jake in the shirt, figures out he’s Kate’s hero-boy, and due to her own Jake obsession, conspires to make Kate believe Benjamin is the guy who carried her out of the party. KATE TOTALLY BUYS IT!!! GAH!! She slathers herself up in aloe lotion (she thinks Benjamin will like this because he’s blind and but can still smell things. She knows he’s blind…but she still thinks…anyway…) and ambushes Benjamin with a kiss. Naturally Nina is lurking outside Benjamin’s room, sees the kiss and is so heart broken that she flees Chatham Island.
Aisha has a bit of boy-drama in this book. She tells her scholarship rival David Barnes that he’s no Christopher, but he’ll do in a pinch. He’s into it because she’s so pretty and he likes her so much. I’m glad Aisha is getting some attention for something other than her scientific prowess and her terrible dancing. They have a blissful date, David asks her to the prom, she accepts, he walks her home (which is pretty good considering she lives on an island and he lives on the mainland), and then Christopher shows up. Cripes. Get out of here Christopher.
The other thing I want to talk about is Zoey. When I first started re-reading these books I couldn’t believe how cool Zoey was, because I remember her being a total pill. Now I know that what I remember. From book 6 onwards, Zoey is a jealous, petty, pathetic little thing. I know she’s had a lot of messed-up stuff happen to her, but so has Jake and so has Nina and they’ve managed not to become almost completely unbearable.
Claire’s plot to break up her dad and Aaron’s mum comes to a head when the mash note she posted to her dad from Florida arrives and results in a fight and the postponement of the wedding.
Favourite bits:
-Nina fantasises about being a guest on Ricki Lake:
“Ricki: Claire, is Nina just compulsive? Or is she plain stupid?
Claire: Well, Ricki, she’s both. She’s stupid and compulsive. She’ll never have any luck with men. That’s my department.
Ricki: Thanks you Claire. By the way, you’re exquisitely beautiful. You should be a model.”
I have the feeling that if Claire fantasised about being on a talk show that’s the way she’d envision the dialogue too.
My favourite part of it is Kate’s search for the guy who carried her out of Benjamin’s birthday party when she got punched out 2 books ago. She thinks she’s destined to be with this guy. Now, if she had any sense she’d figure out it was Jake. There were four guys at the party:
-Aaron: been there, done that. Plus he probably couldn’t/wouldn’t lift another person.
-Lucas: Kate’s already said he’s like a brother to her.
-Benjamin: He’s blind. He’s very capable but I’m not sure he’d be able to lift a woman off the floor and walk outside with her.
-Jake: The only person who could possibly be the person she’s looking for.
Kate decides to confide the details of her search in Lara. Kate has a strip of shirt from her rescuer, which she shows to Lara. Lara sees Jake in the shirt, figures out he’s Kate’s hero-boy, and due to her own Jake obsession, conspires to make Kate believe Benjamin is the guy who carried her out of the party. KATE TOTALLY BUYS IT!!! GAH!! She slathers herself up in aloe lotion (she thinks Benjamin will like this because he’s blind and but can still smell things. She knows he’s blind…but she still thinks…anyway…) and ambushes Benjamin with a kiss. Naturally Nina is lurking outside Benjamin’s room, sees the kiss and is so heart broken that she flees Chatham Island.
Aisha has a bit of boy-drama in this book. She tells her scholarship rival David Barnes that he’s no Christopher, but he’ll do in a pinch. He’s into it because she’s so pretty and he likes her so much. I’m glad Aisha is getting some attention for something other than her scientific prowess and her terrible dancing. They have a blissful date, David asks her to the prom, she accepts, he walks her home (which is pretty good considering she lives on an island and he lives on the mainland), and then Christopher shows up. Cripes. Get out of here Christopher.
The other thing I want to talk about is Zoey. When I first started re-reading these books I couldn’t believe how cool Zoey was, because I remember her being a total pill. Now I know that what I remember. From book 6 onwards, Zoey is a jealous, petty, pathetic little thing. I know she’s had a lot of messed-up stuff happen to her, but so has Jake and so has Nina and they’ve managed not to become almost completely unbearable.
Claire’s plot to break up her dad and Aaron’s mum comes to a head when the mash note she posted to her dad from Florida arrives and results in a fight and the postponement of the wedding.
Favourite bits:
-Nina fantasises about being a guest on Ricki Lake:
“Ricki: Claire, is Nina just compulsive? Or is she plain stupid?
Claire: Well, Ricki, she’s both. She’s stupid and compulsive. She’ll never have any luck with men. That’s my department.
Ricki: Thanks you Claire. By the way, you’re exquisitely beautiful. You should be a model.”
I have the feeling that if Claire fantasised about being on a talk show that’s the way she’d envision the dialogue too.
January 26, 2017
Drama drama drama !
Eventually, all the story lines are going somewhere (part from the Zoey-Lucas relationship, kinda stuck in the mud, but we see there is a break up ahead)!
The whole thing between Kate and Lara, with Lara persuading Kate that Benjamin is her savior, was very funny. I can't tell if she's making fun of Lara (because of the rivalry for Jake) or if she grabbed the first idea that came to her mind. Either way, it was very comical.
Can't wait to read what's happening next.
Eventually, all the story lines are going somewhere (part from the Zoey-Lucas relationship, kinda stuck in the mud, but we see there is a break up ahead)!
The whole thing between Kate and Lara, with Lara persuading Kate that Benjamin is her savior, was very funny. I can't tell if she's making fun of Lara (because of the rivalry for Jake) or if she grabbed the first idea that came to her mind. Either way, it was very comical.
Can't wait to read what's happening next.
November 18, 2010
Read in high school.
April 24, 2023
* They're all home again.
* Claire is waiting for the letter that she wrote to her father to arrive. When it eventually does, her father and Sarah have a massive argument, and he calls the wedding off. Claire does feel momentarily guilty that she's caused her father such grief, and she also regrets a little that she won't see Aaron, even though that was the whole point. When she sees Aaron they end up kissing.
* Kate is still trying to find out who saved her at the party. She tells Lara and shows her the scrap of fabric she has, the next day Lara realises that the scrap is from one of Jake's shirts. She doesn't want anyone to have Jake but herself, so she takes the shirt and gives it to Benjamin. The next day she makes sure that Benjamin is wearing the shirt and that Kate sees it. Kate then starts flirting with Benjamin, and kisses him, only for him to tell her that it was Jake who rescued her. Jake who had asked her out the day before and she'd refused.
* Zoey is desperate to hear from Stanford, but when she does it's a rejection letter. She's disappointed, but she does get accepted to Berkley and Maine University.
* Jake gets a football scholarship.
* Claire gets into MIT.
* Lucas isn't sure he wants to go to college, or what will happen to him when Zoey goes.
* Benjamin is hiding the fact that he was already accepted to Columbia University. The problem is he doesn't know if he wants to go, or if he'll even graduate high school.
* Lara keeps on drinking and stealing alcohol from the restaurant.
* Zoey catches Lucas reading her diary twice more and is not impressed. They decide that they just need to try each other, especially with their pending separation when Zoey goes to University.
* Nina sees Benjamin and Kate kissing and is very upset because she feels she's really lost him. She packs a bag, takes some emergency cash and leaves.
* Aisha gets accepted everywhere but doesn't win the scholarship that she was fighting with David for, and neither does David. David takes her out and they spend the evening kissing. When they get home Christopher is waiting for Aisha 🙈
* Claire is waiting for the letter that she wrote to her father to arrive. When it eventually does, her father and Sarah have a massive argument, and he calls the wedding off. Claire does feel momentarily guilty that she's caused her father such grief, and she also regrets a little that she won't see Aaron, even though that was the whole point. When she sees Aaron they end up kissing.
* Kate is still trying to find out who saved her at the party. She tells Lara and shows her the scrap of fabric she has, the next day Lara realises that the scrap is from one of Jake's shirts. She doesn't want anyone to have Jake but herself, so she takes the shirt and gives it to Benjamin. The next day she makes sure that Benjamin is wearing the shirt and that Kate sees it. Kate then starts flirting with Benjamin, and kisses him, only for him to tell her that it was Jake who rescued her. Jake who had asked her out the day before and she'd refused.
* Zoey is desperate to hear from Stanford, but when she does it's a rejection letter. She's disappointed, but she does get accepted to Berkley and Maine University.
* Jake gets a football scholarship.
* Claire gets into MIT.
* Lucas isn't sure he wants to go to college, or what will happen to him when Zoey goes.
* Benjamin is hiding the fact that he was already accepted to Columbia University. The problem is he doesn't know if he wants to go, or if he'll even graduate high school.
* Lara keeps on drinking and stealing alcohol from the restaurant.
* Zoey catches Lucas reading her diary twice more and is not impressed. They decide that they just need to try each other, especially with their pending separation when Zoey goes to University.
* Nina sees Benjamin and Kate kissing and is very upset because she feels she's really lost him. She packs a bag, takes some emergency cash and leaves.
* Aisha gets accepted everywhere but doesn't win the scholarship that she was fighting with David for, and neither does David. David takes her out and they spend the evening kissing. When they get home Christopher is waiting for Aisha 🙈
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 2, 2021
Endlich geht's etwas bergauf bei der Truppe, besonders weil die meisten an richtig geilen Unis angenommen wurden. Wobei mir Nina natürlich sehr Leid tut und vor allem an Ende einem echt das Herz bricht. Dass Claire allen Ernstes eine Liste geschrieben hat, auf der genau steht, in welchen Schritten sie die Beziehung ihres Vaters zu ruinieren gedenkt, ist echt too much.
September 13, 2022
Zoe talking about how much trust her and Lucas have for each other, both being the most jealous characters ever written is funny. Then going on to the big rouse she has planned to trick him into breaking her trust on purpose…. Well what can I say. Really hope Aisha sticks with David and doesn’t go back to controlling abusive Christopher
October 25, 2025
Kate is really absolutely delusional.
February 28, 2017
Feeling nostalgic for the books of my youth, I revisited Katherine Applegate and her Islanders omnibus editions (first released as the Making Out series way back in 1993. Yes, I am that old...).
While I found them to be overly-dramatic and a little bit cheesy on second reading, I think they would be loved by teenagers today. YA has taken a much-welcome step in the sphere of fantasy, science fiction and Dystopia, largely, in recent years so for teenagers looking for the traditional romance novels filled with teen-angst and buried secrets, these are a good series to turn to. A little bit Dawson's Creek in it's setting and it's drama, The Islanders is the perfect teen soap opera.
While I found them to be overly-dramatic and a little bit cheesy on second reading, I think they would be loved by teenagers today. YA has taken a much-welcome step in the sphere of fantasy, science fiction and Dystopia, largely, in recent years so for teenagers looking for the traditional romance novels filled with teen-angst and buried secrets, these are a good series to turn to. A little bit Dawson's Creek in it's setting and it's drama, The Islanders is the perfect teen soap opera.
December 6, 2023
I remember being obsessed with this series when I was 14! I made my mom buy me all 29 books (in Germany a 29th book was published, there is no English translation) after borrowing the first one from my then-best friend.
Looking back, the plots got wilder and wilder with time: A lost half-sister, Claire's stalker, Ben miraculously being able to see again etc. I don't think I would enjoy it as much now as I did ten years ago, but it will only have a special place in my heart.
Looking back, the plots got wilder and wilder with time: A lost half-sister, Claire's stalker, Ben miraculously being able to see again etc. I don't think I would enjoy it as much now as I did ten years ago, but it will only have a special place in my heart.
January 9, 2017
diese Buchreihe hat mich während meiner Teeniezeit begleitet. ich habe sie so geliebt...
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews