Tall, Thin and Blonde

by Dyan Sheldon

Best friends Jenny and Amy have no time for Miss Perfect Teenagers, the tall, thin blondes whose only talk is of boys and fashion. Suddenly Amy's changed: she's into salads and diet Cokes; she's got a new hairstyle, wardrobe and set of friends. Jenny, meanwhile, finds herself part of a group of oddballs nicknamed the Martians. Will she follow Amy or find her own way?

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Fiction, Novels, Teen, Childrens

180 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1993

About the author

Dyan Sheldon is the author of many novels for young adult readers, including the #1 New York Times bestseller CONFESSIONS OF A TEENAGE DRAMA QUEEN, which was made into a major motion picture. American by birth, she lives in North London.

Reviews

[Amy Littleford · Rating 3 out of 5]

. I can relate to this book in a big way. My friends and I have been told that we are weird for being different and not being like 'normal' teenagers. This book tells the story of what it is like to feel like this and how people like Amy make it hard for people that aren't 'tall, thin and blonde'. This book shows that being different isn't a bad thing. Jenny still got a boy friend who loved her and had friends that cared about her. As this book stated (and I agree) 'popular people' are just people that are trying to impress others and care what everyone thinks about them. In my opinion it's much easier being myself with my friends because I then don't have to be fake and try really hard to impress... I can just be myself. I would love for some people that I know to read this book and see what it is like from our perspective. I recommended this book to anyone and I thought it was great :D

Amy x

[Farah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Buku terakhir dari Dyan Sheldon. Dan setelah ini dia masuk ke dalam daftar blacklist gue.

Oke, konflik utamanya adalah dua tokoh utama yang diawali dengan perbedaan sudut pandang mengenai kehidupan smu. Menarik? Sangat.

Yang satu menjadi social climber. Yang satu tetep bertahan menjadi nerds. Dan bergaul dengan another nerds.

Tiba-tiba muncul konflik lain di kelas biologi yang berawal dari ketidakinginan si tokoh nerd untuk membedah katak. Yeah right, save the frogs, save the world.

Kemudian, cerita diakhiri dengan si nerd berdemo dengan memakai kostum katak di sekolahan?
WHAT THE F**K!!!

Terus apa kabar dengan hubungan antara si social climber dan si nerds? At least mereka berusaha berbaikan atau apalah..
Bonusnya, si nerd ditaksir sama cowok yang juga dikenal nerd. Yah elah..

[Eve L-A Witherington · Rating 3 out of 5]

After her best friend Amy transforms overnight into a popular girl and a member of that clique, Jenny can't believe she's being left behind as her friend goes against everything they stood for together.



Alone in school she has to find where she truly fits I'm now and doubts at first that a group of random girls will become great friends to her as they're very out there with their ways and choices.



She also befriends one of the girls brother's whom admires her for standing up for animal rights as she refuses to dissect a frog in science, rightly so too I think!



The story is all about growing up, apart and accepting when life changes or when a friend does too. I liked how Jenny realises she needs to be herself and put her happiness first over trying to impress anyone else and she was happier overall I feel after finding friends who never want to change her.

[Kai · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Edited

✤ OPENING:

Undressing in public

"Look at them!" I said to Amy.

✤ CLOSING:

I think we might have done it anyway, but we were already in so much trouble.

________________________________________
☰ REVIEW:

3.5 stars.

What a sweeeeeeet ending, reminded me of The Comeback.
But The Comeback was better.


"Best friends Jenny and Amy have no time for Miss Perfect Teenagers, the tall, thin blondes whose only talk is of boys and fashion. Suddenly Amy's changed: she's into salads and diet Cokes; she's got a new hairstyle, wardrobe and set of friends. Jenny, meanwhile, finds herself part of a group of oddballs nicknamed the Martians. Will she follow Amy or find her own way?"


***************************************************
CHARACTERS

1) Jenny Kaliski

The protagonist.

Loved stars and planet and stuff like that. Wanted to be an astrophysicist.

Had a great sense of humour.

Felt that those girls who never talked about anything but boys and clothes were shallow and immature.

I think she is kinda cool, she had three holes pierced in her right ear.


2) Amy Ford

Jenny's best friend since third grade and now they were in the first year in high school.

Jenny and Amy had always agreed on shallow and immature girls who never talked about anything but boys and clothes but Amy was becoming one of those girls who worry about what they eat and what they wear and who they're friends with.

I really hate Amy for abandoning Jenny and leaving her alone at the dance and always hanging out with the popular girls --the Miss Perfect Teenager like Kim, Amber and Rosie Henley-- instead. What a shallow girl. But i am quite touched to know that Amy still cared about Jenny, she was worried about Jenny's social life in high school. I thought Amy was just being mean and awful. But I still don't like her for being shallow and only cared about what the popular girls thought.


3) Marva

Joan's friend from middle school.

She wore only purple and black.

I like her! She was wierd but i think she was cool, always wearing black and purple! "Tanya, Joan Maria and Sue might be the Martians, but Marva was the head Martian, there was no doubt about that." Jenny had said. Even her house was wierd.

4) Chris (Christopher County)

Marva's elder brother.

Called Jenny "frog girl".

A weirdo. Not only was he very tall and thin with the same bony, sort of striking face and dark eyes as Marva, but he was the only boy in Red Bay High who dressed all in black and wore a ponytail and an earring, a silver bat.

He was always in trouble in school.

At first u would think that he was rude, but it turned out that he was a good guy. He helped Jenny with her protest about the meaningless dissection of frog in her Biology teacher's(Mr Herrera)class


5) Sue

Sat next to Jenny in homeroom.

Everything about Sue was vague. Her hair was kind of brown, her eyes were kind of blue,her clothes never quite fit together,she never knew what day it was or what class she was supposed to be in.

Sue! She was the funny one. She never talked about what anyone else was talking about. It was like everyone else was having one conversation, and Sue was having another, haha! XD Just reading her conversation with Jenny and the other Martiians made me laugh.


6)Tanya
Sue's friend from for ever.

She always wore the brightest colours( in case you have trouble spotting her in a crowd ) and was always loud and laughing. The tallest girl jenny had ever seen.


7)Joan

She was in Jenny's maths class.


8)Maria

Just moved to Red Bay High and sit behind Tanya in history.

Don't know much about her. Jenny said she was the one who could usually be counted on for sympathy and understanding.



************************************************


I like it when Jenny was hanging around with the Martians, sometimes their conversations were funny. This is the first time I really laughed out reading a book!

I don't like it when Jenny was hanging out with Amy. Sometimes, Amy hurt Jenny's feelings, making Jenny felt self-abased about her looking. I just can't stand Amy for being so shallow. She nearly influenced Jenny. Luckily Jenny finally understand that she should be herself, without worrying what Amy and her friends were going to think. And I am glad that Jenny realised that Tanya, Joan, Sue, Maria, Marva and Chris really cared about her and they definitely didn't care if she was tall thin or blonde because they were her true friends.


Be who you really are and stand up for what you believe in! And a true friend will never judge you by you look!

[Nicki · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I first started reading this book, I didn't like it much because of the main character. She's one of those shy and insecure, but weird characters and I personally don't like characters like that. But as I continued on reading, I started to like it more. It's a story mostly about friendship with a side-dish of romance and standing up for what you believe in.

[Jewel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read at 181 pages, good paced writing too.
Girls and school, always an entertaining subject.
The moral of the story the same as most of this genre, be who you are not who others want you to be.

[Asuka Mai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jenny dan amy adalah sahabat karib sejak kecil tepatnya sejak kelas 3 sd, mereka berdua sangat kompak, baik dalam hal kesukaan yaitu tentang planet dan galaksi juga makanan berlemak seperti burger , pizza, kentang dan minuman bersoda.
Sampai akhirnya mereka memasuki masa smu, amy terlihat mulai berubah , ia hanya makan salad dan soda diet. Tadinya jen dan amy paling anti dengan miss perfect tennager begitu sebutan mereka untuk cewe-cewe yg bertubuh tinggi, langsing, blonde serta ikut dalam pemandu sorak.
Namun ternyata amy mulai ingin menjadi salah seorang dr mereka dan mulai membuat jarak kepada jen. Amy kini bersahabat karib dengan amber dan kim, cewek perfect dan pirang. Amy pun lambat laun jd langsing dan mulai berdandan serta membuat rambutnya pirang keikalan, jen jg mendapat teman2 baru yg dijuluki makhluk mars oleh para miss perfect karena mereka dianggap aneh dan juga memakai pakaian dengan mode kuno dan mencolok.
Bisa ditebak kan endingnya seperti apa... jen yg pada mulanya mulai minder dan mulai memperhatikan omongan amy ttg penampilan dan teman2 anehnya sempat ikut berdiet dan membeli produk pewarna rambut namun gagal total. Jen menyadari sekarang arti persahabatan yg sesungguhnya
Rasanya kesel banget klo punya temen kaya amy...

[Orkhiroz · Rating 2 out of 5]

★2,5

Buku ini kupilih untuk TBR prompt: probably unhaul. Bacaan bulan kemarin membuktikan bahwa aku sudah enggak cocok untuk novel-novel teenlit, jadi mungkin aku juga enggak cocok dengan yang ini, apalagi topik cerita insecurity terkait penampilan sudah sering dibahas sebagai cerminan kehidupan remaja di dunia nyata.

Saat baru baca dua halaman, aku hampir DNF novel ini. Hal-hal yang diucapkan tokoh utamanya sangat stereotipe, apalagi ada 50% kemungkinan bahwa ujaran kebencian itu cuman asumsi dia sebagai seseorang yang iri dan denial pada orang yang "sukses". Namun, berhubung si Protagonis masih remaja—biasanya mereka memang cenderung melihat hal dari satu sudut pandang saja—sehingga kumaklumi dan target minimal halaman aku boleh DNF itu sekitar ½ atau ¼ buku, maka aku melanjutkannya. Selain itu juga karena novelnya tipis dan penceritaannya juga ringan, jadi ya sudahlah... tanggung. Omong-omong, aku jadi ingat betapa menakutkannya para remaja itu.

Setelah beberapa bab, untungnya, ada hal yang melatarbelakangi dia menjadi seperti itu, yakni karena trauma atas ketidakadilan pada masa kecilnya. Aku ikut sedih karena ambisi dan kerja kerasnya yang jauh melebihi teman-temannya itu menjadi sia-sia. Oh, aku baru sadar. Katak yang dulu "dibencinya" itu berubah menjadi sosok yang "dilindunginya" di akhir cerita. Nice...

Omong-omong, aku jadi kepikiran. Masa enggak ada cerita dengan tokoh berfisik ala Miss Perfect Teenager yang ternyata orangnya itu sangat baik? Dari yang kubaca, kok mereka semua jahat begitu? Apa yang masuk ke kategori itu cuman tipe cewek cantik nan dominan yang mukanya judes, ya?

Ada bagian yang ironis sekali. Di halaman 66, Jenny enggak mau berdansa dengan cowok culun. Tapi, di halaman 101, dia mengakui bahwa dia enggak keren dan culun.

Halaman 40 membuatku merenung... Memangnya sejahat itu, ya, pikiran orang-orang kalau lihat seseorang sedang duduk sendirian di keramaian? Hehehehe. Waduh...

Di sini terdapat mimpi-mimpi simbolis yang muncul sesuai situasi yang dikhawatirkan Jenny. Ada juga fun fact soal berat badan yang enggak bisa turun gara-gara air, sayangnya enggak ada informasi tambahan soal itu, padahal aku penasaran.

Soal kondisi psikologis Jenny... Dia sering berbicara sendiri dan menjelek-jelekkan diri sendiri ketika terserang kepanikan karena paranoia, lalu ada keinginan untuk melarikan diri. Sayang sekali, hal tersebut tidak dibahas lebih lanjut. Aku agak suka sekaligus enggak suka dengan itu. Aku suka karena memang banyak manusia nyata yang memiliki masalah kesehatan mental nan terpendam lama tanpa disadari. Pembaca pun memiliki kebebasan untuk menebak-nebak sendiri kira-kira apa yang sedang terjadi padanya. Tapi, aku kurang suka karena aku tipe orang yang ingin tahu lebih banyak dan butuh kepastian.

Jenny menyadari pesan moral dari masalahnya, namun interaksi dia dan Amy untuk yang terakhir kalinya itu enggak membekas. Ekspresi Amy memang sudah menjelaskan kira-kira apa yang akan terjadi pada mereka, tetapi tetap saja terasa kurang menyakitkan untuknya yang di sepanjang cerita mengkritik terus tanpa mendengarkan pilihan gaya hidup orang lain. Selain itu, ia merasa malu jika dilihat orang lain ketika bersama seseorang yang seharusnya sahabatnya.

Meksipun aku suka ending soal nasib persahabatan tadi, dua halaman terakhir rasanya sangat terburu-buru. Aku sampai syok. Lah? Sudah selesai? Cuman begini? Terus apa? Pertama-tama, dari mana Geng Makhluk Mars tahu Jenny jadi melakukan demo?

Aku sudah hampir memutuskan untuk menyimpan cerita yang relatable ini, tapi sekarang bimbang karena akhirannya enggak memuaskan. Setelah buku ini berakhir, aku pun bertanya-tanya... Apakah buku ini cukup spesial untukku?

Ketika membaca blurbnya, aku enggak menyangka bakal dihadapkan permasalahan soal penyerangan burung hantu dan demo, perang terbuka, serta revolusi demi katak, yang di halaman 137 sampai membuatku tergelak. Ini random dan mengejutkan banget. Untuk itu, aku mengapresiasi karena buku ini punya unsur keunikan.

Yang kusukai dari cerita ini adalah relate banget dengan kehidupan sehari-hari. Mungkin hampir semua manusia di dunia ini pernah bertanya pada diri sendiri, kita itu pantasnya berada di kelompok sosial mana. Ketika melihat orang populer, terkadang kita juga ingin menjadi seperti mereka. Ketika melihat keanehan orang lain, tanpa sadar diri kita juga memiliki keunikan itu. Omong-omong, ada banyak sekali cara pandang berbeda yang kupelajari di sini. Well, jadi unik itu oke-oke saja, asalkan tidak memaksakan kehendak dan mengganggu kehidupan orang lain.

Hal lain yang bisa dipelajari dari novel ini adalah lebih baik kita mencari teman baik yang satu koneksi dengan kita. Jika prinsip sahabat kita sangat berkebalikan dari jati diri kita, lambat laun hal itu bisa jadi beracun. Daripada saling memaksakan kehendak kepada satu sama lain, lebih baik mengambil jarak atau putus hubungan saja.

Soal hal yang sering dikatakan Jenny... Tentang praktik membedah katak, sebenarnya ada manfaatnya. Aku pernah melakukannya pas SMA dan aku mengapresiasi berbagai pengetahuan yang kupelajari di sana serta aku jadi lebih bisa menghargai cara kerja tubuh makhluk hidup. Cita-cita Jenny memang sepertinya enggak memerlukan pengetahuan semacam itu, namun mungkin siswa lainnya yang ikut di kelas biologi—apalagi mungkin itu merupakan kelas tambahan—berpikir bahwa itu penting untuk masa depan mereka. Oleh karena itu, demonya terasa... selfish.

Well, aku enggak bisa memberikan alternatif lain cara melakukan praktikum tersebut tanpa terkesan "kejam" sih. Atau mungkin cuman si Guru saja yang melakukannya dan direkam, lalu videonya ditunjukkan ke siswa-siswi di layar lebar pas kelas? Apa itu sudah cukup untuk pengetahuan anak SMA?

Omong-omong, aku masih bertanya-tanya. Kenapa Marva dan Chris kayak memaksa banget Jenny buat melakukan demo itu? Apa itu jebakan penulis demi membangun kecurigaan seperti yang dikatakan Amy? Atau itu karena mereka berdua cuman excited saja setelah akhirnya menemukan teman baru yang satu pikiran sama mereka? Soalnya, di awal bab terakhir, hubungan Jenny, Marva, dan Chris baik-baik saja.

Ulasan versi video ada di channel YouTube-ku.

[Siti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teenlit ini mengisahkan tentang Jenny dan Amy yang berteman sejak kecil. Namun setelah mereka SMU, Amy mulai berubah. Amy ingin diterima oleh anak-anak gaul oleh karena itu dia menjadi anggota cheersleader dan mulai menjauhi Jenny. Jenny sebaliknya, dia berteman dengan kelompok yang bisa dibilang tidak gaul dan malah dijauhi oleh teman-teman sekolah dan dianggap aneh oleh mereka. Jenny tetap pada pendiriannya dan idelismenya bahwa dia tetap menjadi dirinya sendiri apa adanya tanpa harus mendengar pendapat orang lain.
Sebenarnya teenlit ini bagus bagi remaja yang merasa minder karena tidak gaul atau memang memilih 'idealisme' mereka. Karena sebagai remaja yang masih rentan oleh lingkungan sekitarnya (teman-temannya) kadangkala kita hanya mengikuti apa yang dianggap tren untuk dibilang sebagai anak gaul, padahal belum tentu itu baik bagi kita.
Jadi apabila kita hobi baca dan tidak dianggap gaul atau dibilang nerd oleh mereka, IT's MY CHOICE!

[MeetAyee · Rating 3 out of 5]

MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS!!!!!!

Jenny and Amy are best friends but when Amy started changing herself, dieting, drinking diet sodas, change her wardrobe and hair and started to be friends with the popular girls. The two of them started to drift apart. Jenny became close with the odd group which the others nicknamed them The Martians. Amy wanted Jenny to change herself and be part of their group. Will Jenny stick to her best friend or will she be a part of The Martians?

This is a quick read if you want a fast paced, light read book. I like the concept of the story. Best friends, making new friends, discovering yourself, learning new things and being true to yourself. I could not blame Jenny when she wanted to change herself because she just wants to be with her best friend. But in the end she realized that she does not need any of that and she started to be true to herself and she stood up on what she believed in. She didn't get affected with peer pressure, she stick to what she got.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book accurately shows how people can change and how peer pressure works. This is a good book for girls who are about to start high school/become a teenager as it shows them that it is not only okay to be yourself but it is a good thing!
I do like this book would recommend it more for girls aged around 11-15 as it is about the younger teenage years and finding out who you are and how to be who you want to be not who someone else thinks you should be.

[yasmin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've read the book some long time a go, but I just re-read it recently. It's a teen-lit and there are already many similar kinds out there, so it's not really special to me anymore. Besides, I don't really find Jenny as the main character... interesting. So, I could not fully enjoy the book.

One thing, I just wish Jenny and Amy could reunite once again. Their friendship seems fun - I hate Kim and Amber anyways.

[Andreang · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a nice book,but this storyline is really rigged. Honestly speaking,being tall,thin and blonde doesn't mean your pretty. Look at Tyra banks,she's a brunette and has curves,but she likes to show it off and hence is a good role model for young girls that you don't have to be tall,thin and blonde just to look pretty. Its better to be healthy than to be skinny.

[Katharina · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a good book.
It's a little sad, but it's true: not all friendships last forever. We grow up and sometimes we move on in different directions.
Even though that's hurtful, it's important to understand that responding to peer pressure does not help to figure out who you really are.
That's what this book is about. I liked the message and the new friends that Jenny makes.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book annoyed me to start with - the main character was so irritating and snobby. It was full of stereotypes - the popular girls were all beautiful and mean. HOWEVER, once the book progressed, it became more focused on the importance of friendship and being yourself.
Not amazing, but nice to pass the time.

[E'in Nadh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outdated contemporary--always a guilty pleasure. Always perfect for a light read after one hell of a creepy book. I think this book was first published in 1993, so it's not like any other contemporary these days and is way better. Some of the stuff said would probably be offensive to some other people though, in my opinion.

[Brooke · Rating 1 out of 5]

WORST BOOK I HAVE EVER READ!!! DO NOT READ! It was probably the worst written, worst plot book I have ever read. It didn't have a plot, only an untruthful perspective of a story that has been told too many times. The ending wasn't surprising, nor entertaining and reading this made me reconsider reading a book ever again. Hated it.

[Sansia · Rating 1 out of 5]

entah karena baca buku ini udah lama atau karena ceritanya ga terlalu berkesan *buatku* atau entah karena apa, aku sama sekali ga inget apa isi buku ini. padahal serius, rasanya sih aku udah baca buku ini dua kali *kalo ga salah*
bzzz (_ _")

[Alice Liddle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't like the ending, it kinda ruined it all. And yes, it was okay. I was hoping it would've been better. But if you asked me how to improve it, then I'm not all that sure how exactly... If I were an author, which I am not for a good reason, I would have written the ending differently.

[Kaketin Who · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have rated this four stars, but I found the ending a little "cliff-hangery".

As there is not a second book to this, I was really disappointed, but the beginning and middle of the book is okay.

If you like books that actually end, then I would not recommend this book to you.

[Jess Donn · Rating 1 out of 5]

In reality, it was probably more 2 stars when I read it but now that I'm getting it round to reviewing it I realise I cannot remember anything about this novel. So, yeah, that pushed the rating down.

[Mitchiel Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is okay. But it's almost the same as Alyson Noel's "Kiss and Blog". Though I finished the book fast, the story wasn't that super interesting to me since I've read "Kiss and Blog" first. The book is about friendship and love.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aw, nostalgia / cliche-love

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

My very first "favorite" book. I think I was in the 5th grade when I read this book. Of course I own it now....I think it was the first book I ever bought for myself as well!

[Yu_cha · Rating 3 out of 5]

lumayan buat bacaan ringan,,,

[Al Szi · Rating 3 out of 5]

with this book we learn about being yourself because the good friend never judge you by your look...

[Kaili · Rating 4 out of 5]

cara berceritanya rapi banget. teenlit paling rapi yang pernah gue baca.

[Angelic Zaizai · Rating 3 out of 5]

lumayan kok ceritanya..

[Veronica Widya · Rating 2 out of 5]

nih buku aku baca udah lamaa bangett, ta[i seinget aku ni buku ga gitu bagus dan endingnya juga aneh.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant surprise. I was expecting this to be dumb and poorly written and full of caricatures. Well, there was some of that, but mostly it was fun, and the ending was satisfying.