Nothing Like Looking

by Chris Van Hakes

Reed Larson was just expelled from her old school. Do you want to know why? Me too. But she won’t say.


Ask her about the book her brother gave her instead, The Hobbit.


Or the beautiful boy named Mason.


Or her new school, Fancy Snob School for Rich Kids That Want to be Fancy (FSSFRKTWTBF for short).


Or how she’s hiding everything about herself.


Actually, scratch that. Just ask her why J.R.R. Tolkien has too many initials. She can’t talk about the rest.


Yet.


Advance praise for Nothing Like


If you only read one book this year, make it Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. If you only read two books, make the second one Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. If you read more than seven books, though, you could read Nothing Like Looking.


“Reading Nothing Like Looking is as fun as seeing Smaug in a hand-knit hat!” –Smaug’s big brother, who totally instagrammed Smaug in a hand-knit hat.


“This book has it all! Dragons, teenagers and mathletes!” –a teenage dragon mathlete


“Do you like chocolate? Then read this book while eating chocolate! I guarantee a great experience eating chocolate!” –The Author

Genres: Ebooks

233 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 2, 2015

Reviews

[Ella Zegarra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Original de: El Extraño Gato del Cuento

Si eres como yo, o sea: Cínica, hereje, sinvergüenza, amante de generar y contemplar el caos y, sobre todo, con un sentido de humor fuera de lugar e inapropiado; va gustarte Nothing Like Looking. Si no tienes alguno de esos requisitos, es bastante seguro que termines tirando este libro por la ventana.

Me gusta mucho como está hecha la sinopsis porque en realidad no te dice exactamente de qué irá. Te da curiosidad. La premisa es esta, no es spoiler: Reed está medio enamorada del heterosexual y muy guapo Mason, ¿qué hace? La cosa más lógica, le dice que es lesbiana.

Nothing Like Looking es un libro bastante tontorrón el 80% del tiempo. Tonto pero divertido, para alguien como yo obviamente. No vi Easy A ni leí el libro en el que está basado, pero tengo la idea que es sobre una chica que ve la oportunidad de ser popular, sin importar qué y lo aprovecha. Más o menos es lo que Reed nos muestra en Nothing Like Looking.

Uno de los problemas de escribir un libro de humor es que vas a molestar a muchas personas, solo lean las reseñas que recibió este libro en GoodReads hasta ahora. Si eres muy sensible con el tema religioso, no te recomiendo el libro. Si eres de los que quiere que los adolescentes en los libros sean mega profundos e inteligentes, no te recomiendo el libro. Si quieres una historia con giros que dejen pensando durante días, no te recomiendo el libro.

La lectura no es irrespetuosa... más o menos (¿Considerar a Dios un Gandalf del cielo, es irrespetuoso?)

Si quieres reirte un rato y eres despreocupado del mundo, léete el libro, para descansar. Es muy gracioso.

EL FALLO

Lo que para mí fue algo que no me agradó del todo, y es algo que veo en muchos libros, es al final, luego de los malentendidos, las disculpas no la hacen muy bien. Van algo así:

Persona que cometió error: Soy una idiota, lamento haberlo hecho.
Persona que no fue del todo afectada pero es el interés amoroso y reacciona como si le hubieran pisado la cola a su gato: Sí.

No creo que se haya entendido pero la disculpa van por lo general de un solo lado mientras el otro solo confirma que toda la culpa fue del otro y el/ella es un ser demasiado bondadoso y por eso perdona. Lo veo mucho en los libros y la verdad que me fastidia, no lo odio, pero siento que es injusto.

A diferencia con The Rise and Fall of a Theater Geek donde me molestó que la solución hubiera sido bastante fácil si tan solo el protagonista hablará, en Nothing Like Looking no lo hizo, lo sentí correcto para este tipo de historia. Cuando somos adolescentes, a veces hacemos cosas estúpidas para resaltar, es la verdad u.u

Espero que Chris Van Hakes saqué algún libro pronto, porque Nothing Like Looking no solo fue refrescante para mi sentido del humor, la autora escribe para lectores descarados como yo, sino también que sus protagonistas son hijos de parejas interraciales, lo que es genial porque por lo general nos dan una pareja interracial (Blanco+Persona de Color), mientras que aquí tenemos, descendiente de la India y de Sudafricanos, me gustó como jugó con eso, fue genial.

Además, dejaría totalmente a Jett manejar mi campaña de dominación mundial, la verdad.

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[Noemi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am gonna spoiler the SHIT out of this book, just so you know.

This book is about a girl with such terminally low self-esteem that she makes not even a SINGLE attempt to dispel an untrue rumor about herself, and further uses this untruth to her advantage, as a way to get closer to the boy she likes. And what is this untruth, this rumor that makes her a more desirable friend, a more interesting person, a more "cool" individual? It's that she's a lesbian.

Uh huh. Sure. Let's leave aside what this ridiculous premise says about Van Hakes' true opinion of teenagers (morons who can't tell when people are lying), and instead concentrate on the deeply problematic construct wherein being gay (or, apparently, being perceived as gay) is seen as desirable or cool.

RIGHT NOW, in the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, lawmakers are writing and PASSING legislation that permits business to turn away gays (using what gay-detecting criteria, it has not been made clear, so maybe thinking a person is gay is good enough) for no other reason than they don't like them. We are at three states and counting, including the one I currently reside in. Codified discrimination makes it pretty fucking clear that being gay is not "cool."

There are thirty-seven states where gay marriage is legal, which is thirteen too few, but it matters not a whit to me, while Van Hakes marriage enjoys full legal protections at the FEDERAL level, and mine does not. I've lived in four states in five years, and each time I move, I have to look into the legalities of my marriage in my new state of residence. Having to do that is not "cool."

It is TWO THOUSAND MOTHERFUCKING FIFTEEN, and you still cannot read a newspaper every day for a week and not read a story about gay bashing. Let's, for instance, take... I don't know, Seattle, the setting for this novel as well as Van Hakes place of residence. The local rag notes an uptick in gay bashings occurring across the city, and most notably, in the traditionally gay neighborhood of Capitol Hill. Getting a boot thrown at your head and requiring six stitches in your lip is not "cool."

Maybe you think this is an excessive reaction to a silly little novel, but Van Hakes is getting enough five star reviews touting how "true to life" the story is to indicate that there are a fair number of people who have NO FUCKING CLUE what it's like to be gay in modern America. And maybe when you have NO FUCKING CLUE what something is like, you should refrain from writing about it like you do.

Maybe next Van Hakes can write a story about a girl who pretends to be black in oder to gain some social currency. See how that one goes over.

[Kelly Gunderman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have such mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed reading it. There was not a single time where I was bored or just wished it was over already. I was actually kind of bummed when it ended, because it was a well written young adult book (these are surprisingly hard to come by).

After reading the blurb for this book, and then starting to read the book, I had to go back and reread the blurb several times because it didn't seem like it summed up the book very well. In fact, I wondered several times "What the hell am I even reading?" The blurb does this book no justice.

So why only two stars, then?

Well, I disliked Reed. I hated her character. She was whiny, thought the entire world revolved around her, and she pretended to be gay in order to get people to like her. Who does that, seriously?

Teenagers have enough of a difficult time in high school. Especially kids who are actually gay, like Reed's friend Roger, who was so scared of getting expelled from their Christian school that Reed thought he had turned her in and said she was gay so that he wouldn't be found out and expelled. See? Many kids who are gay, bisexual, transgender, etc. have a difficult time with it, for the most part. It bothered me that this book pretty much threw the message out there that it is okay to pretend to be something that you aren't, as long as you can make friends out of it. Oh, and don't worry about all the kids who are actually gay or lesbian and their lives are a living hell because they came out.

Ugh. Okay. Rant over. I think.

Now that I think of it...I can't really think of anything else to say about this book. Like I said, it had its good qualities and was entertaining, but I mean...that kind of just ruined it for me. Sure the end had some redeeming to it. Wait, it really didn't that much. The general message I took away from this book was "Say and do what you want, don't worry about anyone else, and everything will be fantastic in the end."

[Miranda · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just....."Stella's wallets" is NOT a palindrome.

[Elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

See the full review at Erratic Project Junkie!

This book is great! It was even better than I had expected. The writing is witty and fun, full of great snark and smart academic and culturally cross-referencing Easter eggs. It's a great read for anyone who enjoys YA fiction.

[Dory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nothing Like Looking was an.. interesting read. Definitely very different from what I read in this genre, yet so similar in other ways to books and real life. It is a short, quick paced novel about being the new kid in highschool. Trying to find new friends and trying to fit in and be "cool". Personally, the book gave me a wrong message. Its about a girl, Reed, who gets expelled because she was believed to be gay, and while going to another school, there is the great misconception that she is gay. She runs with the gay stuff because it makes her "cool" and most importantly gets her to be the best friend of her great crush, Mason.I understand the pretending to be something you're not in order to impress, its high school. I'll admit that I had my few lies to impress others, but Reed took it too far. Just, no. No. Her lie kept on growing, while she knew she had to spill her cup of beans real soon, but would it be a cup of beans? I think its a truckload of beans. *Thinks of all the burritos you could make with that*

Reed is diverse,half american/half indian if my memory is right. Reed is vegan, but doesn't want to be. She is told by the other characters that she is brave. Yet, she isn't. She hides behind a lie, she is whiny, she won't even stand up to her father and tell the truth of how much she loves cheese sauce. Reed does develop through the book. By the ending she has her happily ever after.

A lot of the characters had no depth that even the ants complain. Reeds friends, her father, her mum, other students at school. It bored me.

Dont get me wrong, I enjoyed reading the book. I looked forward to the time I would lie down in the comforts of my bed, reading about the comforts of Mason. Mason was a fun character, I quite liked him. He was naive, and I hated how he reacted to the scattered, freed beans. But I liked him. Jettplayn was the one you should hate. Ew.

There were many moments where it was funny. Some jokes were unoriginal, but I loved them anyways. A mood lifter. It is an essential to read the Hobbit before this book, so much of the book has to do with the Hobbit that if you don't read it, you wont understand it. I didn't read it and had some trouble myself. I believe I could have had a better connection with the characters and book if I had read The Hobbit.

Thank you NetGalley, Patchwork Press and most importantly Chris Van Hakes for being able to read the book for free in return for a honest review.

Rating: 3.5

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. So everyone at her new school thinks Reed is something she isn't, but it gives her a popularity boost and the opportunity to sidle closer to her new crush, so she rolls with it. She means to set them straight, but the timing is never right, and once you've let a lie go too far, it's just awkward to admit the truth. A laugh-out-loud Bildungsroman about a misfit who sets out on a journey of self discovery with just the fiction of J.R.R.R. R. R? Tolkien as her hated guide. I enjoyed this book with almost all of my heart and gave it five stars because these are my people. If you never befriended a mathlete or gave yourself a (bad) haircut or spent any time within the confines of an ultra conservative religious schooling situation, it might not speak to you as much and you might think it is only four stars (whatever, dwarves). Reed is flawed and makes stupid mistakes, but they are mistakes that are suspiciously like that time you let those boys believe you were a hardcore gamer girl when, really, even Super Mario was beyond your abilities. This is what growing up looks like! The plot moved quickly, and I finished it in a few hours because I couldn't put it down. Themes of being yourself, honesty, and friendship add some depth to the comedy. If you can't handle someone making uncomfortable social realities funny, you should pass, but if you sometimes see the entire social construct as one big joke - read this today! I laughed from cover to cover (seriously, read the author's acknowledgements), and I dare you not to find even the longing for processed foods funny. Language and situations are appropriate for high school readers, and I think a lot of my high school students will enjoy this witty little gem. I'm adding it to my classroom library wish list today, and I will recommend it to my librarian.

[Helen (pagesandpeaches) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked some of the complex thinking patterns and intersecting storylines in this novel. I really did not like Reed's character, though, as I could just not justify her pretending to be a lesbian so she could hang out with a boy. My favourite character would have to be Hannah because of her personality and hair.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! I would describe this as a YA combination of Prep and Fangirl.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, smart read with realistically quirky characters. Highly recommend.

[Thu · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was initially interested in this book because the blurb reminded me somewhat of E. Lockhart's The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks (which is a fabulous book that I highly recommend).

In some ways, it was similar - Reed Larson is smart and witty, and as a protagonist/narrator, she made me laugh quite a bit. But where Frankie Landau-Banks was a mastermind, refusing to let other people dictate who she is or where she can belong, Reed was the opposite - infuriatingly passive.

Let me explain: Reed got expelled from her previous school, a really conservative Christian school, because someone told the principal that she was gay (even though she isn't). At her new school, one ultra-pushy girl finds out about this fact, falsely outs Reed to the entire school (which in turn makes Reed super popular because people think it's cool that she's a lesbian... does their school not have any other gay kids?), and proceeds to think of ways to use Reed's status for her own gain. And it takes Reed nearly the ENTIRE book to do anything about it. No, correction: she doesn't actually do anything about it, because it's the same ultra-pushy girl who eventually outs her as a liar at a school assembly.

To what end is Reed so passive? Is there a lesson to be learned here? It's not much of a character arc - it's not like she has a moment of revelation where she triumphantly declares the truth to everyone and learns from the lie she's been complicit in perpetuating. It's someone else who reveals the truth, and then Reed kinda slinks off. No, correction: she doesn't slink off, because that would imply agency; her friends kinda help carry her out. Even when she does have that internal moment of, "Hey, everyone thinks I'm something that I'm not, but I have the power to change that perception if I wanted to. People who are actually LGBT don't have that privilege," it's not followed up with any sort of action or initiative or anything. Homegirl just doesn't. DO. Anything. She just lets other people push her around.

I saw a lot of promise in this novel - this would've been a great forum for discussing straight privilege, for discussing - what's the sexuality equivalent of blackface, if there is one? (If it's grossly offensive for a white person to pretend to be black, then I also think it's rather offensive for a straight person to appropriate a gay persona), for discussing conformity and bravery (since the book also talks about religion and veganism) and I don't know what else... But I'm not convinced that Reed ends up suffering any consequences since everything turns out fine in the end. I don't know, maybe her changes were too subtle for me to detect, but I felt like I was reading quite a static character, and that's very frustrating.

Nothing Like Looking is an entertaining read; it's cute and funny. But MAN, I just wanted to shake the protagonist.

[Jessica (JT) · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was provided as an ARC through a Goodreads giveaway. Thank you to Chris Van Hakes, the publisher, and Goodreads for giving me the opportunity to read it. This is my honest review. No compensation was given.

Chris Van Hakes calls this a pile of jokes with a story. There's not much story and even fewer jokes.

The blurb makes this sound like a fun and geeky read with plenty of character. I expected this to feel like a Meg Cabot book because that blurb is exactly what I would expect from Mia Thermopolis. But unfortunately, this was nothing like that. Most of it had a serious tone, and it was full of annoying, completely avoidable, angst.

The main plot of the book revolves around Reed letting her entire school believe that she is gay because it benefits her at the time. While I understand why she might not have denied those rumors at the time, it still made no sense to me. Reed in general made no sense to me.

Most of the secondary characters were one-dimensional as well. I never understood their motivations and they all seemed to put up with horrible people for no reason at all or because they had no other friends so why not hang out with the jerks who will talk to them? Mason in particular was the character I hated the most besides Reed's dad. Mason was mean to everyone, but everyone still liked him for some reason. And I just have no idea what Reed's dad was thinking.

The comparisons to The Hobbit redeemed it a little, but not enough to earn it another star. Honestly, the only part of this book that I liked was the author's acknowledgments. It made me wonder how an author can be so funny on one page, but yet still write an entire book with no humor whatsoever.

Edit June 5th: Thankfully there was a new The Princess Diaries book published right after I read this. It was able to fulfill my need for a quirky yet amazing lead character.

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey so I really enjoyed this book! I loved Reed and her hipster-dad-enforced veganism, and Mason and his cool nerdiness. I haven't read The Hobbit yet but now I am more inspired to. I didn't like David much - I just found him to be too rude and strange at times, and not in the good way! Plus the jealousy, no thanks. And Jett, I wanted to slap her... soooo pushy!!! Crikey.

I thought the idea was interesting, and fresh. Reed was expelled from her previous school, an OTT religious one, because someone told the principal she was gay. She thinks it was her former friend Roger, who is gay himself, but guess what nope... we find out near the end that it was her dad! UM WHAT. I mean he wanted her out of the school and knew she wouldn't go on her own... but still. Madness. Anyway, eventually the expulsion story gets out at Reed's new school, so everyone there thinks she's gay... and that that's really cool. She's thrust into the spotlight and Jett uses her because Reed is now her token lesbian.

Reed just goes along with it, because she has a crush on Mason, who has a very possessive girlfriend. So if everyone thinks she's gay, it's totally a pass to hang out with him and his girlfriend can't get jealous!

Clearly the shit eventually hits the fan, but there is a happy ending for Reed and Mason, of course.

I liked the idea. I liked that in a normal school, the gay kid is seen as "cool". I'm reading a lot of mixed reviews for this book and yes, sadly in a lot of places someone being gay would not be "cool" - for example Reed's previous school! - but that's not to say that that is the only reality, you know? While there are a lot of jerks out there like Tungsten (best name ever btw) there are also a lot of people like Ginger, who think it's cool to be different and respect someone who won't hide a part of themselves (er, even if it is a lie...), and like Hannah, who don't see it as anything worth noting either way. Such a school group might not be everyone' experience, but I think it's perfectly realistic.

[Darnia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm so sorry, but it was hard for me to like this book. Reed's problems irritated me. Pretended to be a lesbian so everybody would think that it's cool wasn't cool at all. I know that this book tried to showed the disadvantages for not being yourself. And sorry to say, I think made the MC looked dumb also not helping. Like, everyone knew that Mason like her, except herself, even when she said to everyone that she's a lesbian.

And the worst of all...the twist. The disclosure about the person who made Reed expelled from her last school annoyed me much!! Once again, I think it was a coward way to pushed someone to do what they wanna do. How can someone forget about how to respected each other? I.Just.Can't.Imagine!!! I can say, the twist ruined the positive things about the book. This book definitely not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Chris Van Hakes who let me read the eARC for this book, even though it won't affect my honest review

[Katie Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This nerdy, angst-filled story of teenage love is just what I was looking for in these last few weeks to take my mind off troublesome things and escape into an imaginary high school world. Van Hakes knows how to string me along with a smidge of mystery and a cast of quirky, flawed characters that frustrate me just enough to ensure I keep reading until they figure things out and fall in love. In one of my favorite literary styles, Van Hakes weaves J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit throughout the novel, with 16 year olds giving impassioned arguments about who is a dwarf and who is a hobbit in their drama-filled lives. A light read that gets bonus points for reminding me how steamy those chaste high school kisses could be.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Loved it. It was so smart, so well-written, and so well-formed. I loved the use of the Hobbit in the plot line, and the b-stories of David and Hannah, Stella and Tim, Roger and Jesus, and Reed's parents were great and not distracting. I loved the characterization. Jettplayn's history was hilarious (and she reminded me of Paris Gellar from Gilmore Girls). I loved Reed's history with "the CDC", and her friendships with her friends from there. It was a believable story of highschoolers in Seattle, with the Vegan dad, the farmer's market, and the wildly different upbringings of kids within the same city. I adored Mason and David and their dynamic. (And also my brother's name is David Mason, so that's fun.) It was just a wonderful book. Just altogether fantastic.

[Karenofnine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fans of romance comedies as well as the The Hobbit will find a lot to love in this YA book by Chris Van Hakes. Its relatable heroine reminds me of what it was like to be a teenager again, with friends, family, crushes, and insecurities taking center stage as you try to figure out who you are. The Hobbit references are used to great effect by informing the characters' discussions and as vehicles in the plot itself--anyone who has identified with Bilbo (and maybe occasionally Smaug) will want to put this at the top of their list.

[Vivien · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had its ups and downs. Mostly downs. I hated a lot of characters because they were such terrible people. I have absolutely no hope for humanity after reading this book. The characters are sick vile pieces of shit...

The story is interesting and it touches upon important topics. Sexual orientation, politics, lifestyle.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a delightfully odd, sweet YA romance about a high school sophomore who is starting at a new, fancy, private school after being expelled from the Christian school she's attended for years. The young characters and their conflicts and struggles were all just so good, and I went to a conservative Christian high school back in the day so the story had that extra special bit of resonance for me.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute and quirky novel about teen angst, love, and how no one really considers themselves to be normal. It's witty and charming and does what a lot of YA tries to do, but usually falls into the blah category.

[Megan (Best of Fates) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet, fun, hilarious read that will leave you smiling.

[Stacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great!!

I loved this book! I was surprised - it was an easy read but I couldn't put it down!!! Write more!!

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and quirky. Full review here: http://www.westillread.com/review-not...