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Ian Striver is popular and handsome, and all the girls like him. He is also part of a secret boys' club called the CIA, which guarantees his standing in his school's social elite. So when one of his CIA friends throws down a bet, Ian has to take it, or risk losing his rep. The bet is that Ian has three weeks to make a girl fall in love and have sex with him.
240 pages, Hardcover
First published December 1, 2005
About the author
Dana Davidson
2 books104 followersDana Davidson is the author of two novels for young adults, Jason and Kyra (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun 2004) and Played (Hyperion/Jump at the Sun 2005). Booklist calls Jason and Kyra a book that “teens won’t be able to stop reading….” About Played, School Library Journal says, “Davidson’s understanding of teen motivations and language is apparent….”
Many African-American Children’s Lit authors see Dana Davidson as a trailblazer. Her first novel, Jason and Kyra, was one of the first romance novels to feature middle-class African-American characters. However, Dana never aspired to be an author, at least not at first.
Dana grew up a fan of romance novels, but as a kid, there weren’t many romance novels that portrayed African-Americans as the “hero.” Her desire to see successful, African-American characters in novels manifested itself in her first novel, Jason and Kyra.
In addition to being an author, Dana is also a teacher, and was awarded the Newsweek/WDIV-TV Outstanding Teacher Award in 2001. However, when beginning a novel, she refuses to let her “teacher” side interfere with her writing process. It isn't until later, as she revises and reflects on a novel, that she allows herself to see her work through her teacher lens.
Dana’s second novel, Played, takes a unique look at the influence of underground high school fraternities. While the idea of foolish and immature fraternity initiations played a part in crafting the novel, what Dana really wanted to show was the inherent beauty of her characters—and in a way, the inherent beauty of her students. She wanted to write a novel where the characters were forced to “see” each other.
Many African-American Children’s Lit authors see Dana Davidson as a trailblazer. Her first novel, Jason and Kyra, was one of the first romance novels to feature middle-class African-American characters. However, Dana never aspired to be an author, at least not at first.
Dana grew up a fan of romance novels, but as a kid, there weren’t many romance novels that portrayed African-Americans as the “hero.” Her desire to see successful, African-American characters in novels manifested itself in her first novel, Jason and Kyra.
In addition to being an author, Dana is also a teacher, and was awarded the Newsweek/WDIV-TV Outstanding Teacher Award in 2001. However, when beginning a novel, she refuses to let her “teacher” side interfere with her writing process. It isn't until later, as she revises and reflects on a novel, that she allows herself to see her work through her teacher lens.
Dana’s second novel, Played, takes a unique look at the influence of underground high school fraternities. While the idea of foolish and immature fraternity initiations played a part in crafting the novel, what Dana really wanted to show was the inherent beauty of her characters—and in a way, the inherent beauty of her students. She wanted to write a novel where the characters were forced to “see” each other.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 157 reviews
November 2, 2010
The book I read was Played by Dana Davidson. I choose this book because it was funny and because books that have to do with gangs makes it interesting and it makes it exciting and it is funny how in some ways they are like gangs in real life and not the way there are in real life. This book is realistic fiction and that means that it has to do with life but it is not a true story. The setting is not said but it is in a town. There are two main charters. The first one is Ian and he is a guy that wants to be in the best gang in school he is a tall dark skinned guy with hazel eyes. The second character is a girl named kylie who is a tall, plain faced girl how is a nobody with only two friends she is browned skinned and dark brown eyes. In this story Ian goes to a dance where his so called friends dare him to get Kylie to have sex with him and he also has to make her fall in love with him. When he gets to know Kylie he ends up falling for her and she starts to fall for him. One day kylie and him spend all day together and when the go back to his house kylie and Ian have sex and than he writes her a letter and she writes one back but he lets his so called friends read it and than a girl reads in out loud and kylie finds out about it and Ian says that he does like her and it is over between them and kylie hates him and he loves her. After he tells the gang he is out he tries to get Kylie back and he finds out that she still loves him and in the end he gets Kylie back and everything is fine. The problem is that he hurts her and he wants her back after he does and he wishes that his so called friends would have not made that bet with him. The problem is resolved by him quiting the gang and be showing Kylie that is does like and love her. My opinion is that if you like a book that is funny and you like a book about gangs I would choose this one. One of the reasons I think this book is good because it is a book that I think people would like and would want to read again and again.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2017
I didn't want this book to end it was soo good lol, like man I wanted more after I read the ending. I'm like really? Lol, I do think I read this book when I was in high school because I remember reading Jason and Kyra. But maybe I didn't I don't remember it might have been Jason and Kyra. Oh well. Good book though I definitely enjoyed this book I read it in one day, Like literally, I even stopped doing my class work so I could finish lmao.
August 27, 2016
I am slowly working my way through all the books I bought for my classroom library. I want to be able to put books into the hands of my students and to be able to say something meaningful about them. Although I am way past my teen years, I have to say that I am pleasantly surprised by the caliber of the teen fiction out there today. I’m not talking about the mega hits like Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight series which, sure, teens read en masse but which I can’t say is quality literature by any stretch. I’m not talking about better-written fare like The Hunger Games. I’m talking about those quiet, often over-looked, books that speak directly to young adults about things they care about and things they worry about: divorce, illness, love, sex, abuse, drugs and alcohol. Those sorts of books were few and far between when I was growing up – which is why everyone and their dog read Judy Blume’s novel, Forever or Go Ask Alice by Anonymous.
Dana Davidson’s novel Played tells the story of handsome and talented Ian Striver, a boy who does know the difference between right and wrong, but who also wants – more than anything – to be accepted into an elite group at his school. Ian has made it past the induction phase of FBI (Freaky Boys Incorporated) but now he must pass one final test: he has to bed someone chosen for him by members of the FBI.
Kylie is the girl and it is impossible not to fall in love with her. She’s smart, she’s kind, she values the right things (her family: single mom and her younger brother and sister) and even when a little voice tells her that it can’t be possible that a boy like Ian could fall for a plain girl like her, she allows herself to fall in love with him.
Ian, on the other hand, was so fine and so popular that he could have any girl he wanted. Kylie wasn’t sure what, but she felt that something wasn’t quite right.
But the truth was that she wanted something more to happen to her. She went to school, took care of her siblings, kept their house clean, did her homework and saw her girlfriends from time to time. But that wasn’t enough. It seemed to Kylie that a perfectly healthy, reasonably intelligent teenage girl ought to be able to get into more than that. Kylie felt as if her life was more like that of a thirty-five-year-old than that of a sixteen-year-old. So while she had her suspicions about why Ian was taking time with her, she was going to let it ride and see where it took her.
While Ian does set out to play Kylie for his own gain, Davidson does a terrific job of making him likeable and complicated. Played does not play out exactly as the reader might anticipate and I enjoyed it a great deal.
Dana Davidson’s novel Played tells the story of handsome and talented Ian Striver, a boy who does know the difference between right and wrong, but who also wants – more than anything – to be accepted into an elite group at his school. Ian has made it past the induction phase of FBI (Freaky Boys Incorporated) but now he must pass one final test: he has to bed someone chosen for him by members of the FBI.
Kylie is the girl and it is impossible not to fall in love with her. She’s smart, she’s kind, she values the right things (her family: single mom and her younger brother and sister) and even when a little voice tells her that it can’t be possible that a boy like Ian could fall for a plain girl like her, she allows herself to fall in love with him.
Ian, on the other hand, was so fine and so popular that he could have any girl he wanted. Kylie wasn’t sure what, but she felt that something wasn’t quite right.
But the truth was that she wanted something more to happen to her. She went to school, took care of her siblings, kept their house clean, did her homework and saw her girlfriends from time to time. But that wasn’t enough. It seemed to Kylie that a perfectly healthy, reasonably intelligent teenage girl ought to be able to get into more than that. Kylie felt as if her life was more like that of a thirty-five-year-old than that of a sixteen-year-old. So while she had her suspicions about why Ian was taking time with her, she was going to let it ride and see where it took her.
While Ian does set out to play Kylie for his own gain, Davidson does a terrific job of making him likeable and complicated. Played does not play out exactly as the reader might anticipate and I enjoyed it a great deal.
July 16, 2010
I had very high expectations for Played after reading Dana Davidson's incredible book Jason and Kyra. After waiting over 4 months for this book to finally become available on paperback swap, I was really disappointed with the outcome.
In this book Ian is one of the finest more popular guys in Kylie's school. And he suddenly finds interest in her. Little does she know that it is only because of a bet. A bet that consists of Ian getting Kylie to fall for him, and sleep with him, in order to be initiated into some sort of popular fraternity. If you are anything like me, you are cringing at the mere thought of a guy willing to stoop so cruelly and so low in order to be a part of a crowd.
The plot went on like any other contemporary romance, except for the opposing thoughts of the two main characters. Kylie thinking that this guy who seems so ashamed of her at school is slowing falling in love with her, and Ian thinking that he only has a limited amount of time to STEAL Kylie's virginity in order to be part of the innermost in crowd. I could never get into the romance in this book because of how cruel and fake it seemed from my perspective, but I kind of feel like that may have been the author's objective when writing this book.
Ian is a creep. He can embellish all of his feelings and motives as much as he wants, but it takes a truly cruel person to be capable of such a thing. I actually admired Kylie in the beginning of the book. She takes care of her brother and sister, is in charge of a lot of things within her household, and barely utters a complaint. But by the end of the book, I felt she was acting a little bit naive. Emotions get in the way of logic I assume.
Overall, I did not really enjoy this book. But for some reason, I think that Dana Davidson expected this to be a book that will not be welcomed as well as others since this romance didn't spring as true as the others. It may have been meant to teach a lesson, and I have to say: Message Received!
http://blackandblueink.blogspot.com/
In this book Ian is one of the finest more popular guys in Kylie's school. And he suddenly finds interest in her. Little does she know that it is only because of a bet. A bet that consists of Ian getting Kylie to fall for him, and sleep with him, in order to be initiated into some sort of popular fraternity. If you are anything like me, you are cringing at the mere thought of a guy willing to stoop so cruelly and so low in order to be a part of a crowd.
The plot went on like any other contemporary romance, except for the opposing thoughts of the two main characters. Kylie thinking that this guy who seems so ashamed of her at school is slowing falling in love with her, and Ian thinking that he only has a limited amount of time to STEAL Kylie's virginity in order to be part of the innermost in crowd. I could never get into the romance in this book because of how cruel and fake it seemed from my perspective, but I kind of feel like that may have been the author's objective when writing this book.
Ian is a creep. He can embellish all of his feelings and motives as much as he wants, but it takes a truly cruel person to be capable of such a thing. I actually admired Kylie in the beginning of the book. She takes care of her brother and sister, is in charge of a lot of things within her household, and barely utters a complaint. But by the end of the book, I felt she was acting a little bit naive. Emotions get in the way of logic I assume.
Overall, I did not really enjoy this book. But for some reason, I think that Dana Davidson expected this to be a book that will not be welcomed as well as others since this romance didn't spring as true as the others. It may have been meant to teach a lesson, and I have to say: Message Received!
http://blackandblueink.blogspot.com/
December 2, 2008
At first when i saw this book, i didnt really like the cover. But after reading the blurb of the book, i started liking it. I read the first few pages and it draged my attention away so i borrowed the book from library. This book is about a girl named Kylie was being played by a guy named Ian. Ian went after Kylie for a bet, but he found out that he fell in love with Kylie. And it was kind of late when he found out. Now that Ian is trying to get Kylie back and... If you want to know, you have to read it. By reading this book, i understand more about love. Apearance is not as important as feelings. I would recommand this book to all teenagers that is interested in "love" or want to know more about it. I think this is a really romantic and attractive book. If you got a chance... Then you should read it!
September 4, 2012
this book had me thinking, do all guys act this way: making bets about if they can get girls into bed with them. This book was a huge eye opener and was a lot of fun reading. It made me very disappointed in the guys in this book and hope they guys in my school aren't like this (which I know they not ). Pretty good good book for girls to read.
September 24, 2007
im reading this book now and its really good. its about a guy who plays a girl for a dare but he ends up liking her.
January 27, 2026
This one is a hard one for me to rate
I’m going to start off by saying the only reason I picked this book up to read was to earn a bingo square.
Don’t get me wrong…it was cringey and took some getting used to and I didn’t love the high school aspect. Definitely a YA book.
However, if I had been reading this as a kid in high school I would have devoured the book! Definitely a catchy story for a young audience and has some good lessons.
I’m going to start off by saying the only reason I picked this book up to read was to earn a bingo square.
Don’t get me wrong…it was cringey and took some getting used to and I didn’t love the high school aspect. Definitely a YA book.
However, if I had been reading this as a kid in high school I would have devoured the book! Definitely a catchy story for a young audience and has some good lessons.
December 5, 2008
The book I recently finished reading is Played by Dana Davidson. This is a fictional book that has a very strong message and moral to it. Which is if you are not ready to take on the responsibilities and consequences of having sex then don’t. and if you do then protect yourself.
Ian and kylie have been going to cross-country high together for two years, and they have not once said hi to each other. Ian is the schools star basket ball player and she is the unnoticed ugly duckling who at sixteen has never been on a date. So how’d they meet, maybe it was fate, maybe it was the fact Ian was pledging for an underground group called the F.B.I. (Freaky Boys Incorporated).
When kylie and Ian first met they where at a winter dance their high school holds every year. Ian was standing in a group of F.B.I . members and pledges, he was the highlight of the talk, because he claimed to be able to get any girl that he wanted into bed. That is when mike came up with the idea to have him prove it to the group. He had three weeks to make a girl fall in love and in the bed with him but the twist, it had to be someone mike picked out.
Ian didn’t think this was so bad until he realized mike was high and was going to pick some “dog faced” girl. This is when kylie comes into the picture mike picked her out and that was it, so Ian introduced himself to her and they exchanged numbers. Kylie then began having a lot of interest in Ian how had never before talked to her, so why the sudden interest in her? Anyway she didn’t care.
So did Ian face the challenge and get it done or is he still coming out the pocket for losing that bet he made with mike. Did he really get kylie to fall in love and the bed with him or did he tell her what was going on and she played along.
I recommend this book to any one who has read of has an interest in Bluford series books. There is one book in particular that is based around this same exact issue. All around this is one of the best books you could read. I was unable to have the book out of reach for “x” amount of minutes but I lived. If they did make another one to see where things went with ian and kylie I would love to read it.
Ian and kylie have been going to cross-country high together for two years, and they have not once said hi to each other. Ian is the schools star basket ball player and she is the unnoticed ugly duckling who at sixteen has never been on a date. So how’d they meet, maybe it was fate, maybe it was the fact Ian was pledging for an underground group called the F.B.I. (Freaky Boys Incorporated).
When kylie and Ian first met they where at a winter dance their high school holds every year. Ian was standing in a group of F.B.I . members and pledges, he was the highlight of the talk, because he claimed to be able to get any girl that he wanted into bed. That is when mike came up with the idea to have him prove it to the group. He had three weeks to make a girl fall in love and in the bed with him but the twist, it had to be someone mike picked out.
Ian didn’t think this was so bad until he realized mike was high and was going to pick some “dog faced” girl. This is when kylie comes into the picture mike picked her out and that was it, so Ian introduced himself to her and they exchanged numbers. Kylie then began having a lot of interest in Ian how had never before talked to her, so why the sudden interest in her? Anyway she didn’t care.
So did Ian face the challenge and get it done or is he still coming out the pocket for losing that bet he made with mike. Did he really get kylie to fall in love and the bed with him or did he tell her what was going on and she played along.
I recommend this book to any one who has read of has an interest in Bluford series books. There is one book in particular that is based around this same exact issue. All around this is one of the best books you could read. I was unable to have the book out of reach for “x” amount of minutes but I lived. If they did make another one to see where things went with ian and kylie I would love to read it.
January 27, 2011
I choosed to read this book because it is a very interesting book and the title tells you what the book is about it is about a girl getting palyed by a guy that only wants to get her verginity.The genre of this book is fiction because nothing that is in this book is reall it is made up. The setting is at school and at the guys house and at her house.The main character is a girl that likes this guy but she thinks that he will never like her and her mom and dad are divorced so she has a very rought life. The plott summary is about a guy who wants to get in a gang called the FBI and in order to get in he has to get a girls verginity.The main problem is that a guy wants to get in a gang called the FBI and in order be in that gang he has to get a girl to have sex with him so he found out that there is a girl in school that likes him so he asked her to go to eat some food and she said okay so they go to a fast food restaurant so then when they are done he goes and thakes her back to her house and the next day she sees him with the gang he wants to join and she goes close to him and he sees her and he acts like he does not see her so her so she gets close to him and he ignorse her until she said hi and she said hi then she left than he calls her to see if they want to hang out and she said yes so then he said that she can come over to her house and they can watch a movie and he goes and they both go in to there room and he starts kissing her and he got what he wanted to have sex with her and she knows that he only wantef her for that and she stops talikng to him and he told all his friends what happened and he gets into the FBI gang that he wanted. The problem is resolved by him saying that he feel in love with her and she really likes her so then he asked him if she wants to go out with him and she said yes only because i love you. My oppinion of the book is that it was okay at the beggining it was really fun but when i found out that he was just using her i did not like the book but over all it was a really good book .
September 20, 2012
Through out my whole high school experience reading was one of my worst subjects and I couldn't ever finish a book I have started to read. Played, by Dana Davidson was one of out of the few books that I really enjoyed reading and open up any time possible to continue reading. This book is fiction, but the details and events giving in the book could actually happen in real life.
The book takes place in Cross High School and a group of boys in FBI, Freaky Boys Incorporated dare Ian Striver that in order to become a new member, he had to foul a girl and make her fall for him enough to sleep with him. Worse yet, it had to be a girl that was innocent and remain absence. Throughout the plot of the book it gives detail of how Ian got what he wanted from a girl named Kylie. This book shows real life experience and consciences that can happen if someone doesn't measure the limits of his actions. The author shows how playing with someone's emotions and hurting them can result in getting hurt as well. It shows how easily high school teens get influenced with peer pressure and listening to you "friends" can lead to regret. The book gave well details and description of people, settings and went deep about what each character was feeling and the thoughts each one carried.
I rated this book a five because a good book is one you don't want to put down and keeps you turning the pages. Played, by Dana Davidson did just that for me. Once I was done reading it I wish that I have had never read it, so I can go back and experience the mixtures of emotions this book made me feel all over again.
The book takes place in Cross High School and a group of boys in FBI, Freaky Boys Incorporated dare Ian Striver that in order to become a new member, he had to foul a girl and make her fall for him enough to sleep with him. Worse yet, it had to be a girl that was innocent and remain absence. Throughout the plot of the book it gives detail of how Ian got what he wanted from a girl named Kylie. This book shows real life experience and consciences that can happen if someone doesn't measure the limits of his actions. The author shows how playing with someone's emotions and hurting them can result in getting hurt as well. It shows how easily high school teens get influenced with peer pressure and listening to you "friends" can lead to regret. The book gave well details and description of people, settings and went deep about what each character was feeling and the thoughts each one carried.
I rated this book a five because a good book is one you don't want to put down and keeps you turning the pages. Played, by Dana Davidson did just that for me. Once I was done reading it I wish that I have had never read it, so I can go back and experience the mixtures of emotions this book made me feel all over again.
Read
November 3, 2014In this coming to age urban fiction novel a bright young girl named Kylie is in for the shock of her life when popular boy Ian takes a liking in her. What Kylie is unaware of it was all a dare until Ian finds there is more than meets the eye with Kylie, not only is she smart and pretty but she may be the perfect girl for him. Students will be swoon by the love story of this unlikely match whereas educators will enjoy introducing a new form of fiction to students. Students will feel more mature with this reading selection as it explores high-school relationships and realizing that a person should not be judged by outward appearance.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2011
this is a grat if you like stupid girls making stupid disisions to give up something very important..........then taking back the cause of your misery... i this this book is grat to show the teen mind..not very inteleget..
January 22, 2009
I really injoyed reading this book, because I felt as though I could relate to it. Hopefully, the author make a second part to the ending.
October 23, 2025
I’m so sorry to say but this was so mid 😭 2.5 stars but I’m rounding down to 2.
I read Jason & Kyra a couple years ago when I was still a teenager and absolutely LOVED it. Now as an adult, I felt the urge to revisit Dana Davidson’s work and read her follow up, Played, for the first time.
Well, it’s safe to say that I think Jason & Kyra may have been a one hit wonder because Played fell very short for me. I know it’s YA and so some parts of it I expected to feel a little juvenile, but considering J&K is also YA, I can’t use that as an excuse here.
I hate to compare but I can’t help it. This book felt very fluffy and surface level. Considering the premise of the story, I understand the need for the relationship between Ian and Kylie to escalate quickly, but I was still hoping the characters would be more fleshed out and have some more depth to really make me feel torn, especially concerning Ian and his behavior throughout the book. But he was very shallow (& cruel!!) and the shallowness of the plot didn’t help to mitigate that at all. By the end of the book, I honestly didn’t really care about their relationship and felt like Kylie would’ve been better off moving on. I couldn’t understand why she loved him so much and vice versa because their relationship still seemed so surface level emotionally. 🫠
That being said, I can give this book credit for moving the plot along quickly and teaching valuable lessons about trusting your instincts, self respect and resisting peer pressure.
I read Jason & Kyra a couple years ago when I was still a teenager and absolutely LOVED it. Now as an adult, I felt the urge to revisit Dana Davidson’s work and read her follow up, Played, for the first time.
Well, it’s safe to say that I think Jason & Kyra may have been a one hit wonder because Played fell very short for me. I know it’s YA and so some parts of it I expected to feel a little juvenile, but considering J&K is also YA, I can’t use that as an excuse here.
I hate to compare but I can’t help it. This book felt very fluffy and surface level. Considering the premise of the story, I understand the need for the relationship between Ian and Kylie to escalate quickly, but I was still hoping the characters would be more fleshed out and have some more depth to really make me feel torn, especially concerning Ian and his behavior throughout the book. But he was very shallow (& cruel!!) and the shallowness of the plot didn’t help to mitigate that at all. By the end of the book, I honestly didn’t really care about their relationship and felt like Kylie would’ve been better off moving on. I couldn’t understand why she loved him so much and vice versa because their relationship still seemed so surface level emotionally. 🫠
That being said, I can give this book credit for moving the plot along quickly and teaching valuable lessons about trusting your instincts, self respect and resisting peer pressure.
October 12, 2024
The book "Played" by Dana Davidson, is about a high school boy playing a very nice girl for a dare to be in a group. When Ian first meets Kylie he thinks she'll be like every other girl he's played with and it'll be easy to forget about her after it's over, but he ends up falling for Kylie more than he thought he would. This book was very good in my opinion, I understood both Kylie's and Ian's side and I felt different emotions in each chapter. I think the theme for this novel would be forgiveness or loyalty because in the end it shows a lot of that. In conclusion, it was very interesting to read about this situation and has by far been the best book I've ever read.
December 19, 2020
I liked how mature the heroine was in regard to her home life, but I just couldn't care for the hero. He was a total douche, but I definitely knew high school guys with his mindset growing up. It was a quick and easy read. I did like the realization the hero had toward the end of the book in regard to why he thought and behaved the way he did. Just like the book Jason and Kyra, I do wish there was more to the ending
July 22, 2021
Method: hardback
Rating: 3/5 stars
H rating: 3/5 - Ian
h rating: 4/5 - Kylie
Drama: 3/5
Thoughts: Not a fan of the H..but like another reviewer said..it almost felt that the author didn't want us to really like him..
July 1, 2025
One of my all-time favorite books. Played hit me differently. Dana Davidson doesn’t just write a story. She writes truth.
The emotional weight, the complexity of teenage love, and the lessons about respect, choice, and consequence. It all stuck with me. Kylie’s strength, Ian’s growth, and the reality of how quickly trust can be broken made this book unforgettable.
It’s not just a teen romance. It’s a wake-up call with heart.
The emotional weight, the complexity of teenage love, and the lessons about respect, choice, and consequence. It all stuck with me. Kylie’s strength, Ian’s growth, and the reality of how quickly trust can be broken made this book unforgettable.
It’s not just a teen romance. It’s a wake-up call with heart.
September 28, 2021
Quick, contemporary YA novel about a high school boy who takes a bet to get a plain Jane girl to sleep with him AND fall in love with him in 3 weeks. I just could not buy that a guy could be so callous and manipulative - then change himself into a better man without some serious therapy or something.
October 17, 2018
This book called played is a dramatic and loving story. I recommended this book to whoever likes romance and drama. The book played is mainly about a girl who gets played by the guy she fell in love with. Her love life at the beginning was a joke and she thought it was real.
September 29, 2021
This is my first time reading anything other than self help, and I must sayyy, it was really captivating😂😂😂, Ilove how vivdly the picture was painted with the words, I dont think she should have made him wait that long tho, the drama at the later part🥺🥵❤️, I loveeee how the book ended🙌😌
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 17, 2023
It was a fun read, I finished it in two days. I would say it is a book for teenagers so it wasn't really my speed, but I still had a great time reading it and seeing what the outcome would be for the two main characters.
January 23, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. No boring parts at all!
February 12, 2019
I loved it!! Totally relatable to the teenagers in my generation!
July 28, 2024
So so so good. I ate it right up
December 1, 2024
Not perfect, but still really, really good. 4+
Ian (H) is handsome, talented, and trying to solidify his acceptance into the cool clique (the "FBI") in his high school. He's been working towards this membership since he was a freshman, and is down to his last trial before being fully accepted. This challenge is a bet: can he get plain and quiet Kylie (h) to fall in love and sleep with him within a set time. Pretty standard rom-com set-up, with the expected twist that he falls for the girl too.
I think what I liked about this one so much was being in Ian's head. We see him making him choices, being attracted to another, prettier girl, wanting acceptance and popularity in the FBI, and yet still feeling sparks and connection with Kylie, a girl who'd never be accepted by the in crowd. Yes, it was frustrating (more than once I wanted to yell at my book!) but it was realistic. It was a young man figuring out what matters to him, realizing that he's being shallow, but at the same time, wanting the benefits that those shallow connections bring him. All his back and forth was a honest maturation - part of what all teens go through. What gets us what we want? What brings us to the person we want to be? Does being book smart get you want you want, or is acting air-headed more effective - that sort of thing. In Ian's case, is having a girlfriend you connect with more important than one who is pretty and popular and gets you respect from your friends?
I liked that
I liked that it ended how it did.
The only reason I didn't give it that 5th star was that Kylie didn't seem to have as much growth as Ian did. While in a lot of ways, this was Ian's story much more than it was hers, but it still would have been nice to see her growth too.
I guess the best indicator of how much I liked it, is that I'm now trying to track down a copy of the first book, Jason & Kyra (whose leads made a brief cameo in this one). If I liked it enough to try and track down an out-of-print title by the same author, that's definitely a good sign.
Ian (H) is handsome, talented, and trying to solidify his acceptance into the cool clique (the "FBI") in his high school. He's been working towards this membership since he was a freshman, and is down to his last trial before being fully accepted. This challenge is a bet: can he get plain and quiet Kylie (h) to fall in love and sleep with him within a set time. Pretty standard rom-com set-up, with the expected twist that he falls for the girl too.
I think what I liked about this one so much was being in Ian's head. We see him making him choices, being attracted to another, prettier girl, wanting acceptance and popularity in the FBI, and yet still feeling sparks and connection with Kylie, a girl who'd never be accepted by the in crowd. Yes, it was frustrating (more than once I wanted to yell at my book!) but it was realistic. It was a young man figuring out what matters to him, realizing that he's being shallow, but at the same time, wanting the benefits that those shallow connections bring him. All his back and forth was a honest maturation - part of what all teens go through. What gets us what we want? What brings us to the person we want to be? Does being book smart get you want you want, or is acting air-headed more effective - that sort of thing. In Ian's case, is having a girlfriend you connect with more important than one who is pretty and popular and gets you respect from your friends?
I liked that
I liked that it ended how it did.
The only reason I didn't give it that 5th star was that Kylie didn't seem to have as much growth as Ian did. While in a lot of ways, this was Ian's story much more than it was hers, but it still would have been nice to see her growth too.
I guess the best indicator of how much I liked it, is that I'm now trying to track down a copy of the first book, Jason & Kyra (whose leads made a brief cameo in this one). If I liked it enough to try and track down an out-of-print title by the same author, that's definitely a good sign.
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January 8, 2009The Book that I just finished reading was called played, by Dana Davidson. The book was a fiction. The Theme or central idea was that love can make persons personality change.
In the book Ian is a boy who is kind of popular at Cross High School. He is trying to get into this club that is called F.B.I which is for the kids that are really really popular only. To get into the club Ian has to do a dare, which to make this girl name Kylie give it to him and also fall in live with him in 3 weeks only. Ian started his mission at the school winter dance by asking her to dance with him. Kylie knew something was up, because he never even looked at her before and al of a sudden he is asking her to dance with him and he also asked her for her number. She didn’t really cared she went with the flow because she is not really used to have guys come up and talk to her. Well Ian talked to her on the phone, went over her house, took her out place to eat and he also took her to his house when his mom was at work. Kylie started to love him, and he started to feel the same way about her but he didn’t want her to know. At last he accomplished his mission and he prove it to all his boys by showing them a letter that she had writing him. He got into the club. Then Kylie found out that he did all that on a dare and she was really hurt. Ian Thought about thing again and figure out what he wanted and what he felt. He decided that his feelings for Kylie were stronger to him than being in that stupid club at school. He decided to change things and he change a lot specially for Kylie who he knew that he loved her and that she loved him back.
I think that this book was very memorable, because al the things that Ian did to find himself loving a girl the way he did, its just unforgettable. My Favorite part of the book was Valentines Day because Kylie was still mad at him, and the way that showed her how much he loved and cared for her was really cute and romantic. My favorite character was Kylie because she knew how to handle things even when she was heart broken which was really hard for he. The book was not confusing at all because it was not a very challenging book to read, it was not hard for me to understand what was going on. The book affected me in some of the thing that Ian did, like he knew that he loved Kylie from the beginning but he didn’t tell her which was not good. I have done that myself which was bad because at the end it was too late.
I think that Taylor would enjoy reading this book. I would recommend this book to teenagers who like someone and are afraid to tell them. If you liked” Gossip girl” You would like this book because they both deal with love as an issue.
After all I really like this book it was good. I enjoyed reading it. I learned some things that I didn’t know.
In the book Ian is a boy who is kind of popular at Cross High School. He is trying to get into this club that is called F.B.I which is for the kids that are really really popular only. To get into the club Ian has to do a dare, which to make this girl name Kylie give it to him and also fall in live with him in 3 weeks only. Ian started his mission at the school winter dance by asking her to dance with him. Kylie knew something was up, because he never even looked at her before and al of a sudden he is asking her to dance with him and he also asked her for her number. She didn’t really cared she went with the flow because she is not really used to have guys come up and talk to her. Well Ian talked to her on the phone, went over her house, took her out place to eat and he also took her to his house when his mom was at work. Kylie started to love him, and he started to feel the same way about her but he didn’t want her to know. At last he accomplished his mission and he prove it to all his boys by showing them a letter that she had writing him. He got into the club. Then Kylie found out that he did all that on a dare and she was really hurt. Ian Thought about thing again and figure out what he wanted and what he felt. He decided that his feelings for Kylie were stronger to him than being in that stupid club at school. He decided to change things and he change a lot specially for Kylie who he knew that he loved her and that she loved him back.
I think that this book was very memorable, because al the things that Ian did to find himself loving a girl the way he did, its just unforgettable. My Favorite part of the book was Valentines Day because Kylie was still mad at him, and the way that showed her how much he loved and cared for her was really cute and romantic. My favorite character was Kylie because she knew how to handle things even when she was heart broken which was really hard for he. The book was not confusing at all because it was not a very challenging book to read, it was not hard for me to understand what was going on. The book affected me in some of the thing that Ian did, like he knew that he loved Kylie from the beginning but he didn’t tell her which was not good. I have done that myself which was bad because at the end it was too late.
I think that Taylor would enjoy reading this book. I would recommend this book to teenagers who like someone and are afraid to tell them. If you liked” Gossip girl” You would like this book because they both deal with love as an issue.
After all I really like this book it was good. I enjoyed reading it. I learned some things that I didn’t know.
August 1, 2009
FBI - Freaky Boys Incorporated. This is an exclusive fraternal group at Cross High and this so-called brotherhood is composed of juniors and seniors. Ian Striver wanted to be a part of FBI since he was in ninth grade and now he's one of the pledges going through the induction phase. There are a few challenges he needs to complete and one of them is to get a girl who isn't stylish or pretty to have sex with him. Ian has three weeks to make this happen and Kylie Winship is the plain girl his friend, Michael, chooses for him. Kylie isn't just plain looking, she's also a virgin. Ian didn't think he could ever care about a girl like Kylie, but even after their first phone conversation he begins to have feelings for her. And the more time he spends with her the stronger those feelings become. But his love for Kylie battles his need to fit in, which leads to choices he wishes he never made. Will he be able to fix things?
Desiree and Tracy have their suspicions about Ian and warn their best friend, Kylie, to be careful. They don't want her to get hurt and only want to protect her. Kylie appreciates their concern but she's sure they don't need to worry about her: Ian is a nice guy. True, he doesn't act the same when his friends are around, but he always has an answer for everything when she has doubts. But she's been alone with him, away from his friends and the rest of the world, so she knows he's kind and fun to be with. And, besides, no guy has ever paid her as much attention as Ian or treated her so good. So, even though her instincts tell her something isn't quite right, she can't make herself believe Ian is the dog Desiree and Tracy think he is. It doesn't take long before this popular guy has her heart... and then he breaks it. Will she ever trust guys again?
This book teaches valuable lessons to teenage girls in need of affection - do not ignore your instincts and losing your virginity should not be taken lightly; you really are worthy of true love. It also shows that no matter how cool some teenage guys appear to be, they also struggle with insecurities.
I enjoyed Jason & Kyra by Dana Davidson and Played was just as entertaining. This author's stories are well-written, fast-paced page-turners! I love the believable teenage characters she creates and I am so ready to read more of her work.
Parents: This young adult novel contains a bit of profanity and there is sexual content.
Desiree and Tracy have their suspicions about Ian and warn their best friend, Kylie, to be careful. They don't want her to get hurt and only want to protect her. Kylie appreciates their concern but she's sure they don't need to worry about her: Ian is a nice guy. True, he doesn't act the same when his friends are around, but he always has an answer for everything when she has doubts. But she's been alone with him, away from his friends and the rest of the world, so she knows he's kind and fun to be with. And, besides, no guy has ever paid her as much attention as Ian or treated her so good. So, even though her instincts tell her something isn't quite right, she can't make herself believe Ian is the dog Desiree and Tracy think he is. It doesn't take long before this popular guy has her heart... and then he breaks it. Will she ever trust guys again?
This book teaches valuable lessons to teenage girls in need of affection - do not ignore your instincts and losing your virginity should not be taken lightly; you really are worthy of true love. It also shows that no matter how cool some teenage guys appear to be, they also struggle with insecurities.
I enjoyed Jason & Kyra by Dana Davidson and Played was just as entertaining. This author's stories are well-written, fast-paced page-turners! I love the believable teenage characters she creates and I am so ready to read more of her work.
Parents: This young adult novel contains a bit of profanity and there is sexual content.
May 20, 2019
A part of me likes this book and another, really hates it. It's not that I hate the book itself or how it's written, but what Ian does. The worst thing is that I can actually imagine something like this happening in reality.
Usually, I'm the kind of person that wants the everybody's friends again, kiss and make up, sun is shining, birds are singing ending. Not this time. If I was Kylie, I don't think I could forgive Ian for the things he did, even if he was sorry.
A lot of people understand and have dealt with peer pressure, but that's never an excuse to be cruel.
Usually, I'm the kind of person that wants the everybody's friends again, kiss and make up, sun is shining, birds are singing ending. Not this time. If I was Kylie, I don't think I could forgive Ian for the things he did, even if he was sorry.
A lot of people understand and have dealt with peer pressure, but that's never an excuse to be cruel.
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