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Outward Blonde - Bn Proprietary Edition
Pitched as an outdoor Orange Is the New Black for the Gossip Girl set. When NYC socialite Lizzie Finklestein has an epic night on the town resulting in a writeup in Page Six, her billionaire parents send her to Camp Smiley, an Outward Bound-style rehab camp that forces Lizzie to come to terms with herself and nature.
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First published April 18, 2017
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May 29, 2025
I mean it wasn't bad, but it wasn't great...??
It's good if you want a quick read (I know for a fact my friend read it on her 12 hours flight 😂), or something that's fun to get you out of a slump, but other than that, it's only okay 👍
It's good if you want a quick read (I know for a fact my friend read it on her 12 hours flight 😂), or something that's fun to get you out of a slump, but other than that, it's only okay 👍
dnf
April 27, 2017Pages read: 24
Outward Blonde is about a spoiled rich girl, which I knew going in and thought I could handle. But then she tindr matched with James Franco at the start. And then she picked up a 25 year-old in a bar. She's arrested for caring a fake ID. Her voice really grates on me, and, though this is clearly a character arc book, I have terrible buying the cheesy ending scene because she still seems insufferable. I don't want to be in her head for almost three hundred pages.
It's also just one of those books that's clearly trying very hard to be funny, but I'm left cringing or in full-on disbelief rather than in stitches.
Outward Blonde is about a spoiled rich girl, which I knew going in and thought I could handle. But then she tindr matched with James Franco at the start. And then she picked up a 25 year-old in a bar. She's arrested for caring a fake ID. Her voice really grates on me, and, though this is clearly a character arc book, I have terrible buying the cheesy ending scene because she still seems insufferable. I don't want to be in her head for almost three hundred pages.
It's also just one of those books that's clearly trying very hard to be funny, but I'm left cringing or in full-on disbelief rather than in stitches.
August 27, 2017
Cross-posted from my blog where there's more information on where I got my copy and a TON of links.
Let's get this out of the way - I didn't like this. The writing is fine. The writing is probably the best part of the book, as it's engaging and entertaining. If you can ignore the representation of the real life thing, and you enjoy kind of that chick flick feel type of book, you would probably like this fine. I could not do that. There will probably be spoilers in this review, and I apologize for that, but I feel they are necessary.
To explain something - Adaptive Books basically publishes books based on movies, to put it in a way that amuses me. More specifically and more accurately, they re-purpose abandoned movie scripts and screenplays into books. I think that's a really unique idea. Outward Blonde was based on a script that was going to be a Hilary Duff movie, and as someone who has seen a lot of Hilary Duff movies, I can totally see that. (Which might also be a way to figure out if you'd like this - I imagine if you're a fan of, say, Material Girls, you'd probably be into this.)
Part of me actually wonders if the movie didn't get made because of another movie released a few years ago. This is all me speculating, but Hilary Duff hasn't really played a teenager in a few years, which would be right about the time Brat Camp, a Mila Kunis movie, came out.
This I bring up to say - I think the camp aspects of this book are incredibly mishandled, and because of the origins of this story, I am not sure that's entirely the author's fault. If this is the story she was given to work with and she could only change so much, I think she did the best job possible. However, what it comes down to, is I think this book is based on something in real life that is at best ineffective and at worst deadly. And that is something I cannot get behind.
Plot Talk: Simple plot - rich girl gets really drunk, gets arrested, gets sent away to wilderness camp, deals. I think this is a messed up plot because of reasons I will get to in my "Cons" section, but the actual execution of it is fine. It doesn't drag or anything.
Characters: Lizzie is an incredibly privileged girl, and I had issues with her now and then. A lot of it improves, especially her self-esteem, but even at the end of the book moments when I had issues with her. The idea that women in Africa who make and sell their own fashion want or need a rich sixteen year old white girl to sell their things in the US is, uh... probably something that should have been edited out. She's pretty typical fare for this type of book, honestly. Okay, but not my favourite.
I did think it was neat that Lizzie has a chronic illness. She has IBS, and that's a really neat idea... that is not treated very well by the book. A therapist in the book says her IBS and acne are being triggered by stress (and not washing her face for three days in the woods clears up her acne... as everyone with acne knows, not washing your face does that). Meanwhile, she's been eating tons of beans and dried fruit at camp, which are foods that can cause IBS symptoms to flare up. You, uh. Don't think that might be connected to it?
I was pretty meh about the other characters. They fell flat for me. I'll say it was nice not everyone was white and straight, but I'm still pretty meh about them. One of the characters, Lizzie's love interest specifically, cyber-bullied another kid, who attempted suicide. We are supposed to be sympathetic to this character. I was not.
PG-13 stuff: There's underage drinking, sexual content, a lot of cursing, toilet humour, and a lot of it feels gratuitous, frankly. A lot of it feels like cheap movie comedy, if you know what I mean.
Cons, complaints, bad stuff, etc.: Hooboy. So let's do this thing. My biggest problem with this book is it feels like someone say Holes and thought, "Hey, Camp Green Lake was actually a good idea!"
I think most of these wilderness programs are either useless because they're run by untrained, unqualified people, or straight-up dangerous for the same reason. The book mentions Outward Bound, and obviously the title is based on that. I did some research, and Outward Bound seems like a completely different beast than these types of programs the book is using. For one, people who do it actually consent to the experience. (Article about a death in an Outward Bound program found here, for fairness' sake.) I'm not going to go into my own feelings about that particular program, but people do consent.
Let me make this clear - Lizzie's parents hire people to come take her away in the middle of the night, and she is not allowed to leave the camp. This makes Camp Smiley the other kind of wilderness program, which I will be calling a brat camp through this review for clarity's sake.
Brat camps are dangerous. (Link one here.) They take advantage of scared parents, but they also take advantage of abusers. There are some that include conversion "therapy" used against queer teens. Kids are injured, are physically, emotionally, and sexually abused, die, and are left with emotional trauma they have to deal with for years. There is no evidence these brat camps work, although things haven't been researched well, but what evidence there is suggests they make things worse.
At one point in the book, Lizzie and her friends escape from camp and run away. They hitchhike, and they ride in the bed of a pick-up truck because there aren't enough seatbelts. I do not believe you could research enough to write this book, and not know about Bruce Staeger. After spending two years in a brat camp, he was killed there while riding in the bed of a pickup truck when it rolled, as the camp officials had ignored orders regarding seat belts.
Many of these articles I'm linking talk about food deprivation and even starvation. Once during the book, Lizzie is denied s'mores with the others. The articles about these camps talk about teenagers being called liars or fakers over things that injure or ultimately could kill them like dehydration, heat stroke, or seizures. Lizzie is called a liar when she runs away into the woods, a raccoon steals her baby blanket, and she tries to tell someone. Maybe these parallels are coincidences - I sure hope they are! - but they illustrate how lightly this subject is taken compared to the seriousness of its nature.
I think I've made my point that I think this is not well handled, so I'll just share my links so you can read up on this yourself. Here's one, here's two. For fairness sake, I'm going to include the experience of a parent who found one of these brat camps a positive for her child (although please do note the fact she's completely okay admitting she drugged her teenage daughter with sleeping pills... just saying), and another who had mixed feelings. Here is one and two articles from people who were sent to these programs. And, finally, here is a 1995 article from a magazine, because I want to point out this is not a new phenomenon, and neither are the deaths related to it. Please be warned there is very disturbing content at most if not all of these links, including fairly graphic descriptions of the deaths of teenagers. I think these are important articles to read, but be kind to yourself, please. The first link in this paragraph has the least graphic content, and is similar in tone to what I have written here.
Other things - this book uses a ton of references. At one point, Lizzie matches with James Franco on Tinder and tries to hook up with him. Besides the fact the book literally has him say he didn't know the girl he actually hit on was under eighteen, which is, um, not true (and frankly, a really gross stance to take considering Lizzie isn't even 17 yet), it's a very, very dating reference. There are tons of these. Some of them I honestly don't even think are believable, like Lizzie suggesting she would volunteer as tribute for any of the other kids at camp were this the Hunger Games. It's borderline trying too hard at times, including the overuse of AAVE in a book with no black characters.
Well, besides the ones in Africa who never appear who made the "weird pajama pants" Lizzie's dad gives her, who Lizzie, the seventeen year old white girl, think need her to market the fashion they make and already sell on their own. I know I already mentioned that, but it really bugged me.
There is also a scene where Lizzie tries to use her baby blanket to pick up a raccoon and carry it around. It was obviously meant to be funny. Mostly I cringed. That seemed so cheesy comedy movie, you know? I didn't believe anyone could actually think they could find a wild raccoon in the woods and make it their friend. That's just... no.
The book also tends to be somewhat fatphobic and weirdly slut-shamy and also virgin-shamey at the same time. It's weird. I wasn't a fan. And one more pet peeve - the book also tries to tell us, as I stated before, that stress is triggering Lizzie's acne. Apparently her first three days in the woods where she does not wash her face are not stressful. Because everyone with acne knows not washing your face helps your zits a lot, right??
Cover comments: It's very cute, and catches the mood of what they were trying to do. I also did enjoy all the "extra" things the book included like medical reports and lists and things like that. I like it when a book adds in that kind of thing.
Conclusion: I've been thinking about this book for like two days as I write this review (yeah, it took a long time) and I realized I wanted this to be more like Little Blog on the Prairie. I wanted cute and funny, and the book tries, but the subject matter is so serious I can't buy into the cute and funny. And you know, honestly, the Outward Bound approach might have even been better in this book, if it had involved Lizzie's entire family doing wilderness stuff to bond and work through their issues, and not her actually being kidnapped into something against her will.
I enjoyed Notes from the Blender, and by no means do I think Trish Cook is a bad writer. But I think this subject matter, with the deaths and abuse in it in real life, can't work as a comedic source. I think when you end the book with Lizzie improving from the program, you are essentially endorsing these programs. With everything out there I've read now, I just cannot believe that is safe to do. I wrote most of this review before the US election result was announced. The soon to be vice president of the US believes in conversion therapy. With the current state of things in the US, I think these programs will only become more dangerous than they already are, and because of that, I can't give this more than one rose.
Other notes:
- I'm going to start keeping track of when books have characters share mascara. YOU'RE GOING TO GET AN EYE INFECTION.
Let's get this out of the way - I didn't like this. The writing is fine. The writing is probably the best part of the book, as it's engaging and entertaining. If you can ignore the representation of the real life thing, and you enjoy kind of that chick flick feel type of book, you would probably like this fine. I could not do that. There will probably be spoilers in this review, and I apologize for that, but I feel they are necessary.
To explain something - Adaptive Books basically publishes books based on movies, to put it in a way that amuses me. More specifically and more accurately, they re-purpose abandoned movie scripts and screenplays into books. I think that's a really unique idea. Outward Blonde was based on a script that was going to be a Hilary Duff movie, and as someone who has seen a lot of Hilary Duff movies, I can totally see that. (Which might also be a way to figure out if you'd like this - I imagine if you're a fan of, say, Material Girls, you'd probably be into this.)
Part of me actually wonders if the movie didn't get made because of another movie released a few years ago. This is all me speculating, but Hilary Duff hasn't really played a teenager in a few years, which would be right about the time Brat Camp, a Mila Kunis movie, came out.
This I bring up to say - I think the camp aspects of this book are incredibly mishandled, and because of the origins of this story, I am not sure that's entirely the author's fault. If this is the story she was given to work with and she could only change so much, I think she did the best job possible. However, what it comes down to, is I think this book is based on something in real life that is at best ineffective and at worst deadly. And that is something I cannot get behind.
Plot Talk: Simple plot - rich girl gets really drunk, gets arrested, gets sent away to wilderness camp, deals. I think this is a messed up plot because of reasons I will get to in my "Cons" section, but the actual execution of it is fine. It doesn't drag or anything.
Characters: Lizzie is an incredibly privileged girl, and I had issues with her now and then. A lot of it improves, especially her self-esteem, but even at the end of the book moments when I had issues with her. The idea that women in Africa who make and sell their own fashion want or need a rich sixteen year old white girl to sell their things in the US is, uh... probably something that should have been edited out. She's pretty typical fare for this type of book, honestly. Okay, but not my favourite.
I did think it was neat that Lizzie has a chronic illness. She has IBS, and that's a really neat idea... that is not treated very well by the book. A therapist in the book says her IBS and acne are being triggered by stress (and not washing her face for three days in the woods clears up her acne... as everyone with acne knows, not washing your face does that). Meanwhile, she's been eating tons of beans and dried fruit at camp, which are foods that can cause IBS symptoms to flare up. You, uh. Don't think that might be connected to it?
I was pretty meh about the other characters. They fell flat for me. I'll say it was nice not everyone was white and straight, but I'm still pretty meh about them. One of the characters, Lizzie's love interest specifically, cyber-bullied another kid, who attempted suicide. We are supposed to be sympathetic to this character. I was not.
PG-13 stuff: There's underage drinking, sexual content, a lot of cursing, toilet humour, and a lot of it feels gratuitous, frankly. A lot of it feels like cheap movie comedy, if you know what I mean.
Cons, complaints, bad stuff, etc.: Hooboy. So let's do this thing. My biggest problem with this book is it feels like someone say Holes and thought, "Hey, Camp Green Lake was actually a good idea!"
I think most of these wilderness programs are either useless because they're run by untrained, unqualified people, or straight-up dangerous for the same reason. The book mentions Outward Bound, and obviously the title is based on that. I did some research, and Outward Bound seems like a completely different beast than these types of programs the book is using. For one, people who do it actually consent to the experience. (Article about a death in an Outward Bound program found here, for fairness' sake.) I'm not going to go into my own feelings about that particular program, but people do consent.
Let me make this clear - Lizzie's parents hire people to come take her away in the middle of the night, and she is not allowed to leave the camp. This makes Camp Smiley the other kind of wilderness program, which I will be calling a brat camp through this review for clarity's sake.
Brat camps are dangerous. (Link one here.) They take advantage of scared parents, but they also take advantage of abusers. There are some that include conversion "therapy" used against queer teens. Kids are injured, are physically, emotionally, and sexually abused, die, and are left with emotional trauma they have to deal with for years. There is no evidence these brat camps work, although things haven't been researched well, but what evidence there is suggests they make things worse.
At one point in the book, Lizzie and her friends escape from camp and run away. They hitchhike, and they ride in the bed of a pick-up truck because there aren't enough seatbelts. I do not believe you could research enough to write this book, and not know about Bruce Staeger. After spending two years in a brat camp, he was killed there while riding in the bed of a pickup truck when it rolled, as the camp officials had ignored orders regarding seat belts.
Many of these articles I'm linking talk about food deprivation and even starvation. Once during the book, Lizzie is denied s'mores with the others. The articles about these camps talk about teenagers being called liars or fakers over things that injure or ultimately could kill them like dehydration, heat stroke, or seizures. Lizzie is called a liar when she runs away into the woods, a raccoon steals her baby blanket, and she tries to tell someone. Maybe these parallels are coincidences - I sure hope they are! - but they illustrate how lightly this subject is taken compared to the seriousness of its nature.
I think I've made my point that I think this is not well handled, so I'll just share my links so you can read up on this yourself. Here's one, here's two. For fairness sake, I'm going to include the experience of a parent who found one of these brat camps a positive for her child (although please do note the fact she's completely okay admitting she drugged her teenage daughter with sleeping pills... just saying), and another who had mixed feelings. Here is one and two articles from people who were sent to these programs. And, finally, here is a 1995 article from a magazine, because I want to point out this is not a new phenomenon, and neither are the deaths related to it. Please be warned there is very disturbing content at most if not all of these links, including fairly graphic descriptions of the deaths of teenagers. I think these are important articles to read, but be kind to yourself, please. The first link in this paragraph has the least graphic content, and is similar in tone to what I have written here.
Other things - this book uses a ton of references. At one point, Lizzie matches with James Franco on Tinder and tries to hook up with him. Besides the fact the book literally has him say he didn't know the girl he actually hit on was under eighteen, which is, um, not true (and frankly, a really gross stance to take considering Lizzie isn't even 17 yet), it's a very, very dating reference. There are tons of these. Some of them I honestly don't even think are believable, like Lizzie suggesting she would volunteer as tribute for any of the other kids at camp were this the Hunger Games. It's borderline trying too hard at times, including the overuse of AAVE in a book with no black characters.
Well, besides the ones in Africa who never appear who made the "weird pajama pants" Lizzie's dad gives her, who Lizzie, the seventeen year old white girl, think need her to market the fashion they make and already sell on their own. I know I already mentioned that, but it really bugged me.
There is also a scene where Lizzie tries to use her baby blanket to pick up a raccoon and carry it around. It was obviously meant to be funny. Mostly I cringed. That seemed so cheesy comedy movie, you know? I didn't believe anyone could actually think they could find a wild raccoon in the woods and make it their friend. That's just... no.
The book also tends to be somewhat fatphobic and weirdly slut-shamy and also virgin-shamey at the same time. It's weird. I wasn't a fan. And one more pet peeve - the book also tries to tell us, as I stated before, that stress is triggering Lizzie's acne. Apparently her first three days in the woods where she does not wash her face are not stressful. Because everyone with acne knows not washing your face helps your zits a lot, right??
Cover comments: It's very cute, and catches the mood of what they were trying to do. I also did enjoy all the "extra" things the book included like medical reports and lists and things like that. I like it when a book adds in that kind of thing.
Conclusion: I've been thinking about this book for like two days as I write this review (yeah, it took a long time) and I realized I wanted this to be more like Little Blog on the Prairie. I wanted cute and funny, and the book tries, but the subject matter is so serious I can't buy into the cute and funny. And you know, honestly, the Outward Bound approach might have even been better in this book, if it had involved Lizzie's entire family doing wilderness stuff to bond and work through their issues, and not her actually being kidnapped into something against her will.
I enjoyed Notes from the Blender, and by no means do I think Trish Cook is a bad writer. But I think this subject matter, with the deaths and abuse in it in real life, can't work as a comedic source. I think when you end the book with Lizzie improving from the program, you are essentially endorsing these programs. With everything out there I've read now, I just cannot believe that is safe to do. I wrote most of this review before the US election result was announced. The soon to be vice president of the US believes in conversion therapy. With the current state of things in the US, I think these programs will only become more dangerous than they already are, and because of that, I can't give this more than one rose.
Other notes:
- I'm going to start keeping track of when books have characters share mascara. YOU'RE GOING TO GET AN EYE INFECTION.
January 2, 2019
I thought the book was cute, but it did not achieve the depth it was aiming for. I enjoyed most parts; some of the aspects which made it difficult to enjoy were the main character and plot structure. The main character was privileged and entitled which made her hard to relate to. The plot structure seemed a bit unorganized, and I felt like their was no climax. It was a fluffy read with an interesting concept, so I would only recommend it if you are looking for something quick and simple to read.
April 27, 2017
3.5 stars
March 26, 2019
Meh. I was pretty bored. But glad the main character redeemed herself in the end.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 11, 2016
I wanted to read OUTWARD BLONDE because I was interested in the idea of taking the spoiled little rich girl out of the city and seeing how she would handle being in a wilderness survival program. As it turns out, she doesn't handle it very well. OUTWARD BLONDE is filled with many silliness and humor, but tackles some tough topics bullying and gambling, oh and lots of James Franco.
What I liked:
*As silly as it may seem, I liked that bathroom issues while camping were addressed. It's very rare to have this mentioned in a book. Lizzie suffers from IBS, so we get to read all about it.
*While she does suffer from an unbearable sense of entitlement, Lizzie is a good friend. She isn't judgmental, and is a good listener and cheerleader when the other "campers" need help.
*Jed and Scarlet - the counselors/wilderness leaders. They offered their own troubled experiences in helping the kids. They were the present adults how offered guidance, tough love, and compassion.
*Lululemon leggings. Hmmm, is this a play on LulaRoe leggings? Well if it is, I can agree, the leggings are the best feeling on your skin. (edit: the day after I posted this review, I found out that Lululemon was a real brand when I was invited to a Lululemon trunk show. It's funny that I'd never heard of it, thought it was a play on an existing brand, and then find out it's real. Well, now I know. I'll have to check them out. And LulaRoe leggings are still awesome.)
There was one parts of this book that reminded me of another a book that I read - A Really Awesome Mess. It wasn't until I finished this book that read the "About the Author" section that I realized Trish Cook co-wrote that book. I have no idea how I missed that. I went back and read my review for ARAM and so many of the things that like about that book, I liked about OUTWARD BLONDE too.
OUTWARD BLONDE has a great balance of humor and heart, silliness and seriousness. The descriptions of Lizzie's experience made it easy to feel as though you were right there with her - a great way to experience some crazy adventures through the pages of a book. And now I know the mechanics of making a survival spoon should I ever be caught out in the wilderness and need one. Readers who like this book should read A Really Awesome Mess (and vice versa).
What I liked:
*As silly as it may seem, I liked that bathroom issues while camping were addressed. It's very rare to have this mentioned in a book. Lizzie suffers from IBS, so we get to read all about it.
*While she does suffer from an unbearable sense of entitlement, Lizzie is a good friend. She isn't judgmental, and is a good listener and cheerleader when the other "campers" need help.
*Jed and Scarlet - the counselors/wilderness leaders. They offered their own troubled experiences in helping the kids. They were the present adults how offered guidance, tough love, and compassion.
*Lululemon leggings. Hmmm, is this a play on LulaRoe leggings? Well if it is, I can agree, the leggings are the best feeling on your skin. (edit: the day after I posted this review, I found out that Lululemon was a real brand when I was invited to a Lululemon trunk show. It's funny that I'd never heard of it, thought it was a play on an existing brand, and then find out it's real. Well, now I know. I'll have to check them out. And LulaRoe leggings are still awesome.)
There was one parts of this book that reminded me of another a book that I read - A Really Awesome Mess. It wasn't until I finished this book that read the "About the Author" section that I realized Trish Cook co-wrote that book. I have no idea how I missed that. I went back and read my review for ARAM and so many of the things that like about that book, I liked about OUTWARD BLONDE too.
OUTWARD BLONDE has a great balance of humor and heart, silliness and seriousness. The descriptions of Lizzie's experience made it easy to feel as though you were right there with her - a great way to experience some crazy adventures through the pages of a book. And now I know the mechanics of making a survival spoon should I ever be caught out in the wilderness and need one. Readers who like this book should read A Really Awesome Mess (and vice versa).
April 27, 2020
Note: This book is way better than the cover makes it out to be. From start to finish, this book took me about 50 hours. Every time I put it down, I wanted to come back and what the characters were up to. Also, this would make a really cute YA movie. Would also make a great beach read.
Description: Elizabeth "Lizzie" is a Manhattan socialite and all that that entails. Her mother is around but often emotionally unavailable and her father lives out of the country and is physically unavailable. Unfortunately for Lizzie, this leads to one bad decision after another until she is caught on camera, goes viral, and ends up at Camp Smiley, a survival program for troubled teens.
While at camp, she meets Sam (an Asian lesbian who instantly clicks with Lizzie), Chandra (an Indian girl with low self-esteem and suckup), Ari (the sexy, artist bad boy), and Jack (the brooding hottie). With this cast of characters and a camp setting, there's a surprising amount of personal growth and a great story line.
Description: Elizabeth "Lizzie" is a Manhattan socialite and all that that entails. Her mother is around but often emotionally unavailable and her father lives out of the country and is physically unavailable. Unfortunately for Lizzie, this leads to one bad decision after another until she is caught on camera, goes viral, and ends up at Camp Smiley, a survival program for troubled teens.
While at camp, she meets Sam (an Asian lesbian who instantly clicks with Lizzie), Chandra (an Indian girl with low self-esteem and suckup), Ari (the sexy, artist bad boy), and Jack (the brooding hottie). With this cast of characters and a camp setting, there's a surprising amount of personal growth and a great story line.
April 26, 2018
This sounded like it would be a cute, funny book, but I found myself frustrated through most of it. Lizzie was a spoiled, selfish, and snobby character. She thinks that money can buy her anything and can be used to bribe her way out of trouble. Lizzie doesn't want to take responsibility for her mistakes either and she thinks if she keeps begging and putting on a helpless act that she can get out of her punishment. I got tired of hearing her constant complaining. It took Lizzie a long time to get her act together, by the end she does come to her senses and it was nice to see, but by that point I no longer cared what happened to her. I was mainly interested in hearing more of Jack's story, he was at least truly remorseful for what he did to get sent to Camp Smiley.
I am disappointed that I didn't enjoy this as more, it was not what I was expecting going into this.
I am disappointed that I didn't enjoy this as more, it was not what I was expecting going into this.
January 3, 2019
Outward Blonde was a quick, engaging read. Personally, I felt disconnected from the protagonist and found her annoying through most of the book. However, I think that is the danger of an adult reading a story about a self-absorbed teenager who has had precious little supervision in her life. I probably would have found her more likeable when I was a teenager--at least I would have been more sympathetic towards her. I have recommended the book to several of my students since I read it and they thoroughly enjoyed the book just as I expected them to. So, if you're a teenager looking for a quick, engaging read, I think you will really like it. If you're an adult, just be aware the main character is a little hard to feel sorry for, but hang on until the end because she has redemptive qualities.
October 25, 2017
I mean...I guess so. I didn't have the viscerally negative reaction I did with A Really Awesome Mess, so that's something. But it strikes me that the boot-camp books I appreciate are the ones that actually look at, you know, addressing the problems that brought the kids there (and doing so in a sensitive manner)...and Lizzie lasts three days before she runs away with all her new 'friends' and goes on a teens-gone-wild bender in Las Vegas. Definitely more of a focus here on partying and whining about ugly clothing than on, you know, dealing with problems.
There's an effort to bring some diversity into the mix—race and sexuality, mostly—which is a positive. Not keen on the way Lizzie's supposed IBS is treated, though; it's basically an issue at the beginning to give her something to be embarrassed about, and then it rarely comes up again unless it's convenient to the plot. (Also, pretty much all diversity points are lost for the way the 'weird pajama pants' from Africa are treated. If I were creating something locally, you know who I would not want to be my self-appointed distributor for a potentially major market? A spoiled teenager with crappy grades, no skills, and the type of sense of deep spiritual change that can only come from a very short trip outside her comfort zone.)
There's an effort to bring some diversity into the mix—race and sexuality, mostly—which is a positive. Not keen on the way Lizzie's supposed IBS is treated, though; it's basically an issue at the beginning to give her something to be embarrassed about, and then it rarely comes up again unless it's convenient to the plot. (Also, pretty much all diversity points are lost for the way the 'weird pajama pants' from Africa are treated. If I were creating something locally, you know who I would not want to be my self-appointed distributor for a potentially major market? A spoiled teenager with crappy grades, no skills, and the type of sense of deep spiritual change that can only come from a very short trip outside her comfort zone.)
January 28, 2018
This book was about a girl who is going through serious family disconnection issues. She deals with them in the wrong way by abusing all of the wealth her family has. She has a late night fling with a guy and it ends up being terrible for her. When her parents find out she is taken away to get help for her "problems".
I liked this book because the main character changes in a way that I didn't think she could. I also liked this book because all the people she meets are really cool and funny and I think they are all crucial to the story-line. I also like the romance part of the book that is added in.
I liked this book because the main character changes in a way that I didn't think she could. I also liked this book because all the people she meets are really cool and funny and I think they are all crucial to the story-line. I also like the romance part of the book that is added in.
March 15, 2020
I wanted a stupid book to help me keep depression at bay. I was afraid this one would be a little too stupid, and it kinda was at first, but overall, I enjoyed it quite a lot.
The main character starts as a self-absorbed, entitled rich brat who gets sent to an outdoors program for troubled teens. All the cartoonish antics you would expect ensue.
But, almost imperceptibly, she starts to change. She starts to grow. She develops capabilities and the beginnings of character.
By the end, I really liked her and wanted her to succeed. She even learned to choose the right guy. Yay!
This was ultimately a sweet, silly book that worked perfectly for its purpose in my life.
The main character starts as a self-absorbed, entitled rich brat who gets sent to an outdoors program for troubled teens. All the cartoonish antics you would expect ensue.
But, almost imperceptibly, she starts to change. She starts to grow. She develops capabilities and the beginnings of character.
By the end, I really liked her and wanted her to succeed. She even learned to choose the right guy. Yay!
This was ultimately a sweet, silly book that worked perfectly for its purpose in my life.
February 19, 2019
4.5
This was a great plane read! The story is very entertaining even though you kind of hate Lizzie a little bit. She is a bit snobby but that is the point. However, despite her snobby ways she is still has a good heart. I found all the characters at the camp to be very interesting and realistic. I love Sam and Chandra. Ari was a bit obnoxious. I also really liked the romance and how that slowly happened. It was very sweet. I didn’t really like all the abbreviations or text talk (like BRB) used just naturally but it did fit the story so I can’t fault it too much.
This was a great plane read! The story is very entertaining even though you kind of hate Lizzie a little bit. She is a bit snobby but that is the point. However, despite her snobby ways she is still has a good heart. I found all the characters at the camp to be very interesting and realistic. I love Sam and Chandra. Ari was a bit obnoxious. I also really liked the romance and how that slowly happened. It was very sweet. I didn’t really like all the abbreviations or text talk (like BRB) used just naturally but it did fit the story so I can’t fault it too much.
February 25, 2019
*2.5
I felt like I was watching a movie like legally blonde or something. The difference is I LOVE legally blonde, this was just eeeh for me. It didn't have the depth I wish it did. I felt it all over the place as well. A lot of things not talked about or covered. It was entertaining but I just didn't like it as much as it should have been. The author felt like she was trying TOO hard to sound like a teenager. It was weird and just didn't sound right.
I felt like I was watching a movie like legally blonde or something. The difference is I LOVE legally blonde, this was just eeeh for me. It didn't have the depth I wish it did. I felt it all over the place as well. A lot of things not talked about or covered. It was entertaining but I just didn't like it as much as it should have been. The author felt like she was trying TOO hard to sound like a teenager. It was weird and just didn't sound right.
May 15, 2019
A cute book, maybe I expected too much but I really liked the blurb about a teen living in Manhattan from a dysfunctional being sent to a survival camp for troubled teenagers. And the first page of the book was so funny, a New York hospital report that synced it for me.
What I liked: - the camping experience.
What I didn't like: - the problems that led to Lizzie being arrested and her relationship with her best friend.
What I liked: - the camping experience.
What I didn't like: - the problems that led to Lizzie being arrested and her relationship with her best friend.
May 14, 2020
This book is a book about a stereotypical blonde teenage heiress. I’m a blonde myself and I love blonde jokes. And this book is one giant blond joke. I find it very funny and entertaining. But the book also has some great morals behind it. You don’t realize it with all the jokes going on, but the morals in the story are very good and very applicable to daily life.
I highly recommend reading this book for the jokes and the lesson behind it.
I highly recommend reading this book for the jokes and the lesson behind it.
January 5, 2018
I liked the change of events in this story. It starts off focusing on a character who is snotty and all about herself and her money. When she gets sent to camp, she rebels and tries to find ways out o fit. By the end of the camp, however, she learns how to be a better person. I loved reading and seeing her change throughout the book.
December 13, 2023
A funny read, but there could’ve been more character development. It feels like much of the team bonding and character development happened “off-screen.” Ive read comments where people said this would work better as a movie, and I cant help but agree. It definitely radiates Mean Girls energy and might’ve worked better as a film. Nonetheless, I had fun reading this book for what it was!
September 5, 2017
Sweet!
This is amazingly sweet, and hilarious, and SO SO SWEET!! Also giving some good advice for problems not in the book. Funny, too, if you didn't get that from the raccoon on the cover
This is amazingly sweet, and hilarious, and SO SO SWEET!! Also giving some good advice for problems not in the book. Funny, too, if you didn't get that from the raccoon on the cover
December 14, 2017
Overall I really enjoyed this book. I could relate to the emotions Lizzie was feeling and couldn’t help but be angry when she was, feel sad when she was or feel happy when she was. This book made me feel and I enjoyed.
February 27, 2018
Really liked this one. I saw personal growth in the main character--a rarity that I see anymore--and a change of heart/thought process. My only gripe is the 2k17 writing style, but it fits the main character's personality so I cannot complain too much.
March 29, 2018
This is a really good easy read. The plot is very relatable. I wish the ending had given you a bit more after her camp life, but besides that it’s a great summer book to just read on the beach in a day!
July 6, 2018
This books started out awesome but it was a drag to continue to read it. The author dragged out the escape from the camp that the main character was sent too and I thought the idea of a camp was ridiculous- I would have rather seen her sent to military school which is more believable.
October 31, 2018
I loved this book-It never made me bored. I usually have trouble finding books that I will read, and stay reading. I'd recommend this to teens, more than children, because it has adult humor, and cursing. I'd give this book a five-star, It is one of my favorite books of all time.
July 10, 2019
This book was hilarious to read. It had me laughing from the first page to the last. It reminds me a lot of teen movie classics like clueless and mean girls, it's funny, and entertaining, but the meaning is also deep and heart warming. I definitely recommend it!
January 3, 2021
I was for this book until I saw Paris Hilton’s documentary about the school she went to that had similar intentions as Camp Smiley. There are so many issues with this book that I won’t get into. Three stars for a cute, happy ending.
January 25, 2020
This book had a cute meaning. Deffinitely more of a teenager book. It does have some decisions and suggestions that would need to be considered. Its for a mature teenager.
May 15, 2022
Totally mindless, quick read, but just what I needed to read right now!
December 29, 2023
this book is objectively bad and Lizzie and Jack make no sense but also I love it
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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