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The Makeover Club #1
The Makeover Club
Typical high-school freshmen Marsha, Clarrissa, and Sara form a self-improvement club designed to enhance their figures, appearance, personalities, and social lives, but their plans have unexpected results.
- GenresYoung Adult
128 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1986
59 people want to read
About the author
Suzanne Weyn
207 books646 followersSuzanne Weyn grew up in Williston Park, Long Island, New York. She has three sisters and a brother. As a girl, she was very interested in theatre and in reading. Louisa May Alcott was her favorite author, but she also read every Sherlock Holmes story. Suzanne lived pretty close to the ocean and going to Jones Beach was one of her favorite activities. Even today, if she goes too long without seeing the ocean, she starts feeling restless.
Suzanne now lives in upper New York State with her husband, two teen daughters and Abby the cat. Her house is at the edge of the woods and is nearly 200 years old. She graduated from State University of New York at Binghamton and received her master's degree from Pace University. She teaches part-time at City College in New York.
Suzanne's other books for Simon Pulse include South Beach Sizzle, a romantic comedy written with Diana Gonzalez. Her novels for the Simon Pulse line "Once Upon a Time" are The Night Dance: A Retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, Water Song: A Retelling of the Frog Prince, and The Crimson Thread: A Retelling of Rumplestiltskin. She very much enjoys rethinking these classic tales from an original point of view, always looking for the real psychological underpinning of the story. Suzanne is currently doing revisions on her fourth book in the line, which will be coming in 2009.
Suzanne's other recent novels are include The Bar Code Tattoo (2004) and its sequel, The Bar Code Rebellion (2006). The Bar Code Tattoo was selected by the American Library Assoc. (ALA) as a 2005 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and was a 2007 Nevada Library nominee for Best Young Adult Fiction. It is currently translated into German and was nominated for the 2007 Jugenliteraturpreis for Young People's Literature.
Suzanne now lives in upper New York State with her husband, two teen daughters and Abby the cat. Her house is at the edge of the woods and is nearly 200 years old. She graduated from State University of New York at Binghamton and received her master's degree from Pace University. She teaches part-time at City College in New York.
Suzanne's other books for Simon Pulse include South Beach Sizzle, a romantic comedy written with Diana Gonzalez. Her novels for the Simon Pulse line "Once Upon a Time" are The Night Dance: A Retelling of the Twelve Dancing Princesses, Water Song: A Retelling of the Frog Prince, and The Crimson Thread: A Retelling of Rumplestiltskin. She very much enjoys rethinking these classic tales from an original point of view, always looking for the real psychological underpinning of the story. Suzanne is currently doing revisions on her fourth book in the line, which will be coming in 2009.
Suzanne's other recent novels are include The Bar Code Tattoo (2004) and its sequel, The Bar Code Rebellion (2006). The Bar Code Tattoo was selected by the American Library Assoc. (ALA) as a 2005 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers and was a 2007 Nevada Library nominee for Best Young Adult Fiction. It is currently translated into German and was nominated for the 2007 Jugenliteraturpreis for Young People's Literature.
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January 22, 2021The Makeover Club
Plot: Because of a girl named Doris Gayford, who hits on two guys that incidentally are the crush of Marsha and the friend of Clarissa) Marsha and Sara (who is tried to playing second stream to her beautiful, popular, sister Elena) decide to start the Makeover Club to improve their looks and get boyfriends. In Home Ec, they learn about a contest where Teen Today is looking for a national spokesperson. The winner from each region will get a makeover that will be featured in Teen Today. . To enter you have to write a letter explaining why you want to win and a photo. Clarissa (a tomboy) who previously scoffed at the contest, gets pissed off and decides to enter when Doris draws a crude picture of her. She then decides to join the Makeover Club. It’s decided that Marsha needs to lose weight and Sara needs to gain some. So, they’ll get up early and run laps around the school to keep fit. They all start to like jogging (especially when Marsha finds out Craig runs laps with the football team in the morning) but the next phase dieting they find hard. Sara finds it just as hard to gain by stuffing herself on junk. The next part is actual beauty. They meet at Clarissa’s house and try to give each other facials, but end up distracted by all her brothers and nearly burn the house up when they leave a pot in the stove (steaming their pores), The next day there’s a new student in Home Ec (Nicholas James). The teacher is sexist, but Nicky seemed comfortable staying. He even helps Sara with a botched zipper At school, Doris continues to show Clarissa up by getting her pictures done professionally, but Marsha gets good news. Craig tells her he wants to join the Debate team, and he asks her to go to the Skating rink over the weekend when he takes off her glasses. However, when she gets to the rink Craig kind of ditches her to hang out with Doris and she feels stupid for thinking it was a date. Leaving her to hang out with Jim Connors and Nicky“. Craig then comes back over and apologizes but says he has to go, but Marsha is so blinded by the few minutes he did give her she’s in heaven. Sara and Marsha get a great picture of Clarissa and she writes an honest letter and signs it “Rissa Sky”. Clarissa ends up making the girls’ freshman basketball team (thanks to Mike’s help). At lunch, Doris comes over and invites Mike to a party. Now she’s moved on to him. Only he says he can’t come If he can’t bring his friends and Doris reluctantly agrees. So, they decide to do a home coloring kit to turn Sara’s hair blond but leave it on too long and it turns out green. Now Sara is pissed and not speaking to them At the party, they notice Sara there with a wild new hairdo. Nicky loves it and he and Sara start dancing and are the center of attention. Sara is feeling good until Doris gets jealous and snatches her wig off. Masha tries to get it back but ends up getting her glasses knocked off and turning over the table -and all it’s contents-. Doris gets sprayed with punch. But the night ends on a good note for all three. They each get a boy’s attention. Sarah ends up dying her hair orange. The girls discuss their doubts about the boy’s interest in them. Craig is supposed to work with Marsha on a debate topic but keeps standing her up. On the night of the debate Craig isn’t prepared (because he ghosted all their library appointments) and he tries to bs his way through it. Marsha is doing well and then disaster after disaster happens until she ends up losing a contact lens and she leaves the debate in tears. Jim later comes by and gives her the lost contact and tells her she needs a new partner. Eventually, she does get Jim new partner but even though he likes her she still doesn’t see that Craig isn’t really into her. Sara tries out for the Choral Group but ends up hiccupping her way through the song she picked. Nicky stops by and says he was at the auditions looking for a girl singer for his band and then tells her he wants that singer to be her. To her surprise, Clarissa wins the contest but Doris tries to get even by sending a letter to Clarissa’s father that Teen Today is a porn magazine and he falls for it and forbids her to go to the shot. But she plots to check in at school, sneak out, and make the appointment by 11. Sara and Marsha say they’ll go with her for support. There’s a blizzard and not only that in the middle of the photo-shot Clarissa faints from not eating and the lights being to hot. So, they tell Marsha that she’ll have to take over. Only it doesn’t feel right so Marsha pretends to sprain her ankle and reluctantly they let Rissa finish the shoot. But when they’re head for home because of the blizzard the tracks have broken down. Clarissa is grounded and meetings of the club are put on hold. Now Sara is worried about the audition for the band to perform at a school dance and Marsha is worried about her and Jim going up against Craig. Marsha decides not to hold back and she and Jim win the debate. Craig is upset but oh well. The story ends well. Clarissa’s Dad has a change of heart and lets her enter the contest. Mike turns down Doris’s invite and asks Clarissa. She also gets his best basketball move from him. Nicky’s group gets to perform at the dance and she writes a special song dedicated to her friends. Craig asks Marsha after he finds out Doris asked Mike but dumps her after Mike turns down Doris. But by this time Marsha doesn’t care because she’s already asked, Jim Conners.
My Thoughts: On one hand it’s fine to want to improve yourself through diet, exercise, skin, and clothes if that’s what YOU want. However, the message of this book was Sara and Marsha wanted to start this club to get boyfriends and *that* I DON’T agree with. I do agree that you have to keep yourself up once you have one. But neither Craig, Mike, nor Jim (I’ll give Nicky a pass cause he just got there) notices Marsha and Clarissa until they started going through these measures. Nicky was the only one who left any kind of impression on me because he was the only one who told Sara he liked her DESPITE having green hair. That’s the kind of guy you wanna have in your life. It’s just sad that all of em felt like they had to change because of someone or to get with someone. I also didn’t like the sexist female Home Economics teacher. We definitely didn’t have this at my school. Our class had males. It’s RIDICULOUS to think only women cook and sew. I briefly (and when I saw briefly, I mean if you blinked you missed it) was interested in someone who was the manager of a restaurant and the restaurant was so lacking in staff that he had to cook. His skills probably would have put mine to shame. It’s like my best friend once said. His mother taught him these skills because it wasn’t guaranteed that he would get a wife. It might sound mean (and he did) but men *should* learn what’s considered *feminine* skills the same way women probably should take a shop class. But it was interesting to see the reverse. Usually, it’s books where the female is trying out for a male sports team. I remember this book so well from the first time I read it. I remembered Sara’s green (orange) hair and I remembered: “Rissa Sky” and her aqua jumpsuit and yellow blouse and sandals. Even though it was a mixed-up message it was an ok read because Marsha, Rissa, and Sara discovered not just their outer beauty but their inner beauty and they didn’t need this accessorized with Jim, Craig, Mike or Nicky.
Rating: 6
Plot: Because of a girl named Doris Gayford, who hits on two guys that incidentally are the crush of Marsha and the friend of Clarissa) Marsha and Sara (who is tried to playing second stream to her beautiful, popular, sister Elena) decide to start the Makeover Club to improve their looks and get boyfriends. In Home Ec, they learn about a contest where Teen Today is looking for a national spokesperson. The winner from each region will get a makeover that will be featured in Teen Today. . To enter you have to write a letter explaining why you want to win and a photo. Clarissa (a tomboy) who previously scoffed at the contest, gets pissed off and decides to enter when Doris draws a crude picture of her. She then decides to join the Makeover Club. It’s decided that Marsha needs to lose weight and Sara needs to gain some. So, they’ll get up early and run laps around the school to keep fit. They all start to like jogging (especially when Marsha finds out Craig runs laps with the football team in the morning) but the next phase dieting they find hard. Sara finds it just as hard to gain by stuffing herself on junk. The next part is actual beauty. They meet at Clarissa’s house and try to give each other facials, but end up distracted by all her brothers and nearly burn the house up when they leave a pot in the stove (steaming their pores), The next day there’s a new student in Home Ec (Nicholas James). The teacher is sexist, but Nicky seemed comfortable staying. He even helps Sara with a botched zipper At school, Doris continues to show Clarissa up by getting her pictures done professionally, but Marsha gets good news. Craig tells her he wants to join the Debate team, and he asks her to go to the Skating rink over the weekend when he takes off her glasses. However, when she gets to the rink Craig kind of ditches her to hang out with Doris and she feels stupid for thinking it was a date. Leaving her to hang out with Jim Connors and Nicky“. Craig then comes back over and apologizes but says he has to go, but Marsha is so blinded by the few minutes he did give her she’s in heaven. Sara and Marsha get a great picture of Clarissa and she writes an honest letter and signs it “Rissa Sky”. Clarissa ends up making the girls’ freshman basketball team (thanks to Mike’s help). At lunch, Doris comes over and invites Mike to a party. Now she’s moved on to him. Only he says he can’t come If he can’t bring his friends and Doris reluctantly agrees. So, they decide to do a home coloring kit to turn Sara’s hair blond but leave it on too long and it turns out green. Now Sara is pissed and not speaking to them At the party, they notice Sara there with a wild new hairdo. Nicky loves it and he and Sara start dancing and are the center of attention. Sara is feeling good until Doris gets jealous and snatches her wig off. Masha tries to get it back but ends up getting her glasses knocked off and turning over the table -and all it’s contents-. Doris gets sprayed with punch. But the night ends on a good note for all three. They each get a boy’s attention. Sarah ends up dying her hair orange. The girls discuss their doubts about the boy’s interest in them. Craig is supposed to work with Marsha on a debate topic but keeps standing her up. On the night of the debate Craig isn’t prepared (because he ghosted all their library appointments) and he tries to bs his way through it. Marsha is doing well and then disaster after disaster happens until she ends up losing a contact lens and she leaves the debate in tears. Jim later comes by and gives her the lost contact and tells her she needs a new partner. Eventually, she does get Jim new partner but even though he likes her she still doesn’t see that Craig isn’t really into her. Sara tries out for the Choral Group but ends up hiccupping her way through the song she picked. Nicky stops by and says he was at the auditions looking for a girl singer for his band and then tells her he wants that singer to be her. To her surprise, Clarissa wins the contest but Doris tries to get even by sending a letter to Clarissa’s father that Teen Today is a porn magazine and he falls for it and forbids her to go to the shot. But she plots to check in at school, sneak out, and make the appointment by 11. Sara and Marsha say they’ll go with her for support. There’s a blizzard and not only that in the middle of the photo-shot Clarissa faints from not eating and the lights being to hot. So, they tell Marsha that she’ll have to take over. Only it doesn’t feel right so Marsha pretends to sprain her ankle and reluctantly they let Rissa finish the shoot. But when they’re head for home because of the blizzard the tracks have broken down. Clarissa is grounded and meetings of the club are put on hold. Now Sara is worried about the audition for the band to perform at a school dance and Marsha is worried about her and Jim going up against Craig. Marsha decides not to hold back and she and Jim win the debate. Craig is upset but oh well. The story ends well. Clarissa’s Dad has a change of heart and lets her enter the contest. Mike turns down Doris’s invite and asks Clarissa. She also gets his best basketball move from him. Nicky’s group gets to perform at the dance and she writes a special song dedicated to her friends. Craig asks Marsha after he finds out Doris asked Mike but dumps her after Mike turns down Doris. But by this time Marsha doesn’t care because she’s already asked, Jim Conners.
My Thoughts: On one hand it’s fine to want to improve yourself through diet, exercise, skin, and clothes if that’s what YOU want. However, the message of this book was Sara and Marsha wanted to start this club to get boyfriends and *that* I DON’T agree with. I do agree that you have to keep yourself up once you have one. But neither Craig, Mike, nor Jim (I’ll give Nicky a pass cause he just got there) notices Marsha and Clarissa until they started going through these measures. Nicky was the only one who left any kind of impression on me because he was the only one who told Sara he liked her DESPITE having green hair. That’s the kind of guy you wanna have in your life. It’s just sad that all of em felt like they had to change because of someone or to get with someone. I also didn’t like the sexist female Home Economics teacher. We definitely didn’t have this at my school. Our class had males. It’s RIDICULOUS to think only women cook and sew. I briefly (and when I saw briefly, I mean if you blinked you missed it) was interested in someone who was the manager of a restaurant and the restaurant was so lacking in staff that he had to cook. His skills probably would have put mine to shame. It’s like my best friend once said. His mother taught him these skills because it wasn’t guaranteed that he would get a wife. It might sound mean (and he did) but men *should* learn what’s considered *feminine* skills the same way women probably should take a shop class. But it was interesting to see the reverse. Usually, it’s books where the female is trying out for a male sports team. I remember this book so well from the first time I read it. I remembered Sara’s green (orange) hair and I remembered: “Rissa Sky” and her aqua jumpsuit and yellow blouse and sandals. Even though it was a mixed-up message it was an ok read because Marsha, Rissa, and Sara discovered not just their outer beauty but their inner beauty and they didn’t need this accessorized with Jim, Craig, Mike or Nicky.
Rating: 6
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July 30, 2008My notes say "Quit after 10 minutes"
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