Gr 10 Up—Self-proclaimed player and party crasher Henry Arlington has every intention of following the "Crasher Code" that he and his buddies established, including never being with the same girl twice. But while cruising a Sweet Sixteen party with a fictitious identity, he meets beautiful and intriguing Garrett Lennox. New to East Shore High School, she struggles to make friends among the cliques of the senior class. While Henry ignores her and perpetuates the rumor that they hooked up at the party, Garrett is given a proposal by three mean girls, the J Squad. Lonely and missing her ex-boyfriend back in Chicago, she decides to accept the trio's challenge—in exchange for membership in their group, she must convince Henry to be her boyfriend and then dump him at a hotly anticipated, MTV-aired Sweet Sixteen party. As readers will anticipate, they wind up forming real feelings for one another and are faced with the consequences of their separate deceptions. Using interspersed movie-script format for dialogue and song references throughout, the narrative is trendy and indulgent. The evolution of Garrett's and Henry's characters is difficult to believe, and the supporting characters are stock and one- dimensional. However, romance fans will enjoy the familiar theme of reluctant, ill-fated love and entertainment aficionados will appreciate the popular-culture references. While the events surrounding the demise of the relationship stretch believability, the ending is realistic if not rewarding.—Lynn Rashid, Marriotts Ridge High School, Marriottsville, MD
Henry crashes sweet sixteen parties; Garrett is new to town and in need of friends. The J Squad (i.e., popular girls) will befriend Garrett, but on one condition: she must break Henry's heart. Narration shifts between Henry and Garrett, giving readers a front seat on their emotional roller coasters. Its nothing that hasnt been done before, but the story is mildly diverting.
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