Friday, April 1, 2011

The Lipstick Laws - Amy Holder - Blog Tour Review


At Penford High School, Britney Taylor is the queen bee. She dates whomever she likes, rules over her inner circle of friends like Genghis Khan, and can ruin anyone's life with a snap of perfectly manicured fingers. Just ask the unfortunate few who have crossed her. For April Bowers, Britney is also the answer to her prayers. April is so unpopular, kids don't even know she exists. But one lunch spent at Britney's table, and April is basking in the glow of popularity. But Britney's friendship comes with a high price tag. How much is April willing to pay?
Synopsis taken from goodreads.

Title: The Lipstick Laws
Author: Amy Holder
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Graphia
Publication Date: April 4, 2011
Format: E-book
Source: Netgalley. Many thanks goes to Netgalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for sending me an e-galley of this book. I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review.
Tour: Teen Book Scene. This review is part of the Teen Book Scene blog tour for The Lipstick Laws. You can follow along with the tour here
Look for it: Amazon, Book Depository
My rating: 4/5


April Bowers is a little apprehensive. She's starting off a new school year without her best friend and she doesn't really have any other friends. She is pretty well invisible, but a chance encounter with the "it" girl, Britney, lands April solidly in the midst of popularity. Popularity comes with a cost and April is going to find out the hard way how much she is going to have to change to maintain her newfound image. The only question she might have is whether or not the cost is worth the effort, and is she willing to risk everything for it. 
April is a plucky character, one who has a pretty good moral code, but still gets drawn up in the excitement of popularity. She is catapulted to her newfound fame after she inadvertently helps Britney out by handing her a tube of lip gloss. That small act sets off a series of events that will help April realize the person she is, but she might lose herself along the way. Hilarity ensues as the girls differentiate between friends, and enemies. Though this has a "mean girls" theme, it also has some laugh out loud moments. April's cracks about "fake bake" had me laughing, as did some of the other odd phrases that came out of her mouth.
While first reading The Lipstick Laws, I found myself somewhat amused, but not all that invested in the characters. They seemed superficial, and I wanted to see April gain a backbone. However, roughly about halfway through, I found the story started to pick up the pace, and it seemed to gel more fluently. With the emergence of another group, I found myself enjoying the story even more. This additional cast of characters balanced out the conceited airs put on by Britney and company, and it was interesting to see how both groups interacted together. Though April enjoyed her newfound fame, it is heartening to see her growth as a character as well. 
All in all, a fun, light read. The antics that are pulled are reminiscent of those in The Parent Trap or Mean Girls, however they retain their originality and will keep the reader invested in the outcome to see how certain situations turn out. 


Just a quick note! Anyone who comments on any of the tour posts will be entered to win a signed copy of "The Lipstick Laws" at the end of every blog tour week. 

7 comments:

Vivien said...

It sounds like the ending completed the novel for you. I look forward to reading it.


Vivien
deadtossedwaves at gmail dot com

ArtemisG said...

Book sounds amazing and I love the cover!!!

Aleetha said...

another high rating for this book.
No more reason to postpone reading this book any longer.

If you said about Mean Girl, I think it would be so much fun in this book.

Ashley said...

This book sounds like it could be a lot of fun!

Fi-chan said...

Argh, need to get this book. I read other reviews and they just increased my desire to get this book D;

Ana LucĂ­a said...

Agree with the previous comment. I heard/read nothing but good things about this book but I don't buy online! Fingers crossed!! :D

luarroyave(at)hotmail(dot)com

Pedro Pablo said...

great post. If I win is going to be a gift, so fingers crossed Thank u so much! ;)

pepoarroyave@hotmail.com