Break Every Rule

December 1, 2005
Gr 9 Up -Jonathan narrates alternating chapters of this latest adventure of the Insiders, Manhattan's richest, handsomest, most fashion-obsessed prep-school guys. The plot centers around "New York" magazine's Hottest Private School Boy issue. Jonathan thinks he'll be picked because of his totally great taste in clothes. It turns out that the magazine really wants Patch, but he's too busy having an existential crisis to answer his phone. Lothario Arno is picked instead. Meanwhile, the group seems to be breaking up into small cliques and David may be making a play for Jon's girlfriend. A plot hinging on a fictitious issue of a real magazine might be clever, if its premise and title weren't so ridiculous. Even the society pages of "New York", where boys like these might appear, generally feature those old enough to vote. The characters develop only enough to be distinguishable from each other. However, the author's crisp, natural dialogue, and the sections written entirely in answering machine messages, are spot-on and hilarious. The debauched mood, short chapters, and simplistic themes make for a mercifully quick read. The unceasing name-checks of high fashion labels, celebrities, and hot New York clubs, present in place of setting, would bore even Paris Hilton." -Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library"

Copyright 2005 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.