Book Review: ALL-AMERICAN GIRL
*Note: this blog was created for a class at TWU
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Cabot, Meg. 2002. ALL-AMERICAN GIRL. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
2. PLOT SUMMARY:
Less-than-popular Samantha Madison wants to impress her sister's artsy-emo boyfriend, on whom she has a crush, with her own artistic talents, but when she saves the president of the United States from an assassination attempt, her whole life changes. She learns that people are more than stereotypes, that fame has its disadvantages, and that she has a lot more to offer the world than she ever thought.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Not to harp on the subject, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I am not a huge chicklit fan. I tend to lean more toward the sci-fi fantasy genre, so it was with gritted teeth that I picked up ALL-AMERICAN GIRL.
In this novel, Samantha Madison, in a spur-of-the-moment act of bravery, saves the president from assassination, and goes from school outcast to instant national celebrity. Celebrity is something author Meg Cabot knows about. At the middle school library, we opened our doors at the beginning of the year with three shelves full of THE PRINCESS DIARIES series, ALL-AMERICAN GIRL series, and THE MEDIATOR series. Within a week, we were down to one shelf, since two-thirds of the books were checked out, and it has remained that way almost 9 weeks into the school year. Her popularity is only matched by that of Lisi Harrison (Clique Series), the Bluford High series, and of course, anything by R.L. Stine.
At first, I wasn't too impressed. Apart from Cabot's knack for capturing the teen voice of Sam and her friends, I found the novel predictable and less funny than Louise Rennison's ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING. But then I became hooked into Sam's journey from "knowing to seeing." An accomplished artist for her age, Sam is used to drawing what's in her head, rather than really looking at what's in front of her with an open mind. And this is true of her relationships with people as well. She thinks her sister's poser boyfriend is a true rebel, and brushes off the president's son as a geek. In the end, our protagonist is humbled and does learn the lesson: "Sometimes you want what is right in front of you. All you have to do is open your eyes and see it." A truism even forty-year-old women like me could do well to remember now and then. Having opened her eyes to really see, Sam earns her happy ending by dumping the poser, standing up for what she believes, and opening her heart to David, the president's son.
ALL-AMERICAN GIRL is humorous and romantic and more accessible in terms of readability than ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING. It would make a great segue into more realistic fiction for those girls who get stuck in PRINCESS DIARIES mode. (The ones who constantly ask, "Do you have any other princess books?")
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S):
Publisher's Weekly: "Sam's spunky and intermittently affecting narrative, as well as the true-to-life voices of the supporting cast of characters, make this a convincing and diverting tale. As Sam learns important truths about herself, Cabot interjects a worthy message into her comedic caper."
Booklist: "Absurdly far-fetched? Absolutely, but like Cabot's previous books, that's exactly why this is so much fun. Cabot throws in plenty of obstacles and well-paced social angst to keep up the suspense, making Sam's romantic happy ending hard earned. There's also surprising depth in the characters and plenty of authenticity in the cultural details and the teenage voices--particularly in Sam's poignant, laugh-out-loud narration."
5. CONNECTIONS:
* Like Louise Rennison's ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL FRONTAL SNOGGING, this book is just plain fun, and may not have too many curricular connections. See the ANGUS, THONGS blog entry for a discussion of books with lists as a story element. ALL-AMERICAN GIRL does have a tie-in with the theme of what it would be like to be the son or daughter of the president. Maybe as an extension activity in US History, students could study the children of presidents, including both real accounts such as FIRST DAUGHTERS: LETTERS BETWEEN U.S. PRESIDENTS AND THEIR DAUGHTERS by Gerard Gawalt and fictional accounts such as ALL-AMERICAN GIRL and FIRST BOY by Gary Schmidt.
*Note: this blog was created for a class at TWU
1. BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Cabot, Meg. 2002. ALL-AMERICAN GIRL. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
2. PLOT SUMMARY:
Less-than-popular Samantha Madison wants to impress her sister's artsy-emo boyfriend, on whom she has a crush, with her own artistic talents, but when she saves the president of the United States from an assassination attempt, her whole life changes. She learns that people are more than stereotypes, that fame has its disadvantages, and that she has a lot more to offer the world than she ever thought.
3. CRITICAL ANALYSIS:
Not to harp on the subject, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I am not a huge chicklit fan. I tend to lean more toward the sci-fi fantasy genre, so it was with gritted teeth that I picked up ALL-AMERICAN GIRL.
In this novel, Samantha Madison, in a spur-of-the-moment act of bravery, saves the president from assassination, and goes from school outcast to instant national celebrity. Celebrity is something author Meg Cabot knows about. At the middle school library, we opened our doors at the beginning of the year with three shelves full of THE PRINCESS DIARIES series, ALL-AMERICAN GIRL series, and THE MEDIATOR series. Within a week, we were down to one shelf, since two-thirds of the books were checked out, and it has remained that way almost 9 weeks into the school year. Her popularity is only matched by that of Lisi Harrison (Clique Series), the Bluford High series, and of course, anything by R.L. Stine.
At first, I wasn't too impressed. Apart from Cabot's knack for capturing the teen voice of Sam and her friends, I found the novel predictable and less funny than Louise Rennison's ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING. But then I became hooked into Sam's journey from "knowing to seeing." An accomplished artist for her age, Sam is used to drawing what's in her head, rather than really looking at what's in front of her with an open mind. And this is true of her relationships with people as well. She thinks her sister's poser boyfriend is a true rebel, and brushes off the president's son as a geek. In the end, our protagonist is humbled and does learn the lesson: "Sometimes you want what is right in front of you. All you have to do is open your eyes and see it." A truism even forty-year-old women like me could do well to remember now and then. Having opened her eyes to really see, Sam earns her happy ending by dumping the poser, standing up for what she believes, and opening her heart to David, the president's son.
ALL-AMERICAN GIRL is humorous and romantic and more accessible in terms of readability than ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL-FRONTAL SNOGGING. It would make a great segue into more realistic fiction for those girls who get stuck in PRINCESS DIARIES mode. (The ones who constantly ask, "Do you have any other princess books?")
4. REVIEW EXCERPT(S):
Publisher's Weekly: "Sam's spunky and intermittently affecting narrative, as well as the true-to-life voices of the supporting cast of characters, make this a convincing and diverting tale. As Sam learns important truths about herself, Cabot interjects a worthy message into her comedic caper."
Booklist: "Absurdly far-fetched? Absolutely, but like Cabot's previous books, that's exactly why this is so much fun. Cabot throws in plenty of obstacles and well-paced social angst to keep up the suspense, making Sam's romantic happy ending hard earned. There's also surprising depth in the characters and plenty of authenticity in the cultural details and the teenage voices--particularly in Sam's poignant, laugh-out-loud narration."
5. CONNECTIONS:
* Like Louise Rennison's ANGUS, THONGS, AND FULL FRONTAL SNOGGING, this book is just plain fun, and may not have too many curricular connections. See the ANGUS, THONGS blog entry for a discussion of books with lists as a story element. ALL-AMERICAN GIRL does have a tie-in with the theme of what it would be like to be the son or daughter of the president. Maybe as an extension activity in US History, students could study the children of presidents, including both real accounts such as FIRST DAUGHTERS: LETTERS BETWEEN U.S. PRESIDENTS AND THEIR DAUGHTERS by Gerard Gawalt and fictional accounts such as ALL-AMERICAN GIRL and FIRST BOY by Gary Schmidt.
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