Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty by Jody Gehrman

1248692
3 Stars

As many of you know by now, I am currently in the midst of my annual quest to obtain free crap from the local libraries. The metro library’s challenge? Shakespeare retellings. And the prize????

Palm Springs commercial photography

*glugluglugluglugluglugluglug*

This stop is a revamped, YA version of Much Ado About Nothing. In case you aren’t familiar with the original, a brief summary for Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty goes a lil’ sumthin’ like this . . . .

“Amber loves John.
John wants Hero.
Hero loves Claudio.
Geena and Ben are archenemies.
But not for long . . .”
 


Now buckle your seatbelts and let me take you in the waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back machine to a time where MySpace was the shiznit and fancy coffees only cost $2.00. Geena and her bestie Amber work at the Triple Shot Betty coffee shop. It’s summer break and Geena’s cousin Hero will be returning home from boarding school to join the Betty crew. Geena can’t wait for the three to hang out together all summer. There’s only one problem – Amber and Hero hate each other. Throw in a jealous wanna-be boyfriend, a sexy foreign exchange student, and an arch nemesis in the roles of leading men and things get a little convoluted.

Much Ado About Nothing is one of my favorite works by Shakespeare. Call me an easy sell, but I like his comedies and I looooooove all the romance and the love/hate and the misunderstandings in that one. Betty wasn’t too bad of an adaptation either and would make a great teenage RomCom. It combined a little D.U.F.F. . . . 

Palm Springs commercial photography

with a little John Tucker Must Die . . . 

Palm Springs commercial photography
(You’re welcome)

and, of course, since it was a Shakespearean knock-off, it made me think a little about this . . . 

Palm Springs commercial photography 
(Look at lil’ JGL. If that don’t make you feel like a pervert, I don’t know what will. Also, if you aren't familiar - 10 Things I Hate About You is a modern version of The Taming of the Shrew. There's a little bit of worthless knowledge that will never come in handy unless you're playing trivia in a bar one day.)

This book wasn’t anything totally life-altering, but it did present some quality life lessons such as: (i) just because a girl appears to be comfortable in her skin, it doesn’t mean she really is; (ii) it’s only human to sometimes judge a book by its cover – the important thing is to realize when you’ve been acting an ass – unless it’s when you’re making this type of judgment . . . 

Palm Springs commercial photography
(100% accurate)

(iii) if someone talks shit about one of your friends you should absolutely retaliate teen movie style (i.e., public humiliation); (iv) never write off these guys . . . 

Palm Springs commercial photography

because you don't know when you might need them; and most importantly (v) . . . 

“I may die with my hymen intact, but at least I’ll have my dignity.”

Attagirl! There’s nothing wrong with having sex (once you’re the age of consent #momtalk), but there’s nothing wrong with NOT having it either.

If you’re looking for something on the fluffier side of young adult, this might be a winner. It’s guaranteed to make you have a few grins . . . 

“‘Are you cold?’ he asked in a whisper, running his hand lightly along my arm.

I looked down and saw a long trail of goose bumps stretching from my shoulder to my wrist. Worst, my nipples were standing at attention, just like they had in the frozen food aisle. My body is so disloyal. ‘I guess I am. Probably because my underwear’s all wet.’

The second it was out of my mouth, I cringed.

‘You know – from the pool,’ I amended, but it was too late.”
 


Palm Springs commercial photography

I also have to mention that this book has a SCRATCH AND SNIFF COVER!!! Ermagherd. My inner child had a flashback to the days of sticker collecting and coveting the scratch-n-sniffs. (Why was there such a market for toys that smelled back in the dark ages? Stickers, Cabbage Patch Kids that smelled like baby powder, Strawberry Shortcake dolls that smelled like . . . well, kind of like ewwww for the most part.) You KNOW I peeled the library’s cellophane wrapper off this sumbitch to take a whiff. Good stuff. 

This selection was chosen as part of the library’s Winter Reading Challenge. Only FOUR more books and the limited edition beer mug will be MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!

Palm Springs commercial photography

No comments:

Post a Comment