Mean girls meet robin hood.In paradise valley where the rich and wealthy live. Willa has moved into and is trying to learn how to fit into her new high school. She becomes apart of the clique Glitterati (aka plastics in Mean Girls, but she soons see's that not everyone at Valley prep is living the life some are here on scholarship. These girls who are poor she feels sorry for so she decides to make a pact. She will steal from the rich people who are mean to them to give back to them. Some parts of the book were boring and I felt like it was predictable but the ending caught me off guard which is the only reason I will continue to read the series. I want to start out with saying that this book is different then most I have read, and I loved how the Robin Hood story was incorporated into modern time. Usually when a fairy tale or legend is rewritten and modified, it's in a new fantasy world instead of modern times. Beastly by Alex Flinn is supposed to be written in modern times, but I haven't decided if I want to read it yet...Anyway, I loved the main character, Willa, immediately. She's going to a new school for at least the 5th time, yet unlike most kids, instead of sulking about it, she can't wait. And then she almost gets hit by a car and the fire drill goes off all before she's even started her first hour, and she's still happy, not voicing a single complaint. You could also relate to her since she wasn't in that bizarre or unrealistic position. Though, I was a little annoyed that she didn't believe she would get caught or that someone would report a theft, she was courageous in trying to do what she thought was right. I mean, I probably wouldn't have the guts to try and steal a classmate's cash in the middle of class! Not that I would particularly want to... I was surprised in other times when she wouldn't speak up against Kellie and her side-kick Nikki, the school bullies, yet she could steal from them. Cherise, the third that completed Kellie and Nikki's trio, was typically there to argue against them, though, and you know how easy it is to let the other person fight. It shows how much easier it is to fight against someone when they don't know it's you, when you don't have to face them. I also kind of found it ironic that once Willa actually wants to tell Kellie off, she can't if she wants to be able to finish her last theft. Then there is Aiden Murphy, who I liked, but honestly, I liked Tre better, which typically doesn't happen, and I'm not sure why it did this time. Usually, the first guy she meets I like more, save a select few (very few) series. It seems that that's also the one she ends up with, unless there's some blindingly obvious reason they won't end up together and you can tell it's not going to work out. I will take Aiden over a love triangle, though...At the beginning of the book, Aiden didn't seem too great, but I liked him more and more throughout the book. He wasn't in this book much and you didn't really know much about him in the first half of the book, and it didn't seem like you learned much more in the second half. Tre wasn't in the book that much either. I'd say they were in there about as much as the Glitterati girls (Kellie, Nikki, and Cherise) and maybe even less. Hopefully, and I believe this will happen, Aiden and Tre will be in the sequel more. Kellie and Nikki could be in there a little less, too. ..yep, definitely would prefer that. Willa's mom seemed a little cold, too. And I really, really want to know what her secret was and why she wouldn't tell Willa about it. When Willa was caught by the police and her mother visited, I was surprised that she wasn't still shocked. I mean, her mother believe Willa was pretty much an angel and they had a great relationship before her mom starting pulling away and her secret. Then she was angry, not shocked, and she was supposed to be a "yoga-loving pacifist". I know that finding out you daughter stole from other people and is currently being held in Juvenile Detention Center wouldn't make you happy, but I expected her to be more shocked and asking Willow why she did it. Yet her mother didn't even want to hear it. So the secret has to have had her mother so stressed out about it that she didn't have the energy to be really anything but angry at Willow. Her mother reached her breaking point. Anyway, I enjoyed the writing style, and I loved Willa! I can't wait for the sequel, and I from what I can tell, it'll be a little more dramatic, a little less likely to happen. Plus, Willow will probably be more spy-girl...please have more action, and (I beg you) no love triangle.
What do You think about Pretty Clever (2013)?
The ending was really sappy and cliffhanger-ish. I can't wait for the next one.
—TeacherD
