Postcard For Reader

Bad Apple

Bad Apple
Author: Laura Ruby
Series: ---
Publisher: HarperCollins
How Received: ARC

"If I really wanted to open up, I'd confess that I really am the liar everyone believes I am."

High-school junior Tola Riley has green hair, a nose ring, an attitude problem, and a fondness for fairy tales, which are a great escape from real life. Everyone thinks she's crazy; everyone says so. Everyone except Mr. Mymer, her art teacher. He gets her paintings and lets her hang out in the art room during lonely lunch periods.

But then rumors start flying and Tola is suddenly the center of a scandal. The whole town is judging her—even her family. When Mr. Mymer is suspended for what everyone thinks is an affair, she has no choice but to break her silence. Fairy tales won't help her this time... so how can she tell the truth? And, more importantly, will anyone believe her?

I will give Bad Apple this. It has some pretty awesome characters - I loved Tola, and Tola's cat, and Tola's friend Seven.

And I love Laura Ruby's writing style.

But that's where my love of this ends. It wasn't a bad book, per say - it just wasn't organized. It jumped from thing to thing, in seemingly unconnected bits. I managed to get through the first fifty pages purely on the hope that it would get it's act together. Then I began flipping to random pages in the back and would know EXACTLY what was happening within the first five sentences I read.

The book probably would have been much better had it been written in diary form. Sadly, though, I could not finish it.

Final Comments: Some people may like it, but it's not my thing.
Cover Comments: It's an alright cover - appealing enough, but not something that would stand out on a shelf.