The Julian Game (edition 2010)

This book caught my attention at first glance. Just look at that cover! As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to get this book. Seriously, the cover just screams at you. But we all know that books are not entirely about appearance. So I read the blurb and it, too, caught my attention. It reminded me of the movie John Tucker Must Die, which I had enjoyed. I had high expectations for this book and sadly, it didn’t quite meet them.

The reason this book didn’t appeal to me is because it didn’t grab my attention from the get-go. For the first 100 pages, I kept waiting for the book to reel me it but it never did. A hundred pages is a long time to wait for something to happen. I will say that the second half of the book was better than the first. I didn’t feel a connection with any of the characters. And it bugged me how obsessed Raye was with Julian. Even when she saw his “true character” she was still lusting after him. One character I did like that I would have liked to see more of was Henry Henry, the British exchange student. He was a sweet character that should have received more page time.

Although the book didn’t grab my attention, I do like the message this book sends across about social networking wrecking havoc if not used wisely. We (and when I say “we” I mean people of all ages - pre-teens, teens, young adults and even adults) really need to be careful with not only how we present ourselves online, but what we do online. Facebook, blogs and email are the main social networking platforms used in The Julian Game. We are constantly hearing about cyber-bullying and that issue is part of the plot.

The Julian Game is not only about retaliation, manipulation and sabotage; it’s also about friendships - online and in real life. Raye learns a valuable lesson when it comes to true versus fake friendships. If you enjoyed watching John Tucker Must Die and/or Mean Girls then you might like The Julian Game.

You can find this review, and many more, on my blog The Book Vixen. ( )

An engrossing, timely story that offers a great portrait of the treacherous jungle that is high school social culture, and both an amusing and disturbing commentary on the ease with which virtual identities can be created and cause havock. A fast-paced, engaging novel that will certainly resonate with teens whose lives now revolve around social networking. ( )

I think it is safe to say that high school is tough and that nobody makes it out unscathed. The same thing goes for The Julian Game by Adele Griffin. We meet Raye who is your stereotypical good girl. She is the recipient of a full scholarship, gets all A’s in her courses, prefers to spend her time studying and tries to remain invisible. But just as we all long to be accepted, so does Raye and she creates a fake profile on Facebook so that she can have some contact with the popular kids even if it just online.

Her plan changes when the leader of ‘The Group’, aka…popular mean girls, Ella finds out about the profile and Raye will do anything just to have some sort of friendship with Ella. Raye finds herself going along with Ella’s plan to grab the attention of Julian, a popular boy who broke Ella’s heart, until she realizes that she likes Julian herself. When she comes clean to Julian about the fake profile, he seems interested in her.

All in all this was an okay read. Just by reading the blurb I knew that it would be just like watching Mean Girls and I was right. The Julian Game also reminded me of the movie John Tucker Must Die because in my opinion it has the same type of characters and story line as both of those movies combined.

I debated giving this book a 2 rating because at times it was a bit unbelievable. Some of the behavior and situations just didn’t seem to flow and wouldn’t be things that normal teenagers would do. Ultimately I decided on a 3 because I do think the message the book is trying to say is good. That it is so easy to hide behind a fake persona online but when it comes down to it, we shouldn’t try being something that we aren’t. Just being ourselves and telling the truth is the best way to go. ( )

THE JULIAN GAME, by Adele Griffin, takes a harsh and truthful look at the damage that social networking can create in high school. There was a time when bullying occurred only at school, but with technological advances in social networking (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), malicious teens are able to torture with a single photo or video for all to see over and over again. The internet can be a scary place, especially when situations are exploited one-sidedly.

What started off as a fake online identity turned into an insane nightmare for Raye Archer. Raye just wanted to be accepted at her new school and when she got the opportunity to scheme with the popular Ella Parker, she jumped at the chance. Each girl had something she needed from the other, and right from the start I knew that this would not end well. I have to say Ella was probably my favorite character besides the obvious heroine, Raye. Her OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) behaviors were unlike anything I have read in fiction. At times I found it amusing that she just "had" to do these things and there was no question about it from any of her peers. Griffin diversified her "mean girl" and I was happy to read that she was not as perfect as she seemed. I enjoy reading flawed characters because it makes them more relatable, more human. That is also the case for Julian. He was definitely flawed but he was honest, and I appreciated that.

Raye learned some valuable lessons about friendship and trust. And through broken hearts and humiliation, she gained perspective on life. The ending of the book was not expected for me but I was very pleased with how it turned out. I am excited to read more from Adele Griffin.

I won this book with first reads on goodreads.com i really liked this book its a good interpritaion of how schools are today. i loved the characters and the strength of the main character Raye when faced with bulling. she showed courage and back bone and this book will be passed down to my kids i loved this book ( )