Airhead

Emerson Watts is the farthest thing there is to a “girly-girl”. She prefers to spend her time playing video games with her best friend--and secret crush--Christopher, rather than obsessing over celebrities like her younger sister. So when she is forced to babysit Frida at the grand opening of the new Stark Megastore near their apartment, she is not thrilled. She has better things to do than drool over British singer-songwriter, Gabriel Luna, but her mom insists she go along. Who could have predicted that a freak accident would land Em in the hospital? When she wakes up from a chemically induced coma, no one will tell her what happened or why her voice sounds so different...like maybe it belongs to someone else.

First off, where do I show more sign up to be transplanted into the body of a Victoria’s Secret supermodel (preferably Adriana Lima but I’m not picky) because I am all over that. Who wouldn’t be, right?

Airhead is more of an introduction to the rest of the series. Nothing major happens except for the accident and then her ‘transformation’. Emerson spends the majority of the book in and out of consciousness at the hospital or trying to figure out why no one will tell her exactly what happened. Only towards the end does she take her place as Nikki Howard where she finds out just how complicated and hard it actually is being a famous and gorgeous supermodel. She also meets all of Nikki’s friends and boyfriends--yes, plural. There isn’t too much excitement or action in this one, but we do get a hint at a possible mystery--as well as a bit of romance--to come which got me excited for Being Nikki.

The characters are all very likable. Emerson is funny, witty, and smart. I found it amusing to watch her struggle to fit into her new life. She goes from wearing sweats almost everyday to being a fashion icon and she really has no idea how to handle it. I think a bit of Nikki might still be in there somewhere because I definitely noticed a change from how Em was in the beginning. When Lulu was first introduced I was expecting her to be bitchy and full of herself, but she wasn’t at all. She is a bit dumb, but very sweet and well-intentioned. Her theory as to why ‘Nikki’ is all of a sudden acting different is hilarious. As for the new and old boys in her life, I’m rooting for Gabriel. I mean, the boy wrote a song about her, is constantly saving her, and is British--what’s not to love?

This isn’t my favorite Meg Cabot novel (that honor goes to All-American Girl or maybe Avalon High...I still haven’t decided), but I did thoroughly enjoy it. show less

Let me be up front about something here—the first two times I tried to read this book I couldn’t get past the first few chapters because it enraged me. When I actually finished it and found out that it wasn’t so bad, I gave the plot a chance, and I like the plot, but there are still some massive issues.

Here’s why I contemplated throwing it against the wall: The very first chapter of the book introduces us to main character Emerson, describes herself as geeky and not very fashion-conscious, and complains that everyone is ignoring her persuasive speech about gaming. In contrast, Popular Clichéd Mean Girl Whitney is described as being perfect and blonde and everyone hangs on her every word. By means of deduction, we’re supposed show more to be sympathizing with Em, because she says that she’s geeky and is a brunette.

CHARACTERIZATION DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY.

There’s nothing in the book showing us that Em’s a geek or a nerd. She says that she likes playing video games, but we never get the sense that she’s really into Journeyquest (bland game of choice), aside from getting to spend time with a guy she likes. Not only does she not feel sympathetic, way to break the cardinal writing rule of ‘show don’t tell.’ A laundry list of traits is not characterization. Also, I was really sad to see that Meg Cabot fell back on the “Popular blonde cheerleaders are EVIIIIIL” stereotype, especially after reading Lana in the final Princess Diaries volumes. It’s really tiring at this point.

Which brings me to my second biggest problem: Em and her mother are crazy straw feminists, to the point of saying that a girl looks pretty is automatically shameful and judging a person on their looks. Uh, really? I’m by no means attractive, but I like to dress up and decide to make myself look nice every once in a while. I’m not trying to impress anyone, it’s just sometimes I get in the mood. It’s all well and good to encourage Em and her sister Frida to see beyond the artificialities of a person (although considering how Em goes on and on about how hot Christopher is, doesn’t seem to have worked), but this borders on the ridiculous.

If I had to put my finger on it, a lot of the series focuses on “Judging people based on their looks is bad! You can’t tell a person’s insides from their outsides!” but drops the ball whenever Em has to become Nikki Howard. Take for example, the real Nikki’s best friend Lulu. Now, I love Lulu, she’s my favorite character in the whole series—she’s sympathetic, she really cares about Em/Nikki, and she’s funny—but I hated the way she was characterized. Lulu’s first described to us by Em as a celebutante who’s famous for being famous, and Em thinks she’s (and Nikki) are both brainless beautiful twits. And once we get to met Lulu, we find out…that she’s a dumb blonde with a heart of gold. Dropping anvils should be like making sure the plot gun goes off at the right time; having Lulu surprise Em by being intelligent (by Em’s standards) would have been a great twist.

There’s a lot of plot that could have been good but gets shoved down. The public buys into the “Nikki Howard has amnesia” story (which would have been debunked quickly, especially if someone who’s as famous as Nikki apparently is was involved), Em has to learn to keep up appearances, and the spyware she finds on Nikki’s computer is introduced way too late in the book. If anything, this would have worked a lot better if all three books were just one big novel, and feels like a trilogy just to be a trilogy. Now, the spyware and how Em was going to live on as Nikki did interest me, which is why I picked up the next two volumes. But the characterization issue was so massive, it left a bad taste in my mouth. It really relies on the reader liking Emerson because she’s supposed to be just like them: geeky, not popular, prefers books to clothes. But again, give me something that shows me why I should like her, and not a list of things that I should be able to relate to. A relatable character is someone that the readers should see pieces of themselves in—play up Em’s lack of confidence, make her an actual geek (and one who knows what she’s talking about, because, really, referencing the same three lines from Star Wars does not a geek make), make her someone who could actually exist in real life. show less

16-year-old Emerson Watts’ biggest concerns are playing video games and trying to get her best friend, Christopher, to realize that she’s a girl. But then a freak accident transplants her permanently inside the hot body of Nikki Howard, the entertainment industry’s biggest teen star.

As Em struggles to realize what happened to her, she also must adjust to Nikki’s body’s cravings and fend off advances from an onslaught of male Nikki admirers. She also realizes, however, that being a star may have some unsavory sides to it…

When I read AIRHEAD, I remembered in full force the strength of Meg Cabot’s writing. She is able to take even the most ludicrous or most overused scenarios and make them fun and interesting. AIRHEAD has show more Meg’s usual charm and humor, though it is not really a standout novel of hers.

Emerson is a great protagonist, earnestly devoted to her video games without overdoing her “outsider status” among her classmates. Nikki is a surprisingly deep and conflicted character—not just your average bitchily perfect “queen.” The plethora of supporting characters are just the slightest bit two-dimensional, but they all have distinct personalities, and all have their good and bad parts, which makes me content to look forward to what else they will do in the sequels.

The plot stalls for most of the book as Em slowly pieces together what happened to her. Indeed, the pace is so slow as to be very nearly infuriating. AIRHEAD seemed like a huge introduction for the rest of the series: nothing in terms of conflict and resolution occurs. It’s difficult to appreciate this as a stand-alone novel. Luckily, the second book in the series, BEING NIKKI, is out already, and the third, RUNAWAY, is coming out in Spring 2010. I am admittedly still curious to find out what happens to Em inside Nikki’s body, so I will probably continue reading the series to find out. After all, it’s Meg Cabot, and her books are like candy: some are better than others, but you just can’t stop eating any of them! show less

Emerson Watts (Em) is a tomboyish gamer, not a party girl. She begrudgingly accompanies her younger sister to the grand opening of the Stark Megastore so that her sister can see her celebrity crush, Gabriel Luna and her idol supermodel Nikki Howard. While waiting in line for Gabriel’s autograph, a flat-screen TV falls from the ceiling and lands on Em. She wakes up from a coma a month later and learns that her life has been forever changed.

The back cover of this book is really vague (like my description above) so I had no idea what to expect from this book. I just picked up it because I’m on a personal mission to read/listen to all of Meg Cabot’s books. I was surprised to discover as I listened to this book that this book is partly show more science fiction. It’s definitely not hard science fiction but if you don’t think about how unrealistic it is and just go with it then it’s a very fun read. I don’t want to give too much away – part of the fun is not knowing what happens ahead of time.

This book is the first of the Airhead series – I’m looking forward to listening to the rest of the books in the series. show less

My first Meg Cabot read, Airhead was a perfect blend of entertaining and emotional. Don’t get me wrong, this book wasn’t dark and moody but it did have it’s share of the typical teenaged angst that comes with a young girl seeking out her true identity. Particularly given the outer body experience of being both Em Watts, resident outcast, and Nikki Howard, supermodel extraordinaire.

Airhead had a straightforward plot, with very few surprises for this reader. I think some of that lack of surprise comes as a result of my age. I suspect that younger girls who pick this up will be more able to ride unsuspectedly into some of the twists and turns. This isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy the plot because I did, very much so in fact. The show more story (which I won’t outline here so you can experience it for yourself) was captivating to me. This is mainly due to the endearing characters Cabot built. Even the quirky sidekick LuLu wasn’t nearly as annoying as one would suspect.

Speaking of characters, Em is written expertly. She is all piss and vinegar at the outset. Fighting social injustice and not at all interested in conforming to the in-crowd at her school, she’s got her best friend Christopher at her side and that is all she needs. Happy to be with him and playing video games she doesn’t feel any need to slim down, polish up or dumb down. It is this attitude that creates a scenario whereby Em navigates a series of valuable life lessons.

How Em weaves through her double life is both courageous and heartbreaking — the distance from her true family, the care she gives those used to Nikki’s formerly bitchy ways, and the struggle to clue the one person she cherishes most in on the secret of who she really is — makes Airhead a wonderful read. Even better is the fact that all of this soul searching and positive change is done in the least preachy way possible thanks to Cabot’s wit and charm.

The first in a trilogy, I was glad that I already had the remaining two on hand when I read the first. The story is so endearing and captivating I had to read all three straight through. This is a series young girls will assuredly enjoy but so will their mothers. show less

Emerson Watts is a high school junior stuck inside Nikki Howard's (mega teen supermodel) body. If you're confused, don't worry. the author explains the situation over and over again so you'll get it...and then get annoyed by all the "well, he kissed Nikki's lips," etc. The book is actually very clever and I think I would have liked it better if I read it instead of listened to the audio book. Meg Cabot has lots of -dfjlkadjf- asides and the narrator had trouble making those asides clear. I understood what was going on, but sometimes it wasn't easy. I definitely am looking forward to the next book in this new Cabot series, though (I'll just get the physical book next time). 3 1/2 stars

What would you do if you woke up and found that your brain had been transplanted into someone else's body? That's what happens to high schooler Em Watts after a freak accident. The real Em is not your typical girl: she likes video games, doesn't care about fashion, and makes fun of the popular crowd with her best friend Christopher. That all changes when she's wakes up in the body of supermodel Nikki Howard. Now she has to be Nikki or else her parents have to pay back the money the Stark Corporation, Nikki's modeling sponsor, paid for the surgery. Can she remain herself in another girl's body, especially a girl that represents everything she used to hate?