Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Runaway (YA)


Runaway. Meg Cabot. 2010. April 2010. Scholastic. 320 pages.

So according to the tabloids, I'm on a secret love getaway (not so secret anymore now, though, is it? Thank you, Us Weekly) with Brandon Stark, the only son and sole heir of billionaire Robert Stark, currently the fourth richest person in the world, after Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Ingvar Kamprad (who founded IKEA, in case you didn't know).

Runaway is the third book in the Airhead series by Meg Cabot. (The first two books are Airhead and Being Nikki.) This review might spoil elements of the first two, so if you plan on picking this series up, you should probably skip most of this review. You should know, however, that I do recommend this series. I've never read anything quite like it. It's very original, very fun. (Yet not fun in the meaningless, forgettable way.)

A girl can't always get what she wants most. Take Nikki. She sees Em in her body, living her life, spending her money, wearing her clothes, kissing her boyfriend--although the girl does protest quite a bit--and it seems just about everyone (her brother and dog included) like this new-and-improved 'Nikki' better than the original. Nikki has gone from beautiful to frumpy. How can she help being angry and frustrated and bitter?

Em is learning to love her life. True, being Nikki is never easy, never boring. And there is that BIG MYSTERY that needs solving. But. She's learning to love her new life, her new friends, and the best thing of all is that Christopher finally knows the truth. That she is Em. Life is messy, life is complicated, but it's worth fighting for.

I love this series because of the characters. I love Em. I love how even in her new body she's still staying true to herself, staying true to her feelings. When she could have any guy, she still chooses her best friend, the one she spent all those hours with playing video games with, the guy who knows the real her. I also love Lulu. I do. For a minor character, a best friend, she sure has a way about her.

The books are well-paced; Cabot definitely knows how to keep you reading!

Other reviews: Steph Su Reads, Presenting Lenore, Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf, Galleysmith, Books Make Great Lovers, A Girl, Books And Other Things.

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews

2 comments:

Nina said...

Okay so first of all let me say that I skipped reading your review. Why? Well because you recommend them and I seriousley want to read them without any spoilers. They look and sound really fun!

Michelle Fluttering Butterflies said...

Ahhh! I really want to read this!