The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney

Remember comments are extra entries! Today is the official release of Devon Delaney Should Totally Know Better so here's the review of the book before it:

The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney by Lauren Barnholdt

Release:

Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis: Mom says karma always comes around to get you, and I guess it’s true. Because last summer I was a total liar, and now, right in the middle of Mr. Pritchard’s third-period math class, my whole world is about to come crashing down.

That’s because while Devon was living with her grandmother for the summer, she told her “summer friend,” Lexi, that she was really popular back home and dating Jared Bentley, only the most popular guy at school. Harmless lies, right? Wrong. Not when Lexi is standing at the front of Devon’s class, having just moved to Devon’s town. Uh-oh.

Devon knows there’s only one way to handle this — she’ll just have to become popular! But how is Devon supposed to accomplish that when she’s never even talked to Jared, much less dated him?! And it seems the more Devon tries to keep up her “image,” the more things go wrong. Her family thinks she’s nuts, her best friend won’t speak to her, and, as if it’s not all complicated enough, Jared starts crushing on Lexi and Devon starts crushing on Jared’s best friend, Luke. It all has Devon wondering — who is the real Devon Delaney?

Review: I hadn't read a middle grade (tween) novel in 2 years, and my blog is mostly YA centered. But in the interest of I Heart Barnholdt, I read it and was glad I did. This book made me laugh out loud a lot, and it takes a book with great content to do so. Devon Delaney is a really endearing character who gets herself stuck in situations because of her lies, which I can't help but laugh as I go through the book with her as the narrator.

The novel is really witty and a great read for those who like tween literature. The characters are real, the novel is well paced, and above all, the plot is just perfect for tweens. (Which, I might still be since I'm only 14)

What I thought of...

(may contain minor spoilers, but don't worry--the ending is as vague as possible)

The Beginning : It started off really well with Lexi transfering to Devon's school, which leaves our main character panicked. She has thoughts of fabricating a break up, finding a way to keep Lexi's mouth shut about Jared being her boyfriend, and of course, thinking of how to get Jared to talk to her. After all, he is her "boyfriend."

Oh and there's Luke, Mel, Kim, Katie, and more that are introduced. My first thoughts of Luke were, "Oh hey, there's another boy in this story. I wonder if he likes Mel." Big mistake since I obviously should have read the synopsis more clearly. Anyway, then we find out that Jared wants Devon to ask Lexi if she likes him. After being taken aback, gasping, I started laughing because that's just downright hilarious. Here Devon is trying to make Lexi think Jared is her boyfriend and she finds out he likes Lexi and thinks she's hot. Wow. So much for making him like her.

The Middle: Okay so Devon is still telling Jared that he should play hard to get. What's stranger is that he believes her. Somehow, it's interesting to me and I can not help but turn page after page. Then, I hit the part about Luke being Devon's social studies partner, and I can't help but grin because something's about to happen!! :D

Cute little Katie (Devon's sister) is just so well, cute. She's definitely one of the characters that stood out for me.

I am losing my respect for Jared, if I ever had any. He just told Devon that while playing hard to get with Lexi--in other words, just ignoring her--he thinks it's fairly easy because he treats her as Devon or some other random girl. Ouch. Goodbye Jared. Good luck in Lexi Town.

Don't fret, Devon, Luke looks as if he likes you. *wink, wink*

More surprises! Eek!

The End: The secret is out and a few certain people are now ignoring her. No! Through many twists and turns, Devon is unable to escape her lies. :( All I can say is, "Karma, karma, karma. " But, what's a good story without a happy ending? ;)

I think I'm in love with Lauren Barnholdt's books. Is it just me or does every one of her book has a moral to it? xD

Either way, 4.5/5