Revenge, Ice Cream, and Other Things Best Served Cold

February 1, 2015
More mean-girl high jinks in the Hamptons in this follow-up to Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend (2014).In the first book, 16-year-old Gemma had returned to the Hamptons to stay with her father at his rich producer friend's house and make amends to her childhood friend Hallie, whom Gemma wronged when she was 11. Plans went terribly awry: Vengeful Hallie stole Gemma's boyfriend, Teddy, and then Gemma fell for Hallie's brother, Josh-but then Hallie broke them up, making Gemma out to be the bad guy. Now Gemma has decided to stay the summer to prove her innocence and Hallie's guilt to Teddy and Josh. Two new teens arrive, Gwyneth and Ford. Gemma's known them for years and has a longtime crush on Ford, who is a surfing hottie as well as a supersmart computer programmer. Gwyneth is making a documentary, so she insists that everyone in the house wear miniature cameras around their necks. The revenge plans are ratcheted up here with elaborate, multistage setups (involving the cameras, of course) that, though defying believability, are a plot complexity to behold. Readers will find Gemma's lack of romantic decisiveness frustrating; she swoons over whomever she's with. Ultimately, it's tough to stand firmly behind Gemma; though she doesn't harbor the poison that Hallie does, she's like a reality star bemoaning her fate: The fact is that she signed up for it. As satisfying as watching a reality show but with a finer-tuned plot. (Fiction. 13-18)

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March 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-The second installment in Finn's series picks up right where Broken Hearts, Fences, and Other Things to Mend (Feiwel & Friends, 2014) ended. Gemma's secret identity has been revealed. It was her ex-best friend, Hallie, who has been playing pranks against Gemma all summer. Though part of her longs to run back to the safety of her hometown, Gemma also wants revenge. The war between the two is escalating, this time with the assistance of a burgeoning teen filmmaker and a tech-savvy boy whom Gemma is starting to see in a new light. She eventually devises her own pranks against Hallie; unfortunately, Gemma's family and friends are caught in the crosshairs, with unpredictable consequences. While the pranks are amusing, it is clear that the girls are hurting each other. This follow-up is easy to jump into; Finn adroitly incorporates details of the first book into this story, getting readers caught up quickly. This book is easy entertainment. The characters are stock types: the cute, nice guy; the mean ex-best friend; and the scatterbrained father. There is not a lot to differentiate this book from the many others already on the shelves. VERDICT Readers of frenemy stories may enjoy Finn's latest, but this is strictly an additional purchase unless the previous volume has proven to be extremely popular.-Sarah Wethern, Douglas County Library, Alexandria, MN

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