How to Rock Braces and Glasses

August 1, 2011
In this Alloy Entertainment property that's been picked up by Nickelodeon for a sitcom, sharp-tongued Kasey Simon, 13, is used to the spotlight. She has the lead in the school play and a weekly spot on the televised middle-school newscast, where she regularly disses her peers. But that's before she is forced to wear ugly tortoiseshell glasses and get metal braces. Now, instead of dishing out insults, she has to take them as she becomes a target of ridicule from the entire student body, including her three so-called best friends. Worse, the lisp she's developed from her dental hardware threatens to cut short her budding career in drama and broadcast journalism. As Haston, in her first YA novel, traces Kasey's painful tumble down the popularity hill, she offers some clever dialogue and important life lessons, but the contrived plot and predictable outcome feel less than genuine. Readers may have trouble warming up to the arrogant heroine and grow impatient waiting for her to be as brutally honest about her own weaknesses as she is about others' flaws. Ages 12âup.

March 1, 2012

Gr 6-8-Kacey Simon thinks nothing of dispensing unsolicited, often cruel advice to her peers. She doesn't even try to veil her contempt for those she considers socially inferior (everyone). Then the universe delivers the ultimate cosmic slap: an eye infection and a roller skating injury leave Kacey with chunky glasses, braces, and (gasp!) a lisp. Her social status plummets-her elite clique drops her, she loses the lead in the school musical, and her budding broadcast career seems over. Naturally, Kacey faults her altered appearance rather than her horrific attitude. Eventually, Kacey changes her tune-literally and figuratively-when she joins a band run by the quirky, blue-haired Zander. After much personal struggle, Kacey learns valuable lessons about humility, humanity, and acceptance. Meg Haston went a bit overboard in this novel (Little, Brown, 2011) by crafting a character so unlikable that listeners will find it difficult to sympathize with her. Kacey comes across as shallow, cruel, and seemingly devoid of redeeming qualities. This gives her attitude an "After School Special" feel. Yet, despite being predictable and not particularly deep, this is a fun story that carries an important message. Narrator Casey Holloway is excellent, giving Kacey a voice that is overly dramatic, angst-ridden, and occasionally tinged with a hint of Valley Girl lilt. She even nails her post-braces lisp. This story will find a home among fans of YA chick lit.-Alissa LeMerise, Oxford Public Library, MI

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