Winning

Starred review from February 28, 2005
One oft-heard comment about Welch's generally praised (and bestselling) 2001 memoir, Jack: Straight from the Gut
, was that the book skimped on useful business advice. The respected but controversial former chief of General Electric pays readers back double here. Written with Welch's wife, a onetime editor of the Harvard Business Review
, the book delivers a brilliant career's worth of consistently astute (and often iconoclastic) business wisdom and knowledge from the man Fortune
magazine called "the manager of the century." Welch knows what he's talking about, and here offers an admirably concise primer on how to do business that's a paragon of tough common sense. From practices he employed at GE (e.g., the much-debated differentiation, which includes winnowing 10% of the workforce at regular intervals), to the personal qualities that lead to success (to Welch, candor is essential), to advice on job hunting and how to work with a bad boss, to ways to maximize the budget process (divorce it from performance rewards), Welch comments frankly and by myriad example, with a common touch that will draw readers in ("that was hardly the first time I'd gotten my clock cleaned by the press"). He explains upfront that the book arose as an attempt to codify his beliefs, in response to the many questions he's received at numerous public appearances since he retired from GE in 2001; as such the book has a somewhat lumpy feel, like an overstuffed bag of presents. But the writing, full of personality and ideas, is a model of clarity and insight, even on such dense subjects as the quality control program Six Sigma. It's difficult to think of anyone in business who wouldn't benefit from reading this savvy, engaging cubicle-to-boardroom guide to success; and it's likely, given Welch's reputation and the massive ad/promo HarperCollins is putting behind the book, that enough business people will want to read it to push it toward the top of the charts.

April 1, 2016
Alexandra has one goal: becoming Miss America, a goal her mother could not reach. First, however, Alexandra has to win Homecoming Queen. She's always the most popular girl in school with both students and faculty. Alexandra makes sure of that. Her entire life consists of scheming for advantage and training for beauty pageants, constantly pushed to win by her alcoholic mother. When a threateningly perky new girl in school arrives, Alexandra deceptively promotes school-outcast Ivy for the title and works to transform her into a beauty queen, all the while intending to destroy Ivy at the last minute and step in to take the crown for herself. Alexandra's best friend, Sam, willingly does her bidding but begins to suspect Alexandra's scheme. Meanwhile, Sloane, who detests Alexandra, and Erin, the new girl, team up to take Alexandra down and save the emotionally fragile Ivy. Deloza allows Alexandra, Sloane, Sam, and Ivy to share the narration responsibilities. Alexandra freely reveals her schemes to her readers, and the other characters are likewise candid. Sam's out but downplays her lesbianism until she meets another girl and starts a wild affair, a relationship that the book completely accepts. The story becomes a character study not only of Alexandra, but also of the other girls, eventually revealing that Alexandra has at least one admirable quality. A queen bee and her hive, dissected. (Chick lit. 12-18)

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May 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Alexandra is a winner. Some may think that her pageant wins and popularity come naturally, but behind the scenes, she is practicing and plotting every move. When a new girl threatens her next scheme to be homecoming queen, Alexandra must take drastic measures. She enlists the help of her best friend and accomplice, Sam, and the two girls target a loner to help throw the competition, but Alexandra may have gone too far this time. Sam and the new girl stumble into a romantic relationship. Together, they join up with Sloane, another girl ready to take down Alexandra, to exact revenge and crown the deserving queen. Although the loss causes Alexandra to reflect on what went wrong, she is unapologetic. Rather than learning the lesson that cheaters never win, she is more determined to rise from the ashes, perhaps more manipulative than before. Justice does prevail, but the joy of this book is in the mischievous backstabbing and scheming. Deloza's cunning, totally despicable protagonist will pull readers into this fast-paced drama. Hopefully, this is not the last we see of Alexandra.

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