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Fringe Girl #1
Fringe Girl
As part of a class project on political revolutions, sixteen-year-old Adora Benet devises a plan to overthrow the popular clique at her school and establish a new social order.
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 4, 2006
3 people are currently reading
184 people want to read
About the author
Valerie Frankel
48Ìýbooks116ÌýfollowersShe's written twenty books (e.g., The Accidental Virgin and The Girlfriend Curse), and contributed to dozens of publications including the New York Times, Self, Allure, Glamour, Parenting and Good Housekeeping. Her memoir, Thin Is the New Happy, about overcoming bad body image after 30 years of dieting and self-loathing, was recently described as "Rueful, zestful and surprisingly funny," by the New York Times.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 11, 2010
Two weeks ago, I went book shopping with Beryl. Being kind of broke, I bought a paperback and then found a 2$ book section and discovered this little book. It looked interesting, and, though it was, it was definitely only worth the 2$ I paid for it.
The characters are what struck me the most. They were so completely and utterly unbelievable, I sometimes wanted to puke. Especially because of their love life. *SPOILER ALERT* Adora Benet, for instance. The main character. She is 16, and a "Fringe Girl", on the fringe of the popular girls circle. She is so artificial, boring, predictable and not teenager-like. She goes through 3 boyfriends in 6 weeks, one of those being her long-time love interest. She got over HIM after about 2 days. Honestly, if my lobe interest for the past few years had cheated on me, I would've been inconsolable for weeks. But no. She goes on to dating a guy she's known for a week and breaks up with him when he turns out to be a stalker. Once more, her reaction to this news was completely unbelievable. "I have such bad luck with boys!" If I had just learned my ex-boyfriend was expelled from his past few schools for stalking, I would've been creeped out and traumatized. For weeks. But not Adora Benet, oh, no! She now realizes her enemy, the guy she has hated ever since she was 6, she realizes that, in fact, she is completely in love with him! And he has loved her since she was 5! They hook up, are happy forever, the end. *END SPOILER ALERT* ASGUHGAIOHFS. I swear, I never read about such an unbelievable love life. Ever.
One comforting thing, though, was that there wasn't an abuse of "teenager" slang like... Like, OMG, and the such.
Now, onto the actual plot. That part was quite interesting and filled with unexpected twists and turns. The whole concept of someone trying to reverse a school's social order was something I'd never seen before, and really liked, being somewhere along the fringe or farther away myself. The way Adora got to the top of the social order was very instructive, too, since it was pretty much the same way all revolutionaries managed to do a coup-d'etat in the real world.
As I said earlier, there were some moments where I was actually surprised by the turn of events. Even if what was happening was still (often) believable, it was something I never would've expected, and that is pretty good. I can usually predict how the book will end within the first pages of a book, but this one kept me thinking until the last page.
Finally, the emotions conveyed in this book were incredible. Even though I didn't care about the characters because they were so unbelievable, what sometimes happened to them sometimes made me really sad, and almost made cry. This book also gave me a few good giggles, but it wasn't roll-on-the-floor funny, like the cover praise said.
I would've loved to give this book a better rating, since the plot was excellent, but the characters really were annoyingly unrealistic. I don't suggest you waste your money on this, except if you find it for 2$ like I did.
The characters are what struck me the most. They were so completely and utterly unbelievable, I sometimes wanted to puke. Especially because of their love life. *SPOILER ALERT* Adora Benet, for instance. The main character. She is 16, and a "Fringe Girl", on the fringe of the popular girls circle. She is so artificial, boring, predictable and not teenager-like. She goes through 3 boyfriends in 6 weeks, one of those being her long-time love interest. She got over HIM after about 2 days. Honestly, if my lobe interest for the past few years had cheated on me, I would've been inconsolable for weeks. But no. She goes on to dating a guy she's known for a week and breaks up with him when he turns out to be a stalker. Once more, her reaction to this news was completely unbelievable. "I have such bad luck with boys!" If I had just learned my ex-boyfriend was expelled from his past few schools for stalking, I would've been creeped out and traumatized. For weeks. But not Adora Benet, oh, no! She now realizes her enemy, the guy she has hated ever since she was 6, she realizes that, in fact, she is completely in love with him! And he has loved her since she was 5! They hook up, are happy forever, the end. *END SPOILER ALERT* ASGUHGAIOHFS. I swear, I never read about such an unbelievable love life. Ever.
One comforting thing, though, was that there wasn't an abuse of "teenager" slang like... Like, OMG, and the such.
Now, onto the actual plot. That part was quite interesting and filled with unexpected twists and turns. The whole concept of someone trying to reverse a school's social order was something I'd never seen before, and really liked, being somewhere along the fringe or farther away myself. The way Adora got to the top of the social order was very instructive, too, since it was pretty much the same way all revolutionaries managed to do a coup-d'etat in the real world.
As I said earlier, there were some moments where I was actually surprised by the turn of events. Even if what was happening was still (often) believable, it was something I never would've expected, and that is pretty good. I can usually predict how the book will end within the first pages of a book, but this one kept me thinking until the last page.
Finally, the emotions conveyed in this book were incredible. Even though I didn't care about the characters because they were so unbelievable, what sometimes happened to them sometimes made me really sad, and almost made cry. This book also gave me a few good giggles, but it wasn't roll-on-the-floor funny, like the cover praise said.
I would've loved to give this book a better rating, since the plot was excellent, but the characters really were annoyingly unrealistic. I don't suggest you waste your money on this, except if you find it for 2$ like I did.
November 10, 2012
Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com
If Adora Benet had her way, the first day of junior year at the Brownstone Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights, New York, could be summed up like this: "I am hot. My heat could melt the belly of an airplane. I am only slightly less on fire than the surface of the sun." Unfortunately, as soon as Adora utters this mantra, she knows it's not true. More matchstick than burning ember, more generally pretty than outstandingly beautiful, Adora knows that she'll never be A-list quality. Sure, she has friends, and yes, she's pretty well ensconced in middle class, but she'll never be the girl who sits comfortably atop the popularity pyramid.
It doesn't help that her well-known parents, Gloria and Ed Benet, are authors of the tomes of wisdom like His-And-Her Seduction and His-And-Her Dating. Those kinds of books, and she can't even get gorgeous, track athlete Vin Transom to notice her. Not even attempting to jog across the Brooklyn Bridge had garnered her a passing glance, even though she did, admittedly, quit three blocks from home for an iced coffee. Nevertheless, Adora wants junior year to be different. Others, though, like Sondra Fortune, queen of the A-listers, most popular of populars, insists on calling Adora Fringe Girl. Sure, it started out when she had a haircut with bangs, or fringe, but it's continued because, Adora suspects, Sondra knows just how accurate the nickname is.
But now Adora has a plan. Mr. Sagebrush, her social studies teacher, has presented an interesting idea to the class. Their term project will be based on the three tenets of bloodless revolution: undermine authority, present an alternative government, and enlist the masses. Adora needs to come up with a proposal, and suddenly the idea is brought to life--why couldn't she, along with her best friends Eli and Liza, stage her own school revolution? Who said Sondra Fortune had to be the undisputed queen of the school's halls? Where was it written, anyway, that a girl on the fringe couldn't rise to queendom?
And so begins Adora's ascent--or descent--into the ups and downs of becoming an A-lister, the queen of cool, the undisputed champion of popularity. Except, as these things have a way of happening, Adora's life as an anti-fringe girl seems to have some really disappointing consequences. Will Adora ever find her place in life, somewhere in the middle of the top and bottom of the social pyramid?
What makes FRINGE GIRL such a fun, fascinating read is the true-to-life characters, the great dialogue, and the interaction between everyone involved. You won't be able to help yourself from rooting for Adora during her bloodless revolution, just as you won't be able to stop yourself from feeling her heartbreak along the way. This is definitely a read that's well worth your time!
If Adora Benet had her way, the first day of junior year at the Brownstone Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights, New York, could be summed up like this: "I am hot. My heat could melt the belly of an airplane. I am only slightly less on fire than the surface of the sun." Unfortunately, as soon as Adora utters this mantra, she knows it's not true. More matchstick than burning ember, more generally pretty than outstandingly beautiful, Adora knows that she'll never be A-list quality. Sure, she has friends, and yes, she's pretty well ensconced in middle class, but she'll never be the girl who sits comfortably atop the popularity pyramid.
It doesn't help that her well-known parents, Gloria and Ed Benet, are authors of the tomes of wisdom like His-And-Her Seduction and His-And-Her Dating. Those kinds of books, and she can't even get gorgeous, track athlete Vin Transom to notice her. Not even attempting to jog across the Brooklyn Bridge had garnered her a passing glance, even though she did, admittedly, quit three blocks from home for an iced coffee. Nevertheless, Adora wants junior year to be different. Others, though, like Sondra Fortune, queen of the A-listers, most popular of populars, insists on calling Adora Fringe Girl. Sure, it started out when she had a haircut with bangs, or fringe, but it's continued because, Adora suspects, Sondra knows just how accurate the nickname is.
But now Adora has a plan. Mr. Sagebrush, her social studies teacher, has presented an interesting idea to the class. Their term project will be based on the three tenets of bloodless revolution: undermine authority, present an alternative government, and enlist the masses. Adora needs to come up with a proposal, and suddenly the idea is brought to life--why couldn't she, along with her best friends Eli and Liza, stage her own school revolution? Who said Sondra Fortune had to be the undisputed queen of the school's halls? Where was it written, anyway, that a girl on the fringe couldn't rise to queendom?
And so begins Adora's ascent--or descent--into the ups and downs of becoming an A-lister, the queen of cool, the undisputed champion of popularity. Except, as these things have a way of happening, Adora's life as an anti-fringe girl seems to have some really disappointing consequences. Will Adora ever find her place in life, somewhere in the middle of the top and bottom of the social pyramid?
What makes FRINGE GIRL such a fun, fascinating read is the true-to-life characters, the great dialogue, and the interaction between everyone involved. You won't be able to help yourself from rooting for Adora during her bloodless revolution, just as you won't be able to stop yourself from feeling her heartbreak along the way. This is definitely a read that's well worth your time!
April 21, 2009
Adora Benet and her friends Eli and Liza have always been on the fringe of their high school’s social order: not one of the common people, but certainly not special enough to be treated honestly by the Ruling Class, led by Sondra and Noel. Dora is tired of Sondra always setting trends, including hairstyles, clothing, and even how to think. She wants revenge.
A perfect opportunity to inflict change occurs when Dora must complete a project on revolution for her social studies class. Why not try to usurp the Ruling Class in the very own school through an actual revolution of her own? The more Dora thinks about this idea, the more she is determined to act upon it. She gets her own “Me Style� haircut, riles up the school through satirical editorials in the now-hot school newspaper, and enlists the support of the masses—all following the footsteps of previous bloodless revolutions.
Before long, Dora has succeeded in overthrowing the Ruling Class! No longer do they dictate what everyone else says or does. Dora is seen by nearly everyone as some sort of hero, a leader for their purpose. Life couldn’t be any better.
Or could it? It doesn’t take too long for Dora to realize that the old saying is true: revolutionaries do NOT make good leaders. In the process of her revolution, Dora has managed to anger her two best friends, fall for the wrong boy—twice, and misjudge the people around her. What can she do in order to right her upside-down life?
FRINGE GIRL is imaginative and easy to read. Personally I get sick of books that mention the Ruling Class/Upper Crust/Royalty of high school as the main conflict, but Valerie Frankel works with this too-much-used conflict very nicely, creating for us a unique protagonist in a convincing world.
A perfect opportunity to inflict change occurs when Dora must complete a project on revolution for her social studies class. Why not try to usurp the Ruling Class in the very own school through an actual revolution of her own? The more Dora thinks about this idea, the more she is determined to act upon it. She gets her own “Me Style� haircut, riles up the school through satirical editorials in the now-hot school newspaper, and enlists the support of the masses—all following the footsteps of previous bloodless revolutions.
Before long, Dora has succeeded in overthrowing the Ruling Class! No longer do they dictate what everyone else says or does. Dora is seen by nearly everyone as some sort of hero, a leader for their purpose. Life couldn’t be any better.
Or could it? It doesn’t take too long for Dora to realize that the old saying is true: revolutionaries do NOT make good leaders. In the process of her revolution, Dora has managed to anger her two best friends, fall for the wrong boy—twice, and misjudge the people around her. What can she do in order to right her upside-down life?
FRINGE GIRL is imaginative and easy to read. Personally I get sick of books that mention the Ruling Class/Upper Crust/Royalty of high school as the main conflict, but Valerie Frankel works with this too-much-used conflict very nicely, creating for us a unique protagonist in a convincing world.
April 11, 2013
On the surface, this is just another young adult novel, dealing with all the typical anxieties of teen angst: fitting in, standing out, sibling jealousy, fractured families, awkward romantic entanglements, sexual frustrations (whether you’re getting it or not), school assignments, etc. But Ms. Frankel probes just a little deeper as we’re taken into the life of Adora, her too-understanding parents and her friends, who don’t necessarily have it together any better than Adora does.
Adora comes off as being a bit of a sullen brat, sycophantic and then retaliatory—bad character traits she comes to realize as the book progresses. She’s not entirely likable as she rides roughshod over the feelings of her friends, little sister and boyfriends. Her interference, even when well meaning, wrecks the lives of people around her.
So why read about her? Why stick with her? Because she’s genuinely trying to sort herself out and learn how to apply history to real-life problems. She fumbles, stumbles, falls in a spectacular way and then pulls herself up by her bootstraps.
Adora isn’t given a medal, citation or a ticker tape parade. Most of her self-actualization goes unnoticed by her peers. But she reconciles tentatively with most of the people she’s alienated and her life goes on with considerably more grace than when she started.
The various characters that swirl around Adora are ably realized, like flesh-and-blood people, not mere caricatures of Mean Girl, Popular Girl, Jock, Geek, etc. This is definitely above-average YA fare and worth a second look. And, hey, if you really are interested in how revolutions work, this isn’t a bad how-to book.
Adora comes off as being a bit of a sullen brat, sycophantic and then retaliatory—bad character traits she comes to realize as the book progresses. She’s not entirely likable as she rides roughshod over the feelings of her friends, little sister and boyfriends. Her interference, even when well meaning, wrecks the lives of people around her.
So why read about her? Why stick with her? Because she’s genuinely trying to sort herself out and learn how to apply history to real-life problems. She fumbles, stumbles, falls in a spectacular way and then pulls herself up by her bootstraps.
Adora isn’t given a medal, citation or a ticker tape parade. Most of her self-actualization goes unnoticed by her peers. But she reconciles tentatively with most of the people she’s alienated and her life goes on with considerably more grace than when she started.
The various characters that swirl around Adora are ably realized, like flesh-and-blood people, not mere caricatures of Mean Girl, Popular Girl, Jock, Geek, etc. This is definitely above-average YA fare and worth a second look. And, hey, if you really are interested in how revolutions work, this isn’t a bad how-to book.
October 18, 2012
Later posted additional review on .
Frankel certainly redeemed herself with me. So much better in every conceivable way then The Accidental Virgin, Fringe Girl is the story of a girl who like many is tired of the popular kids getting away with everything, and being worshipped in school. For a social studies project, she decides to bring down the popular crowd, and in the process, makes a lot of mistakes. I really liked the movitation of the character, and the realness of the situation. It seemed like it could happen to anyone. Many characters are introduced but the author handles them well, and the main character's thoughts and feelings are never inconceivable. I was also happy to find out there are 2 more books to read after this so it'll be nice to see how the story continues.
Frankel certainly redeemed herself with me. So much better in every conceivable way then The Accidental Virgin, Fringe Girl is the story of a girl who like many is tired of the popular kids getting away with everything, and being worshipped in school. For a social studies project, she decides to bring down the popular crowd, and in the process, makes a lot of mistakes. I really liked the movitation of the character, and the realness of the situation. It seemed like it could happen to anyone. Many characters are introduced but the author handles them well, and the main character's thoughts and feelings are never inconceivable. I was also happy to find out there are 2 more books to read after this so it'll be nice to see how the story continues.
November 20, 2013
This book just was not really for me. The characters seemed too much unbelievable. The relationships in the book 3 guys in 6 weeks almost made me puke. One nice thing for this book was that the author didn't abuse teenager slang throughout it. Lastly, I did like that at times it was hard for me to figure out the ending. AN okay book that I don't really ever see myself reading again for a second time.
June 25, 2009
A cute teen story about a girl making war on the "popular girls". A typical teen fantasy about changing social order in school. Made me realize just how old I am though with how different teen life is today.
July 19, 2010
Fringe Girl, as I would describe, is more brave than most girl's in todays generation. She goes up against popular people, she dates the most biggest jerks, she over comes bad haircuts... just to make peace at Brownstone.
*This book should be recommended for teen girls
*This book should be recommended for teen girls
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2014
somewhat predictable plot, a few genuinely amusing moments, enough boy-crazy teen angst to make you gag, and the uppercrust of the financial order in private school. not surprisingly, my favorite character is the younger sister
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May 15, 2008this looks good!!!!!!
January 28, 2010
Eh, it was okay. I don't suggest you waste your time or money.
May 8, 2011
Well i read it a while ago. But you didn't really need this book in order to read the 1st one. I loveee her sense of humor and the way she handles herself for the most part...good read I thought
July 31, 2011
I really did not enjoy this book. It was pretty boring and pointless.
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