Bibliography: Griffin, Adele. (August 2010). The Julian Game.  New York: Putnam Juvenile ISBN: 978-0399254604

Plot Summary:  Scholarship student at an elite girls school, Raye jumps at the chance to help queen bee Ella get back at her ex-boyfriend Julian by pretending to be someone she’s not in hopes of sabotaging and embarrassing him.  She didn’t expect to fall for him, and the fall out from Ella and the rest of the group shows her who her real friends are.

Critical Analysis:  Griffin does not break new ground here, and yet this is a compellingly readable novel for several reasons.  First of all, again, another author who recognizes the craft that goes into writing a shorter tighter story.  Griffin could have added more scenes. more details but part of what drives this book forward is the tight intense focus of the characters and their actions.  The reader really feels what Raye feels, because of the construction of the plot.

Second, Griffin has added depth and dimension to what could have been stock characters.  The queen bee with her OCD tendencies in other situations could have been low man on the totem pole.  In the glimpses of Ella’s home life, we are shown just that, she struggles to be accepted by and for approval from her family.  The good guy that Raye falls for is indeed too good to be true, he can’t stand up to those who are bullying and harassing her.  Other writers would have painted him as the hero.  Instead we get a very realistic teen who can’t afford to risk his own image for someone else.

I think this topical timely novel will practically sell itself because of the intriguing cover.  I hope it leads teens to thinking not only about their online lives, but their offline relationships as well.

Review Excerpts:  “Canny use of details makes Griffin’s characters fully realized and believable….There are darker, more powerful stories of cyber-bullying out there, but strong pacing and a sympathetic protagonist ought to keep readers hooked.”–Publisher’s Weekly

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