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Pants on Fire
Katie Ellison is not a liar.
But she can't exactly tell the truth, either--not when she's juggling two boyfriends, secretly hating the high school football team everyone else worships, and trying to have the best summer ever. At least Katie has it all under control (sort of). Her biggest secret, what really happened the night Tommy Sullivan is a freak was spray-painted on the junior high gymnasium wall, is safe.
That is, until Tommy comes back to town. Katie is sure he's going to ruin all her plans, and she'll do anything to hang on to her perfect existence. Even if it means telling more lies. Even if, now that Tommy's around, she's actually--truthfully--having the time of her life.
But she can't exactly tell the truth, either--not when she's juggling two boyfriends, secretly hating the high school football team everyone else worships, and trying to have the best summer ever. At least Katie has it all under control (sort of). Her biggest secret, what really happened the night Tommy Sullivan is a freak was spray-painted on the junior high gymnasium wall, is safe.
That is, until Tommy comes back to town. Katie is sure he's going to ruin all her plans, and she'll do anything to hang on to her perfect existence. Even if it means telling more lies. Even if, now that Tommy's around, she's actually--truthfully--having the time of her life.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2007
136 people are currently reading
4949 people want to read
About the author
Meg Cabot
266 books35.3k followersLibrarian note: AKA Jenny Carroll (1-800-Where-R-You series), AKA Patricia Cabot (historical romance novels).
Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. She worked various jobs to pay the rent, including a decade-long stint as the assistant manager of a 700 bed freshmen dormitory at NYU, a position she still occasionally misses.
She is now the author of nearly fifty books for both adults and teens, selling fifteen million copies worldwide, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 38 countries, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the television series, Missing, was based), two All-American Girl books, Teen Idol, Avalon High, How to Be Popular, Pants on Fire, Jinx, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), a mystery series (Size 12 Is Not Fat/ Size 14 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned), and a chick-lit series called Queen of Babble.
Meg is now writing a new children's series called Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. Her new paranormal series, Abandon, debuts in Summer of 2011.
Meg currently divides her time between Key West, Indiana, and New York City with a primary cat (one-eyed Henrietta), various back-up cats, and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him.
Series:
* Airhead
* The Princess Diaries
* Mediator
Meg Cabot was born on February 1, 1967, during the Chinese astrological year of the Fire Horse, a notoriously unlucky sign. Fortunately she grew up in Bloomington, Indiana, where few people were aware of the stigma of being a fire horse -- at least until Meg became a teenager, when she flunked freshman Algebra twice, then decided to cut her own bangs. After six years as an undergrad at Indiana University, Meg moved to New York City (in the middle of a sanitation worker strike) to pursue a career as an illustrator, at which she failed miserably, forcing her to turn to her favorite hobby--writing novels--for emotional succor. She worked various jobs to pay the rent, including a decade-long stint as the assistant manager of a 700 bed freshmen dormitory at NYU, a position she still occasionally misses.
She is now the author of nearly fifty books for both adults and teens, selling fifteen million copies worldwide, many of which have been #1 New York Times bestsellers, most notably The Princess Diaries series, which is currently being published in over 38 countries, and was made into two hit movies by Disney. In addition, Meg wrote the Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-You? series (on which the television series, Missing, was based), two All-American Girl books, Teen Idol, Avalon High, How to Be Popular, Pants on Fire, Jinx, a series of novels written entirely in email format (Boy Next Door, Boy Meets Girl, and Every Boy's Got One), a mystery series (Size 12 Is Not Fat/ Size 14 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned), and a chick-lit series called Queen of Babble.
Meg is now writing a new children's series called Allie Finkle's Rules for Girls. Her new paranormal series, Abandon, debuts in Summer of 2011.
Meg currently divides her time between Key West, Indiana, and New York City with a primary cat (one-eyed Henrietta), various back-up cats, and her husband, who doesn't know he married a fire horse. Please don't tell him.
Series:
* Airhead
* The Princess Diaries
* Mediator
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 800 reviews
December 6, 2014
In all honesty I can't give this book more than two stars -- since it was tooth-grindingly awful about 85 percent of the way through. Nevertheless, the ending, where the weak-willed heroine FINALLY tells the town where to get off, really was moving and interesting to read.
There are so many things that sink this book. There's the inane heroine, and the basic setting and premise. The whole "stuck up jocks run the town and beat up anyone they don't like," concept has been a cliche for at least fifty years. It's just silly, especially when there is NO payoff for the plot as far as boys actually, uh, fighting. What a gyp! And why set a football story in a Hamptons like resort town like this one? Why not at least set the story in West Texas?
Then there's the heroine. Katie Ellison, for most of the book, is so silly, dishonest, and annoyingly cute that she makes Scarlett O'Hara look like Melanie Wilkes. Can anyone believe this girl ever opened a book in her life? And HOW did she get to be tops on the honor roll? And WHY would anyone fight a whole football team just to get back with a weak-willed, lying girl who cheats on three different guys at once?
Tommy Sullivan, the hero, is just as annoying, but for opposite reasons. He's perfect. Not only physically so, (just reading Katie's thoughts about his hotness nearly made me throw up) but mentally and morally too. The whole town tried to ruin his life, and he never shows a trace of bitterness, resentment, or self doubt. A whole football team wants to beat him up and he never shows any fear -- or any anger either. And the girl who hurt him the most and turned her back on him? Well, Tommy just thinks that's so cute!!! This guy is such a blatant fantasy it's like he's some sort of pleasure robot in someone's closet.
It gets weirder. This is supposed to be a sweet romance for girls, yet the basic plot is clearly a rip off of Clint Eastwood's dark, violent, revenge-fantasy western, HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER. Innocent man exposes shameful secret. Whole town turns on him. Years later, innocent man comes back to take revenge!
Great story idea Meg! Only thing is, Katie is no better than the nasty girl in HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER who watches Clint get whipped to death and then hooks up with his "ghost" as soon as he comes back to town. And then she hooks up with the guys trying to kill him! Katie's just dumber and cries a lot more. I'm surprised Tommy didn't just sneer like a flea-bitten range bum and say, "I kin do better than you in a four bit fancy house!"
Katie's big speech at the end was great. But it didn't save the book. Nothing could have, except maybe a HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER shoot out. You know, Tommy paints the town red, renames it Hell, and shoots all the football players he doesn't hang or bullwhip to death. Or at least a WEST SIDE STORY gang fight where Tommy kills two or three Quahogs, is shot by cops, and dies in Katie's arms on the docks while the other beauty contestants all softly sing "There's A Place For Us." And the Gulping Gull restaurant slowly burns to the ground in the background.
PS As bad as all this is, something else makes me angry too. The football players are a bunch of losers -- damned beyond redemption -- because they "cheated on their SAT's." Now Katie cheats on PEOPLE, not just once, but again and again and again -- but that's just a cute habit she'll grow out of. WTF? WTF?? WTF???
What message is this even supposed to send?
Oh, and there is one funny moment in the book that Meg Cabot did NOT intend. At the end, one of the doomed jocks is reduced to dating a Goth chick who reads Japanese Manga comic books. And cute little Katie sneers (she's very mean-spirited for a cute little innocent) "oh, Manga is fine for him. He moves his lips when he reads."
Great cheap shot, Meg! But the fear is all too real. After all, we can't have foreigners and freaks cutting into the American teen dollar, can we? You can feel the fear, and Meg's desperation. She's chasing the same nickel as the manga kids, and losing.
And that is genuinely funny.
There are so many things that sink this book. There's the inane heroine, and the basic setting and premise. The whole "stuck up jocks run the town and beat up anyone they don't like," concept has been a cliche for at least fifty years. It's just silly, especially when there is NO payoff for the plot as far as boys actually, uh, fighting. What a gyp! And why set a football story in a Hamptons like resort town like this one? Why not at least set the story in West Texas?
Then there's the heroine. Katie Ellison, for most of the book, is so silly, dishonest, and annoyingly cute that she makes Scarlett O'Hara look like Melanie Wilkes. Can anyone believe this girl ever opened a book in her life? And HOW did she get to be tops on the honor roll? And WHY would anyone fight a whole football team just to get back with a weak-willed, lying girl who cheats on three different guys at once?
Tommy Sullivan, the hero, is just as annoying, but for opposite reasons. He's perfect. Not only physically so, (just reading Katie's thoughts about his hotness nearly made me throw up) but mentally and morally too. The whole town tried to ruin his life, and he never shows a trace of bitterness, resentment, or self doubt. A whole football team wants to beat him up and he never shows any fear -- or any anger either. And the girl who hurt him the most and turned her back on him? Well, Tommy just thinks that's so cute!!! This guy is such a blatant fantasy it's like he's some sort of pleasure robot in someone's closet.
It gets weirder. This is supposed to be a sweet romance for girls, yet the basic plot is clearly a rip off of Clint Eastwood's dark, violent, revenge-fantasy western, HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER. Innocent man exposes shameful secret. Whole town turns on him. Years later, innocent man comes back to take revenge!
Great story idea Meg! Only thing is, Katie is no better than the nasty girl in HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER who watches Clint get whipped to death and then hooks up with his "ghost" as soon as he comes back to town. And then she hooks up with the guys trying to kill him! Katie's just dumber and cries a lot more. I'm surprised Tommy didn't just sneer like a flea-bitten range bum and say, "I kin do better than you in a four bit fancy house!"
Katie's big speech at the end was great. But it didn't save the book. Nothing could have, except maybe a HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER shoot out. You know, Tommy paints the town red, renames it Hell, and shoots all the football players he doesn't hang or bullwhip to death. Or at least a WEST SIDE STORY gang fight where Tommy kills two or three Quahogs, is shot by cops, and dies in Katie's arms on the docks while the other beauty contestants all softly sing "There's A Place For Us." And the Gulping Gull restaurant slowly burns to the ground in the background.
PS As bad as all this is, something else makes me angry too. The football players are a bunch of losers -- damned beyond redemption -- because they "cheated on their SAT's." Now Katie cheats on PEOPLE, not just once, but again and again and again -- but that's just a cute habit she'll grow out of. WTF? WTF?? WTF???
What message is this even supposed to send?
Oh, and there is one funny moment in the book that Meg Cabot did NOT intend. At the end, one of the doomed jocks is reduced to dating a Goth chick who reads Japanese Manga comic books. And cute little Katie sneers (she's very mean-spirited for a cute little innocent) "oh, Manga is fine for him. He moves his lips when he reads."
Great cheap shot, Meg! But the fear is all too real. After all, we can't have foreigners and freaks cutting into the American teen dollar, can we? You can feel the fear, and Meg's desperation. She's chasing the same nickel as the manga kids, and losing.
And that is genuinely funny.
February 22, 2015
Listen peeps I read this in highschool and have re-read it again and again and again. No matter how my tastes in novels will change, these novels that started my way into the world of books will always have a place on my shelves and in my heart.
I loved the whole mystery and suspense around what happened to drive Tommy Sullivan away from town. When it was finally explained you felt the whole regret and innocence to such a simple thing.
FOUR years later down the track Katie has made it into the popular league. Having a football player as a boyfriend and lying so damn much just to fit in. She’s living in her own blissful universe of being popular. However, this all changes when the one man who has always been on her mind comes strolling back onto the scene.
My absolute, absolute favourite part was when she finally sees him again at the beach. Oh man how she feels and what she did to try and calm her raging feelings. EVERY time I read this part – you will find me on the floor chuckling with laughter. It’s so unexpected you can’t help it!
Tommy Sullivan is one mysterious hunky, hunky dude. His rebellious stage four years ago. Say goodbye to the nerdy dude and say HELLOO to the professional model that seems to have walked straight off a magazine.
She’s so stuck on thinking he is out for revenge she doesn’t know how to act around him. Everything she thinks when it comes to him is ‘revenge’. But baby, it’s so much more! Especially when he reveals his own little secrets. Honey, honey, honey… you gotta read it to find out…
You are going to cry, smile so hard, sigh continuously and laugh your head off. Not to mention fall in love with all characters. The ending always has my heart beating so fast…I LOVE IT!
I also love the fact that this novel can teach young adults about the consequences of lying. Katie spins so many lies and it ends up backfiring on her.
Another GREAT, GREAT, SO SO GREAT book by Meg Cabot. An amazing Young Adult read.
So what are you waiting for? No seriously…
I loved the whole mystery and suspense around what happened to drive Tommy Sullivan away from town. When it was finally explained you felt the whole regret and innocence to such a simple thing.
FOUR years later down the track Katie has made it into the popular league. Having a football player as a boyfriend and lying so damn much just to fit in. She’s living in her own blissful universe of being popular. However, this all changes when the one man who has always been on her mind comes strolling back onto the scene.
My absolute, absolute favourite part was when she finally sees him again at the beach. Oh man how she feels and what she did to try and calm her raging feelings. EVERY time I read this part – you will find me on the floor chuckling with laughter. It’s so unexpected you can’t help it!
Tommy Sullivan is one mysterious hunky, hunky dude. His rebellious stage four years ago. Say goodbye to the nerdy dude and say HELLOO to the professional model that seems to have walked straight off a magazine.
She’s so stuck on thinking he is out for revenge she doesn’t know how to act around him. Everything she thinks when it comes to him is ‘revenge’. But baby, it’s so much more! Especially when he reveals his own little secrets. Honey, honey, honey… you gotta read it to find out…
You are going to cry, smile so hard, sigh continuously and laugh your head off. Not to mention fall in love with all characters. The ending always has my heart beating so fast…I LOVE IT!
I also love the fact that this novel can teach young adults about the consequences of lying. Katie spins so many lies and it ends up backfiring on her.
Another GREAT, GREAT, SO SO GREAT book by Meg Cabot. An amazing Young Adult read.
So what are you waiting for? No seriously…
December 30, 2019
Kate Ellison is torn between two boys—her official boyfriend Seth, who she likes making out with but finds kinda boring otherwise, and Eric, who isn't her boyfriend but who she also likes making out with.
She doesn't normally tell lies, but obviously she's gotta keep anyone from finding out about this. Most of Kate's lies are concentrated about one specific event—the infamous night that “Tommy Sullivan is a freak” was spraypainted on the wall of the school gym.
Then Tommy Sullivan shows up—years after being run out of town (oh, he goes by Tom now—and he's somehow become incredibly hot!).
Now Kate is struggling with feelings for Tom (while desperately hoping that he tells no one about the infamous night), while still struggling to juggle the other two boys, AND competing in the Quahog Princess pageant (while hoping no one finds out that she hates Quahogs the clams AND thinks the town's obsession with Quahogs the football players is stupid).
Now all her deceptions are falling apart and OMG Tommy Sullivan (“I go by Tom now”) is getting hotter, what's a girl to do? Kate's solutions are funny and unpredictable, and make for a fun read!
The book was overall a great choice in YA chick lit, I have only one quibble which is that I was surprised that the whole “cheating on her boyfriend” part was glossed over and treated like no big deal. There was a justification for it in the book, but it just seemed sort of odd that even Tom Sullivan easily justified it (that she just didn't like either of them enough) and no one seemed that surprised or blamed her. If it were her boyfriend who cheated on her, I'm sure that would have been seen as bad...but since it's our heroine, it's ok? Other than that, I enjoyed the book—and I am a big big fan of Meg Cabot (aka Megan Cabot).
She doesn't normally tell lies, but obviously she's gotta keep anyone from finding out about this. Most of Kate's lies are concentrated about one specific event—the infamous night that “Tommy Sullivan is a freak” was spraypainted on the wall of the school gym.
Then Tommy Sullivan shows up—years after being run out of town (oh, he goes by Tom now—and he's somehow become incredibly hot!).
Now Kate is struggling with feelings for Tom (while desperately hoping that he tells no one about the infamous night), while still struggling to juggle the other two boys, AND competing in the Quahog Princess pageant (while hoping no one finds out that she hates Quahogs the clams AND thinks the town's obsession with Quahogs the football players is stupid).
Now all her deceptions are falling apart and OMG Tommy Sullivan (“I go by Tom now”) is getting hotter, what's a girl to do? Kate's solutions are funny and unpredictable, and make for a fun read!
The book was overall a great choice in YA chick lit, I have only one quibble which is that I was surprised that the whole “cheating on her boyfriend” part was glossed over and treated like no big deal. There was a justification for it in the book, but it just seemed sort of odd that even Tom Sullivan easily justified it (that she just didn't like either of them enough) and no one seemed that surprised or blamed her. If it were her boyfriend who cheated on her, I'm sure that would have been seen as bad...but since it's our heroine, it's ok? Other than that, I enjoyed the book—and I am a big big fan of Meg Cabot (aka Megan Cabot).
July 4, 2007
Confession time: I have this horrible Meg Cabot weakness. The moment a book of hers comes out, I rush to the store to buy it (this happened just today and also last week and, dude, she writes so many books). I do this even though there have been some books of hers in the past that I could not finish because I disliked them so much. Apparently the ones I loved work some sort of amnesia on me so that when a new Meg Cabot book comes out I go, "Meg Cabot! I love every book of hers! I must run to the store immediately!" If I'm lucky, I'll love it. It's been quite a while since I really disliked something.
And then there are ones like this that just make me say, "Meh." I didn't love it. I'm not sure I really liked it. But I definitely didn't hate it either. It was pure fluff and predictable and kind of ridiculous, which is totally what I expect from a Meg Cabot book and which is all right when I like the characters and find it funny. But I didn't really like any of the characters (I wanted to like the main character because she was kind of a whore but just couldn't help herself and I totally understand that, but we just didn't get along). And there seemed to be less of a plot than usual. Meh.
It was entertaining enough for the short time it took to read, but I don't know if I'll ever want to read it again.
I will, however, get myself to a bookstore the moment the next Meg Cabot book comes out. I'm so weak!
And then there are ones like this that just make me say, "Meh." I didn't love it. I'm not sure I really liked it. But I definitely didn't hate it either. It was pure fluff and predictable and kind of ridiculous, which is totally what I expect from a Meg Cabot book and which is all right when I like the characters and find it funny. But I didn't really like any of the characters (I wanted to like the main character because she was kind of a whore but just couldn't help herself and I totally understand that, but we just didn't get along). And there seemed to be less of a plot than usual. Meh.
It was entertaining enough for the short time it took to read, but I don't know if I'll ever want to read it again.
I will, however, get myself to a bookstore the moment the next Meg Cabot book comes out. I'm so weak!
October 5, 2007
Can somebody please have the courage to edit Meg Cabot? Every single one of her writing quirks comes out in this story about a girl who is cheating on her hot boyfriend with another hot guy, and then another hot guy comes along, and oh yeah, something really bad happened to him a couple of years back that completely ostrasized him and now he's back to get revenge. Or is it love?
Confused or bored enough yet? I was.
On her blog, Meg Cabot has a tendency to kind of brag about getting her manuscripts in past deadline. Meg, darling, you are causing your editor to flip out and putting out a bad product. Pants on Fire is all the proof you need.
Confused or bored enough yet? I was.
On her blog, Meg Cabot has a tendency to kind of brag about getting her manuscripts in past deadline. Meg, darling, you are causing your editor to flip out and putting out a bad product. Pants on Fire is all the proof you need.
October 10, 2007
I'm new to Meg Cabot, and this was the first book of hers that I had read. I know she's the Queen of teen lit, so I was a little suprised when I read this book. It wasn't what I had expected.
Meg Cabot tries to write like a teen would talk, saying things like "not" or what seems to be her favorite word, "macking," which means kissing or making out, of course. And she says these words - a lot. After about the fifth "macking" I almost gave up. But I stuck with it, and my final verdict is "so-so."
The main character, Katie, is just not very likeable. I know the point of these teen books is to have a total transformation at the end, a sort of "a ha!" moment, but Katie's big speech at the end was so unrealistic and... pointless. And her relationship with supposed bad boy Tommy Sullivan was a bit boring. Perhaps she should have centered the book on Tommy instead.
I'm sticking with Meg Cabot though. I want to know her secret for selling so many books as I hope to write some YA fiction myself. :-)
Meg Cabot tries to write like a teen would talk, saying things like "not" or what seems to be her favorite word, "macking," which means kissing or making out, of course. And she says these words - a lot. After about the fifth "macking" I almost gave up. But I stuck with it, and my final verdict is "so-so."
The main character, Katie, is just not very likeable. I know the point of these teen books is to have a total transformation at the end, a sort of "a ha!" moment, but Katie's big speech at the end was so unrealistic and... pointless. And her relationship with supposed bad boy Tommy Sullivan was a bit boring. Perhaps she should have centered the book on Tommy instead.
I'm sticking with Meg Cabot though. I want to know her secret for selling so many books as I hope to write some YA fiction myself. :-)
November 29, 2010
Katie Ellison is a moron. And that's the nicest thing that I can say about the so-called 'heroine' of this steaming load of crap.
The story is based around the lies and life of one girl that I can find no redeeming qualities in, even after her transition into truth-telling after living a life weaving stories for her own nefarious purposes. The entirety of the book reads like a thirteen year old girl's diary, evoking the me, me, me mindset of a spoiled brat for whom enough is never enough. Additionally, Katie is surrounded by a hive of like-minded, vapid friends who on more than one occasion justify her bad behavior and facilitate their own.
The resolution isn't much better. In true fashion of a person who truly believes that the world revolves around them, Katie comes out as a liar publicly, causing the ruin of a community event because she's too selfish to make peace with the people she's hurt privately, thus nullifying this bullshit martyr act of hers.
The love story. What can I say about the love story? Which love story are we talking about? In addition to being a liar, Katie is also a cheater. She cheats on the boyfriend that she lied to get, she cheats on the boyfriend that she's cheating on boyfriend number one with, which makes her transformation into a seemingly monogamous being for this new-old guy in her life totally unbelievable, essentially ruining any possible reason for anyone wanting to read this book.
If Meg Cabot had killed off every character in this book in a massive bus accident, I might have given it more than one star. Thanks, Meg, for teaching young girls that you can lie, cheat, and manipulate people and you can still have a perfect, happy ending.
The story is based around the lies and life of one girl that I can find no redeeming qualities in, even after her transition into truth-telling after living a life weaving stories for her own nefarious purposes. The entirety of the book reads like a thirteen year old girl's diary, evoking the me, me, me mindset of a spoiled brat for whom enough is never enough. Additionally, Katie is surrounded by a hive of like-minded, vapid friends who on more than one occasion justify her bad behavior and facilitate their own.
The resolution isn't much better. In true fashion of a person who truly believes that the world revolves around them, Katie comes out as a liar publicly, causing the ruin of a community event because she's too selfish to make peace with the people she's hurt privately, thus nullifying this bullshit martyr act of hers.
The love story. What can I say about the love story? Which love story are we talking about? In addition to being a liar, Katie is also a cheater. She cheats on the boyfriend that she lied to get, she cheats on the boyfriend that she's cheating on boyfriend number one with, which makes her transformation into a seemingly monogamous being for this new-old guy in her life totally unbelievable, essentially ruining any possible reason for anyone wanting to read this book.
If Meg Cabot had killed off every character in this book in a massive bus accident, I might have given it more than one star. Thanks, Meg, for teaching young girls that you can lie, cheat, and manipulate people and you can still have a perfect, happy ending.
May 12, 2010
I love Meg Cabot. I learned you should not lie. Even if it hurts. Aww I love it!
And Tommy is NOT a freak ;)
And Tommy is NOT a freak ;)
September 5, 2018
Sort of a friends-to-more/second chance romance story and it made me giddy. Except that Katie is kind of a cheater -- just kissing but still, I don't condone that. But then Tommy (Tom, now) comes back into her life and rocks her world with a kiss to make you forget all other kisses and an ultimatum to boot, and she decides to come clean...about everything. And she's told a lot of lies -- even if by omission. Witty, refreshing, and fun, I definitely enjoy Meg Cabot's young adult novels just as much as her adult stories.
September 8, 2024
Meg Cabot vc permanece a rainha dos romances adolescentes!!!
September 17, 2007
Another book from Meg Cabot. Her writing is good, but, she needs to widen her range. Her books are all starting to sound the same, and only small twists in the plots are the differenciating point.
This was not (in my opinion) her best book. Even if you hadn't read any of her others, it still isn't the best read. From the beginning I knew who was going to end up with who, and what was going to happen, reactions and such.
Though, I was a little sad that her parents (and the entire town) were so okay with this worshipping that was going on. that pretty much scared me.
This was not (in my opinion) her best book. Even if you hadn't read any of her others, it still isn't the best read. From the beginning I knew who was going to end up with who, and what was going to happen, reactions and such.
Though, I was a little sad that her parents (and the entire town) were so okay with this worshipping that was going on. that pretty much scared me.
February 25, 2011
Rating: A
Personal comments:
I love this book! I like the character development, and I do enjoy the descriptions. I'm a big fan of how all of Cabot's characters seem to have an actual understandable personality. They are as three dimensional as you or my in my opinion, and the depth helps the storyline.
The reason my rating lacks a + is only because I feel that there were a few things left unraveled after Katie's big confession that Cabot forgot to tie back up again.
I mean, what is up with Liam? He's such a little brat! I know you can't have everything in books, but man someone needs to put that little kid in his place.
Also, the towns' obsession with Quahogs, the bivalues and the team gets highly sickening after a while.
I loved Sydney.
Review:
Liar, liar pants on fire!
Katie Ellison has everything she wants. A killer boyfriend...well, two killer boyfriends, anyway. A great best friend, a secure social status, and (almost) the camera of her dreams.
But that all changes when Tommy Sullivan comes back to town.
But is it for better, or for worse?
Personal comments:
I love this book! I like the character development, and I do enjoy the descriptions. I'm a big fan of how all of Cabot's characters seem to have an actual understandable personality. They are as three dimensional as you or my in my opinion, and the depth helps the storyline.
The reason my rating lacks a + is only because I feel that there were a few things left unraveled after Katie's big confession that Cabot forgot to tie back up again.
I mean, what is up with Liam? He's such a little brat! I know you can't have everything in books, but man someone needs to put that little kid in his place.
Also, the towns' obsession with Quahogs, the bivalues and the team gets highly sickening after a while.
I loved Sydney.
Review:
Liar, liar pants on fire!
Katie Ellison has everything she wants. A killer boyfriend...well, two killer boyfriends, anyway. A great best friend, a secure social status, and (almost) the camera of her dreams.
But that all changes when Tommy Sullivan comes back to town.
But is it for better, or for worse?
July 4, 2017
Nach Ready or Not wieder ein enttäuschendes YA Buch von Meg Cabot. Katie ist für mich die unsymphatischte Charakterin von Cabots Repertoire. Und da hilft es nicht gerade, dass die anderen Charakter so gar nicht wirklich vorkommen. Dazu kommt, dass sich alles wiederholt. Tausendmal das gleiche Problem. Die Geschichte wäre am Stück wohl innert 30 Seiten durchgehandelt. Zuerst wollte ich zwei Sterne geben, denn unterhaltsam wars ja schon bisschen, aber die negativen Punkte summieren sich einfach. Sorry Meg.
August 23, 2012
I love Meg Cabot's books. They are fresh, funny and heart-warming, with cute characters, an entertaining plot and sparkly, humorous writing, however, in this book, that was not the case. When I opened the book I instantly expected to be introduced to a loveable, three-dimensional main character, funny, witty remarks and soon after, little twists in the plot, I am very sad to announce that this book was nothing like her previous novels and was a major disappointment to read.
When we are first introduced to Katie, I instantly disliked her, she was selfish, she cheated on her boyfriend, she was a liar, she thought the world of herself...need I say more why I detested Katie? I could not believe how she had one of the nicest, most respectable boys as a boyfriend and claimed she loved him, yet any time she had free of Seth she was "macking" with her other, private boyfriend, Eric. And what also annoyed me was that she didn't even have the slightest bit of guilt when she was cheating on her boyfriend. How shallow is that?! Also, I thought that when you have a boyfriend, you're supposed to talk to them, be best friends with them, not CONSTANTLY wanting to have your tongue in his mouth! Which was exactly what Katie did! Whenever there was a scene with Katie and Seth/Eric and EVEN Tommy, what did she do? Kiss them, not even because she loved them, but because she just wanted to make out with them, all the time. And not only all she did in this book was kiss, but all she thought about was kissing, I swear, it's a wonder I'm not bald by now, since every time she said kissing or macking or making out, I would pull my hair out in frustration. She seriously needs a life.
The plot was terrible, I literally feel like I've read nothing but Katie making out in this book. There were no major twists, there was no heart-gripping, heart-warming or heart-wrenching moments, throughout this book all I was hoping for was that something interesting would happen or that dear Katie would finally learn a lesson. I kept saying just one more chapter, I'm sure something good will happen in one more chapter, but you know what? I've finished the book and nothing good happened in the twenty-one chapters that I read. I could see the
author was trying to make this a good story, but it fell flat with me. The characters were either too perfect or too messed up, they were as flat as cardboard, the plot was
uninteresting and the writing was too simple. Katie continuously repeated the same sentences over and over, most of them being: "I kept looking at his lips, I so badly wanted to kiss him" and "What is wrong with me?" and "I should hate Tommy Sullivan, but I don't, I love him", there were others but those were probably the most commonly used sentences that were said practically every page. Every time she said that I banged the book against my head, wishing she would stop repeating herself.
The ending of this book, the author made a big deal out of Katie telling the truth at a public event and where she was supposed to learn a lesson. She didn't. After that moment I still couldn't believe that she hadn't had sense knocked into her. She was still the same old selfish, irritating Katie and you know what REALLY made me cry out in disbelief? Is that she thinks loving a guy is because you only want to kiss that one guy, not any other!!! I was shocked! After the "lesson" that she learnt, all she could still do with a guy was kiss him. At that point I gave up, but luckily it was the end of the story.
I was expecting a stunning, heart-warming novel written by the talented, highly-acclaimed author of The Princess Diaries, but instead I was left majorly disappointed by Tommy Sullivan Is A Freak. The plot left me uninterested and bored, the characters made me grit my teeth in frustration and the overly used, trying-to-be-a-teenager sentences just got on my nerves. Megan is a fantastic author but this book didn't cast the same magical spell over me as with her other books. If you enjoy chick-lit and teenage romances you might enjoy this, but if you don't I wouldn't try reading it.
When we are first introduced to Katie, I instantly disliked her, she was selfish, she cheated on her boyfriend, she was a liar, she thought the world of herself...need I say more why I detested Katie? I could not believe how she had one of the nicest, most respectable boys as a boyfriend and claimed she loved him, yet any time she had free of Seth she was "macking" with her other, private boyfriend, Eric. And what also annoyed me was that she didn't even have the slightest bit of guilt when she was cheating on her boyfriend. How shallow is that?! Also, I thought that when you have a boyfriend, you're supposed to talk to them, be best friends with them, not CONSTANTLY wanting to have your tongue in his mouth! Which was exactly what Katie did! Whenever there was a scene with Katie and Seth/Eric and EVEN Tommy, what did she do? Kiss them, not even because she loved them, but because she just wanted to make out with them, all the time. And not only all she did in this book was kiss, but all she thought about was kissing, I swear, it's a wonder I'm not bald by now, since every time she said kissing or macking or making out, I would pull my hair out in frustration. She seriously needs a life.
The plot was terrible, I literally feel like I've read nothing but Katie making out in this book. There were no major twists, there was no heart-gripping, heart-warming or heart-wrenching moments, throughout this book all I was hoping for was that something interesting would happen or that dear Katie would finally learn a lesson. I kept saying just one more chapter, I'm sure something good will happen in one more chapter, but you know what? I've finished the book and nothing good happened in the twenty-one chapters that I read. I could see the
author was trying to make this a good story, but it fell flat with me. The characters were either too perfect or too messed up, they were as flat as cardboard, the plot was
uninteresting and the writing was too simple. Katie continuously repeated the same sentences over and over, most of them being: "I kept looking at his lips, I so badly wanted to kiss him" and "What is wrong with me?" and "I should hate Tommy Sullivan, but I don't, I love him", there were others but those were probably the most commonly used sentences that were said practically every page. Every time she said that I banged the book against my head, wishing she would stop repeating herself.
The ending of this book, the author made a big deal out of Katie telling the truth at a public event and where she was supposed to learn a lesson. She didn't. After that moment I still couldn't believe that she hadn't had sense knocked into her. She was still the same old selfish, irritating Katie and you know what REALLY made me cry out in disbelief? Is that she thinks loving a guy is because you only want to kiss that one guy, not any other!!! I was shocked! After the "lesson" that she learnt, all she could still do with a guy was kiss him. At that point I gave up, but luckily it was the end of the story.
I was expecting a stunning, heart-warming novel written by the talented, highly-acclaimed author of The Princess Diaries, but instead I was left majorly disappointed by Tommy Sullivan Is A Freak. The plot left me uninterested and bored, the characters made me grit my teeth in frustration and the overly used, trying-to-be-a-teenager sentences just got on my nerves. Megan is a fantastic author but this book didn't cast the same magical spell over me as with her other books. If you enjoy chick-lit and teenage romances you might enjoy this, but if you don't I wouldn't try reading it.
December 13, 2015
To see review with spiffy Sheldon gif click here.
Long before my book blogging days I was a Meg Cabot junky. I had to get every book of hers on release date, and this was before Prime existed so I actually had to drive to the bookstore and pick up said book.
Pants on Fire was one of these books.
In retrospect, it was nowhere near the hype I had for it. But at the time I was excited about it. It included a heroine who actually has a complicated love life AND wasn’t perfect.
Sort of hard to find in YA at the time, but since Pants on Fire has been published heroines in YA have grown more complicated and make Katie…well, insufferable.
Like I said, I wanted to like Katie. She’s not perfect. But I couldn’t. I think a lot of it boils down to the fact that she seems a bit unrealistic and a bit of a Mary Sue.
I know, I’m saying something seemingly blasphemous-a Mary Sue main character in a Meg Cabot book, but Katie sort of fits the test with everyone being in love with her, her being unnaturally good at taking photos, Valedictorian, having all the boys love her, being one of the most popular girls in school, and being a shoe in as a finalist in a beauty contest.
Yeah, gag me.
To be fair, the whole beauty competition was an interesting twist when I first read the book. But upon, reflection I felt like there were these major “moral lessond of the weeks” that were hammered into my head.
I’m not a fan of moral lessons.
They annoy me.
BUT during the time period the book was written in, they were more common in YA than today. Especially in Cabot’s contemporaries.
The major moral lessons in these books was what annoyed me the most about all of Cabot’s contemporaries in the period. The messages are often eye roll worthy and corny, even though I know that’s probably not Cabot’s intentions.
It’s not that the books are especially bad, they are very readable, but there’s just a preachy undertone to them that makes you want to pull out your hair. Especially when that little life lesson the book’s trying to reach you, is the focal point of the book.
Which if you’re wondering is: Lying is bad.
Lies and omitting the truth are featured heavily in Pants on Fire (even in the title to some regard) of course because of this, consequences! happen.
To be honest, the consequences are sort of lame and don’t take up a lot of page count and our deeply flawed main character still gets a Cabot signature happily ever after.
Katie doesn’t deserve a happily ever after. Especially a Cabot one.
She is fucked up and needs to deal with her shit, rather than getting in a new relationship. And yes, I did like the guy she ended up with, BUT girl wasn’t ready for a realtionship yet.
There are things about this book that should make it stand out. But it doesn’t. The beauty pagent falls flat. Even flatter than Dumplin, whose beauty pagent scenes hardly impressed me. Katie’s big dilemma sort of sadly deflated. It was like anything with any oomph, died quickly with this book.
Look, I know it seems like I’m harping on this book a lot, and perhaps I am. It has a lot of things to offer and at the end of the day it sadly just flops around. That being said, it’s probably the best out of the three Cabot contemporary YA standalones (Teen Idol, How to Popular, and Pants on Fire). I liked a lot of the ideas that were in this book, but it just really didn’t work for me.
Long before my book blogging days I was a Meg Cabot junky. I had to get every book of hers on release date, and this was before Prime existed so I actually had to drive to the bookstore and pick up said book.
Pants on Fire was one of these books.
In retrospect, it was nowhere near the hype I had for it. But at the time I was excited about it. It included a heroine who actually has a complicated love life AND wasn’t perfect.
Sort of hard to find in YA at the time, but since Pants on Fire has been published heroines in YA have grown more complicated and make Katie…well, insufferable.
Like I said, I wanted to like Katie. She’s not perfect. But I couldn’t. I think a lot of it boils down to the fact that she seems a bit unrealistic and a bit of a Mary Sue.
I know, I’m saying something seemingly blasphemous-a Mary Sue main character in a Meg Cabot book, but Katie sort of fits the test with everyone being in love with her, her being unnaturally good at taking photos, Valedictorian, having all the boys love her, being one of the most popular girls in school, and being a shoe in as a finalist in a beauty contest.
Yeah, gag me.
To be fair, the whole beauty competition was an interesting twist when I first read the book. But upon, reflection I felt like there were these major “moral lessond of the weeks” that were hammered into my head.
I’m not a fan of moral lessons.
They annoy me.
BUT during the time period the book was written in, they were more common in YA than today. Especially in Cabot’s contemporaries.
The major moral lessons in these books was what annoyed me the most about all of Cabot’s contemporaries in the period. The messages are often eye roll worthy and corny, even though I know that’s probably not Cabot’s intentions.
It’s not that the books are especially bad, they are very readable, but there’s just a preachy undertone to them that makes you want to pull out your hair. Especially when that little life lesson the book’s trying to reach you, is the focal point of the book.
Which if you’re wondering is: Lying is bad.
Lies and omitting the truth are featured heavily in Pants on Fire (even in the title to some regard) of course because of this, consequences! happen.
To be honest, the consequences are sort of lame and don’t take up a lot of page count and our deeply flawed main character still gets a Cabot signature happily ever after.
Katie doesn’t deserve a happily ever after. Especially a Cabot one.
She is fucked up and needs to deal with her shit, rather than getting in a new relationship. And yes, I did like the guy she ended up with, BUT girl wasn’t ready for a realtionship yet.
There are things about this book that should make it stand out. But it doesn’t. The beauty pagent falls flat. Even flatter than Dumplin, whose beauty pagent scenes hardly impressed me. Katie’s big dilemma sort of sadly deflated. It was like anything with any oomph, died quickly with this book.
Look, I know it seems like I’m harping on this book a lot, and perhaps I am. It has a lot of things to offer and at the end of the day it sadly just flops around. That being said, it’s probably the best out of the three Cabot contemporary YA standalones (Teen Idol, How to Popular, and Pants on Fire). I liked a lot of the ideas that were in this book, but it just really didn’t work for me.
March 10, 2011
I'm so tired of all the 'negative' reviews (if you can call rude comments 'a review') this book has,
just morons that like to think of themselves as too good for this book, then don't read the freaking book! you knew what you were getting into, I mean the title is PANTS ON FIRE, and Katie's most famous quote is 'I am a liar and I can't stop thinking about boys' (well, she's a teenager!) ¬¬
that being said,
I LOVE THIS BOOK! It's one of the most hilarious reads I've had.
It's funny and entretaining and cool, and it actually has a good message
and it shows how bullies can ruin a nice kid's life (Tommy's), how a whole town can turn their heads at it
just because of stupid attachment to stupid traditions and how a girl (Katie) might get carried away thanks to her hormones,
(yes, this happens to girls also, not just boys), and all of this told in a funny and witty way, truly enjoyable
and people should just back off,
and stop acting like none of this happens, like they never liked two boys/girls at the time, and
like they never lied to someone. Get over yourselves and accept reality (but much softer) and actualy entretaining.
When I first read this book I thought Katie was annoying, when I re-read it, I loved her! I think she's so honest about why she does what she does,
it makes it easier to simpathize her, she really makes the book, though it doesn't hurt a hottie like Tommy is in there, I love him also!
I love how he is so calm and forgiveful towards all the jerks that practically were the reason his parents send him to military school, and all the other characters are so real!
they feel like every teenager I know, they could be any of my friends.
so, to sum up:
GO READ THIS BOOK!
just morons that like to think of themselves as too good for this book, then don't read the freaking book! you knew what you were getting into, I mean the title is PANTS ON FIRE, and Katie's most famous quote is 'I am a liar and I can't stop thinking about boys' (well, she's a teenager!) ¬¬
that being said,
I LOVE THIS BOOK! It's one of the most hilarious reads I've had.
It's funny and entretaining and cool, and it actually has a good message
and it shows how bullies can ruin a nice kid's life (Tommy's), how a whole town can turn their heads at it
just because of stupid attachment to stupid traditions and how a girl (Katie) might get carried away thanks to her hormones,
(yes, this happens to girls also, not just boys), and all of this told in a funny and witty way, truly enjoyable
and people should just back off,
and stop acting like none of this happens, like they never liked two boys/girls at the time, and
like they never lied to someone. Get over yourselves and accept reality (but much softer) and actualy entretaining.
When I first read this book I thought Katie was annoying, when I re-read it, I loved her! I think she's so honest about why she does what she does,
it makes it easier to simpathize her, she really makes the book, though it doesn't hurt a hottie like Tommy is in there, I love him also!
I love how he is so calm and forgiveful towards all the jerks that practically were the reason his parents send him to military school, and all the other characters are so real!
they feel like every teenager I know, they could be any of my friends.
so, to sum up:
GO READ THIS BOOK!
May 3, 2024
2024
2021
2020
Always an adorable read through.
I like Katie, even though she does do very unlikable things (like cheating on her boyfriend and lying to her best friend), but she is still incredibly relatable. And she is clearly trying her hardest to be everything for everybody.
Thank God, Tommy Sullivan came back to town or Katie might have kept up her majorly downhill spiral. Tom is a strong, independent man, who's had to basically figure out how to stand on his own two feet (through the help of military school). He came back to a town that despised him for telling the truth. And he did it intentionally.
I like that Tom makes Katie a more likable person by showing her that she is on a path of destruction that will likely not end well for her. And I like that Katie does what she can to help Tom so that he doesn't get a "blanket party" welcome. And eventually, shows the town that what Tom did was the right, moral thing to do.
2021
2020
Always an adorable read through.
I like Katie, even though she does do very unlikable things (like cheating on her boyfriend and lying to her best friend), but she is still incredibly relatable. And she is clearly trying her hardest to be everything for everybody.
Thank God, Tommy Sullivan came back to town or Katie might have kept up her majorly downhill spiral. Tom is a strong, independent man, who's had to basically figure out how to stand on his own two feet (through the help of military school). He came back to a town that despised him for telling the truth. And he did it intentionally.
I like that Tom makes Katie a more likable person by showing her that she is on a path of destruction that will likely not end well for her. And I like that Katie does what she can to help Tom so that he doesn't get a "blanket party" welcome. And eventually, shows the town that what Tom did was the right, moral thing to do.
October 31, 2019
I do love this book and I'm happy to reread it after so many years. Katie is funny and you can't help but like her, even though she's a liar and cheating on her boyfriend. The way she thinks is so interesting and I like that she's not self obsessed like some teenage girls. She just wants to be a photographer, but she's caught up in other people's expectations and lets herself be pushed into things she doesn't want. She doesn't want to date Seth, but he's the quarterback and popular. She doesn't want to be in the pageant, but she does want the money for a camera. The best part of the story is Tommy. He isn't afraid of what people think of him and what he did and won't hide or pretend to be sorry. He encourages Katie to be real and tell people who she truly is.
The narration wasn't great, this is one I recommend reading.
The narration wasn't great, this is one I recommend reading.
July 3, 2016
1) the main character was so selfish, thinking tommy had returned just to ruin her life like get over yourself
2) i hate when everyone's up footballer's arses like believing they can do no wrong it reminds me of those r*pe cases against athletes that always have people going oh he was so talented or whatever gross
3) seth needed to get over himself as did liam in fact i felt very much like slapping liam especially for buying into all that conspiracy shit
4) so much girl-on-girl hate please stop
2) i hate when everyone's up footballer's arses like believing they can do no wrong it reminds me of those r*pe cases against athletes that always have people going oh he was so talented or whatever gross
3) seth needed to get over himself as did liam in fact i felt very much like slapping liam especially for buying into all that conspiracy shit
4) so much girl-on-girl hate please stop
June 13, 2022
following up vonnegut with cabot was the best decision i made on this trip
Read
August 23, 2025Bookshelf reread.
The book follows Katie, who is academically smart, likes photography like the main character in another book I was reading at the same time, and has somehow managed to befriend a popular girl who stays loyal to the kindness she is shone, and Katie once helped her. Katie finds her shallow, not super smart, and a gossip, which seems like a rude way to think about your friend, but she also really likes her.
Four years ago, when she was competing against fellow brainiac Tommy Sullivan for top grades and working on the school newspaper with him, he discovered the town’s beloved football team was cheating on their SATs, and despite her warnings, he printed it in the school newspaper. The city’s newspaper saw it, verified the facts, and reported it as well, exposing the team. Since so many of them had been involved, they couldn’t play and the team had to forfeit without enough players, the one dark streak in their endless series of wins that makes the tourist town feel special and important.
Rather than recognize that cheating is wrong, the players and the coach and much of the town turned on Tommy and blamed him for what happened. Katie didn’t want to be caught up in it and become a pariah like him, so she distanced herself. I think he got beat up by the players, but I don’t remember. One player was the older brother of Katie’s crush, who lost his scholarship because of it. When her crush, Seth, and friend, Sidney decided to spray paint an insult about Tommy that couldn’t be washed away on the side of the school, she went with them. She didn’t like it, but she didn’t want to be associated with him, so to protect him in the best way she could, she stopped Seth from writing what he had planned and changed it to read, “Tommy Sullivan is a freak.” It hasn’t been washed away since.
That’s what I always remembered about this book, the spray paint thing. The first time I read it, I thought Seth’s original intentions were a different word, but this time around I realized what word he was probably actually going to write. To be honest, I think my original assumption would have been the more damaging one. If Seth had his way, I feel like the town would have put in actual effort to remove the paint.
Since then, Katie finally got her chance with Seth, and was so overjoyed to be the girl he chose out of all the options, especially since he went on to become a star player like his brother had been, sans cheating. Even though she quickly realized he was a little dull for her, always complimenting her looks and nothing else, never having a real conversation, she didn’t’ want to give up what she had always wanted, have everyone think she was stupid for dumping such a sought after guy, or hurt him because she thinks he’s so nice. And they’ve been together so long.
But she’s not satisfied with him, so while working at the popular tourist restaurant that keeps a special reserved booth for VIPS, which just means the Quahogs football team and those they bring with them, she has started kissing school theater actor Eric Flutely behind the generator. She is also running for Quahog princess to help her earn more money to pay for a camera she’s been saving for so she can take higher quality pictures. She’s not very interested in Eric either, but feels better having two guys than one since neither makes her happy.
Then her football-player-to-be brother, Liam, says he saw Tommy, who now goes by Tom but no one in the book respects that and frankly I prefer Tommy over Tom too, at the arcade or gym or bowling alley or whatever Duckpin Lanes or Ducklane Pins is. She is alarmed and starts freaking out. She later sees him at the resort when she’s with Sidney, who fails to recognize him and think he looks good because he’s grown into his looks. She panics even more.
Tommy is really good looking now, which I think plays a major role in him getting treated better, and Katie actually being interested in him, which is not good. It’s sad, I think.
Katie rides her bike everywhere and rarely goes on boats or cars because she gets motion sickness and can only do so if she takes her pills ahead of time. She also hates quahogs, which is the bivalve their town is known for and adores like their football players. She keeps this a secret so as not to be shunned, among all her other lies. I don’t think it was that many or that intricate. There are far more interesting fictional liars, but Katie doesn’t wanna be a liar, so that’s probably why.
She sees Tommy at the newspaper and neither him nor the guy who runs it will tell her why. She’s certain Tommy is plotting revenge against her for ditching him, and probably everyone else who hurt him too but mostly her. He went to a sort of military school while he was away, hence him bulking up and learning proper defense so he can’t be ambushed by vengeful players.
Since he saw her with Eric and thinks she became brainwashed like the rest of the town, she becomes uneasy about her antics and soon breaks up with Eric, urging him to seek out Morgan, who he’s escorting at the pageant, claiming they have a lot in common as an actor and a ballet dancer, so he falls for that and is pleased. He later does date Morgan, who he seems to genuinely care for despite Katie’s beliefs that he’s shallow and egotistical, and Morgan is very happy with him too.
From the start, because of his improved appearance, Katie wants Tommy too, as she has a kissing addiction and little self-control. He recognizes her flirting, which she’s quick to deny, but he’s determined to have the conversations he’s trying to have. Eventually they do kiss, get caught by Sidney, who still doesn’t realize it’s him but doesn’t hold it against Katie, to her relief. Katie starts to have real feelings for him, but worries about hurting Seth, who wants to hurt Tommy, even though the other pageant girls find that ridiculous and keep pointing out what the town did to Tommy was bad enough already and it was so many years ago that Seth should get over it. This shows everyone doesn’t despise Tommy and anyone associated with him as Katie fears, and she’s overthinking. But she doesn’t see it and just keeps panicking and playing along with the idea that she’s against Tommy.
Liam makes the varsity team and starts going off about how important players are and those who aren’t are jealous losers, making Katie try to correct him, which he thinks proves his point that she’s jealous. He says the coach explained that Tommy lied about the cheating and ruined the team out of jealousy despite him being fine with Tommy at first. Katie is alarmed by his mindset, realizing this is what Tommy had been trying to point out about her since he’s been away, and the siblings fight. It bothered me that her parents, while not outwardly choosing a side, were fine with what Liam was saying and seemed more irritated with Katie’s insistence otherwise and requests for them to stop him. Sadly, the book does not have a correction for Liam.
Katie thinks it was nice of Sidney’s ex-boyfriend to dump her over text rather than string her along all summer before leaving for college when he didn’t wanna be with her anymore. I thought that was a weird thing to think he was a stand-up guy about, but I couldn’t really disagree because when she explained it like that, it does sound like he could have behaved worse. Which is just a good example of having low standards, and that’s kinda messed up.
It makes me think of how Katie insists Seth is so nice and good and yet he’s determined to blame Tommy and gather people together to beat him up after he learns he’s back in town. Even Sidney’s new boyfriend, another football player who’s friend with Seth, isn’t interested when Seth tries to drag him in and thinks Seth should let it go.
People are multidimensional, so Seth can be wrong about some things and not about others. So his treatment of Katie versus her senseless cheating don’t have to be held up against his determination to beat up Tommy. And Katie gets alarmed that now she keeps looking at upset Seth and being reminded of a puppy that just got scolded for peeing on the floor. Aside from the second half, I don’t see the issue of viewing someone like a puppy. I prefer it when people make me think of puppies.
At the questionnaire part of the pageant, Katie starts really thinking about Sidney’s true love answer where she quotes “Love is patient, love is kind”, realizing she’s starting to love Tommy but hasn’t been honest in her life. She was offended when Tommy said she didn’t understand or like herself, thinking it was to sabotage her, but she realizes he was right.
As the pageant drew near, I had a momentary panic that she was going to do something extreme and embarrass me, as often happens in romcoms, but then I told myself not to care, as I sometimes have to do with books and shows, so I was okay when it came time for her to answer on why she loves quahogs and she admitted she hates them, the bivalves and the players, shocking the whole audience.
She went on a rant about how they didn’t deserved special treatment throughout the city for playing football when they taught and saved nothing, how the food tastes like rubber no matter how you cook it, how people should be held accountable for their actions, like the team shouldn’t be excused for cheating when no one else was and Tommy didn’t destroy their lives, they destroyed their own lives, especially since they bragged about it in front of an impressionable middle schooler. If they didn’t wanna get caught, they should have shut up.
Tommy’s in the audience watching, as is the newspaper editor, who is now intrigued. Katie admits she spray painted the wall, which will cost her family $7,000 to fix, taking full blame while Sidney tries to warn her to shut up, as Sidney and Seth were also there (I’m not sure if anyone else was, since Sidney’s boyfriend stopped her from talking but it didn’t mention him being present back then). Seth is angry about her blaming his brother for his actions, and breaks up with her, only to be comforted by Goth Jenna, who was forced to be in the pageant and was able to have a deep conversation with Seth, and they would go on to hang out later.
Katie is truly sorry to Seth, but is fine with the breakup. She backs out of the pageant, expecting to become a pariah. She has to give her parents all her paychecks until the spray paint bill is repaid, and she admitted about her camera so she has to get back that down-payment for the bill. I’m bothered that she has to pay it alone, since she was the only one involved without wicked intentions, and other people did participate.
The restaurant where she works heard what she said, and while they regret sponsoring a pageant contestant after her blowup, they no longer reserve the booth for players and now make them follow the same rules. Sidney and Dave and Morgan and Eric show up, as Sidney kept trying to help her the more she learned, and even after the blowup, she is still her friend, and Dave really doesn’t care either, so they came specifically to show their support so Katie would know she wasn’t abandoned, which she thought she would deserve. Katie always has her phone off, so Sidney was never able to talk to her about the things Katie kept freaking out about because she could never reach her. Sounds annoying, honestly.
I think this shows that Katie built up everything in her head and was super wrong a lot.
Tommy is waiting for her after work, and she thinks he’s angry about her confession even though she had earlier suspected he knew and that’s why he wanted revenge. He questions her about why she painted it, revealing he knew because he was there and saw what happened and knew it was to save him from a worse insult, and he would think about it whenever his thoughts got bad. It sounds to her like it made him feel worse, but it was uplifting for him. She says she did it because she was his friend, a crappy friend, but still a friend.
Since the camera shop guy and the editor hate the quahogs, they bought the camera for her, which Tommy delivers, and she just has to take newspaper photos to pay for it, alongside Tommy who is the sports reporter for the paper, so the team won’t beat him up because that would be stupid to do to the guy writing their articles. Katie is planning to give up on boys for a while until Tommy admits he did partially come back to town for her, to see if he was still in love with her as he had been in middle school, where he planned to win her heart with peanut butter snacks.
She’s also realized being around Tommy, who she has real conversations with, makes her not want anyone else, and this is what love is. Personally, seeing as he knew she was a big relationship cheater, I don’t know why he would fully trust her on that. Maybe cuz she was most honest with him, and broke up with Eric after he started talking to her about it, and confessed everything on stage because of him, which shocked him and was not his intention. He had told her once while she was trying to kiss him that he wouldn’t be a guy she cheated with, he would only be her boyfriend, so she had to choose, which confused her.
I think it’s interesting to have a character like her, though I don’t understand her kissing addiction that makes her lose all sense of reason. Like she can’t think about anything else. Are people really like that? I don’t like liars, but it’s fine. Whatever. This was a fun and enjoyable book anyway.
She was really upset after the pageant, so her parents were nice enough to her and even sent Liam to his room when he asked to live with his friend cuz he didn’t wanna be associated as Katie’s brother after all that. There was never a resolution with Liam, which upset me. Did he ever see reason and realize the coach was just a bitter guy who couldn’t see his own mistakes and was lying to his team and trying to build a superior complex in them? Did this forever ruin the siblings’ relationship? I wanna know!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2011
I read this a few years ago, but here's the basic 'tl;dr':
girl is going out with the most popular boy in her entire school, is a waitress at one of the most crowdest restaurants that apparently is loved by all, her brother is the most popular dude for his grade and oh, she likes photography. cliche aint it. but it doesn't stop there. she's cheating on her boyfriend, which i might add the whole town seems to adore because he's the lead football player or whatever sport, on some other guy who is just as good looking. but it doesn't end there, her old pal is back but 100000x hotter. and the rest is history.
it was just cliche after cliche after cliche. the writing was good but the plot was the sort to feed to your raging teenage hormones because it was lustful but it was just annoying if anything. the fact is i haven't reread this novel yet and i probably won't because it's not realistic at all. for 1. this guy knows she's two-timing so what does he do? he joins in on the fun, HE'S SUPPOSE TO BE A SMART PERSON BUT I GUESSED WRONG.
i think the biggest problem with this is, if a 10 year old read this they would grow up waiting for these 3 drop dead gorgeous of guys to hook up with her at the same time, and that can only bring bad things. like it's physically possible but it aint going to happen unless you are 'you know what'.
girl is going out with the most popular boy in her entire school, is a waitress at one of the most crowdest restaurants that apparently is loved by all, her brother is the most popular dude for his grade and oh, she likes photography. cliche aint it. but it doesn't stop there. she's cheating on her boyfriend, which i might add the whole town seems to adore because he's the lead football player or whatever sport, on some other guy who is just as good looking. but it doesn't end there, her old pal is back but 100000x hotter. and the rest is history.
it was just cliche after cliche after cliche. the writing was good but the plot was the sort to feed to your raging teenage hormones because it was lustful but it was just annoying if anything. the fact is i haven't reread this novel yet and i probably won't because it's not realistic at all. for 1. this guy knows she's two-timing so what does he do? he joins in on the fun, HE'S SUPPOSE TO BE A SMART PERSON BUT I GUESSED WRONG.
i think the biggest problem with this is, if a 10 year old read this they would grow up waiting for these 3 drop dead gorgeous of guys to hook up with her at the same time, and that can only bring bad things. like it's physically possible but it aint going to happen unless you are 'you know what'.
April 11, 2008
-from inside flap-
Katie Ellison is not a liar. It's just that telling the truth is so...tricky. She knows she shouldn't be making out with a drama club hottie behind her football-player boyfriend's back. She should probably admit that she can't stand eating quahogs (clams), especially since she's running for Quahog princess in her hometown's annual Quahog Festival. And it would be a relief to finally tell someone what really happened the night Tommy Sullivan is a freak was spray-painted on the new wall outside the junior high school gymnasium--in neon orange, which still hasn't been sandblasted off. After all, everyone knows that's what drove Tommy out of town four years ago.
But now Tommy Sullivan has come back. Katie is sure he's out for revenge, and she'll do anything to hang on to her perfect (if slightly dishonest) existence. Even if it means telling more lies than ever. Even if, now that Tommy's around, she's actually--no lie--having the time of her life.
This book was pretty good. It was a typical Meg Cabot novel, but her novels are very addicting. :) (Except for How to be Popular, which I really couldn't finish.) The characters were believable and the plot was good. Though it wasn't an shocking, got to read again book, it was still really good. :D
Katie Ellison is not a liar. It's just that telling the truth is so...tricky. She knows she shouldn't be making out with a drama club hottie behind her football-player boyfriend's back. She should probably admit that she can't stand eating quahogs (clams), especially since she's running for Quahog princess in her hometown's annual Quahog Festival. And it would be a relief to finally tell someone what really happened the night Tommy Sullivan is a freak was spray-painted on the new wall outside the junior high school gymnasium--in neon orange, which still hasn't been sandblasted off. After all, everyone knows that's what drove Tommy out of town four years ago.
But now Tommy Sullivan has come back. Katie is sure he's out for revenge, and she'll do anything to hang on to her perfect (if slightly dishonest) existence. Even if it means telling more lies than ever. Even if, now that Tommy's around, she's actually--no lie--having the time of her life.
This book was pretty good. It was a typical Meg Cabot novel, but her novels are very addicting. :) (Except for How to be Popular, which I really couldn't finish.) The characters were believable and the plot was good. Though it wasn't an shocking, got to read again book, it was still really good. :D
August 8, 2010
Totally loved this book. I just can't stop reading a book with such good looking guys. Damn if I attended that high school, it'll be heaven for me.
Katie Ellison is the hottest girl in school and is dating the hottest guy alive. Everything was fine until Tommy Sullivan came back to Eastport after four years. And you know what his HOT!
Katie's life is turned upside down. She can't believe his back after what he did. Calling the football team a cheat and writing article about them. He practically got chased out of the town. But now his back and Katie can't deny the fact that his so good looking. But she has a boyfriend actually 2 but Eric doesn't count because their not publicly dating. Katie is scared as hell that Tommy will ruined everything that she worked so damn hard to achieve. And it doesn't help that she has strong attraction for him.
This is a fun loving easy read novel. It just a story filled with good humor and it does have a moral at the end of the story. Meg Cabot you've done it again.
Katie Ellison is the hottest girl in school and is dating the hottest guy alive. Everything was fine until Tommy Sullivan came back to Eastport after four years. And you know what his HOT!
Katie's life is turned upside down. She can't believe his back after what he did. Calling the football team a cheat and writing article about them. He practically got chased out of the town. But now his back and Katie can't deny the fact that his so good looking. But she has a boyfriend actually 2 but Eric doesn't count because their not publicly dating. Katie is scared as hell that Tommy will ruined everything that she worked so damn hard to achieve. And it doesn't help that she has strong attraction for him.
This is a fun loving easy read novel. It just a story filled with good humor and it does have a moral at the end of the story. Meg Cabot you've done it again.
March 20, 2008
This novel takes me into the mind of a teenage girl who has lied for the most of her life. Whenever Katie gets into trouble, she relies on lies to get her out of it. However, because of this, she can't keep up with all her lies anymore and they come back to haunt her. She is entangled in a web of her own lies and she struggles to find a way out and free herself.
I enjoyed some parts of the novel because it was like a mystery. Four years ago, something happened between Katie and Tommy but the author never really explains specifically. Now that Tommy is back in town, Katie thinks he is back for revenge. I was pulled into the story because I was curious about what happened between them that ruined their friendship.
I enjoyed some parts of the novel because it was like a mystery. Four years ago, something happened between Katie and Tommy but the author never really explains specifically. Now that Tommy is back in town, Katie thinks he is back for revenge. I was pulled into the story because I was curious about what happened between them that ruined their friendship.
July 28, 2022
I originally read this as a pre-teen, so it's been a long time. I'd totally forgotten about this book until I saw it on Hoopla, and, out of sheer curiosity to try and remember it, I re-read it.
I love Meg Cabot, but this book was not her best by any means. The main character was frustratingly shallow, weak-willed, and oblivious. The writing wasn't the best, either, although there were a few moments where Cabot's classic wit did shine through (thank goodness).
Overall, if you want to read or re-read a Meg Cabot book, go with Avalon High or All American Girl. Those are classics! This one is not.
I love Meg Cabot, but this book was not her best by any means. The main character was frustratingly shallow, weak-willed, and oblivious. The writing wasn't the best, either, although there were a few moments where Cabot's classic wit did shine through (thank goodness).
Overall, if you want to read or re-read a Meg Cabot book, go with Avalon High or All American Girl. Those are classics! This one is not.
July 2, 2018
Wow. This was probably the worst Meg Cabot book I've ever read (3 stars mostly for nostalgia's sake of being a Meg Cabot book).
*Spoilers ahead*
I just can't get over the fact she finally decides to be nice to a guy that has been true friend since the beginning just because he got HOT. If he hadn't come back HOT she probably would not have had the desire to set things right like she had.
*Spoilers ahead*
I just can't get over the fact she finally decides to be nice to a guy that has been true friend since the beginning just because he got HOT. If he hadn't come back HOT she probably would not have had the desire to set things right like she had.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 7, 2024
4⭐/5
Nie wiem czemu, mimo, że główna bohaterka drażniła mnie strasznie, w jakiś sposób cała ta opowieść (kiedyś) bardzo mi się podobała. Wciągnęła mnie i zwyczajnie przyjemnie się ją czytało, cóż z tego, że aktualnie nic z niej nie pamiętam (ocenę pozostawiam taką samą jak na lcz).
(aktualizuję gr i dodaję książki od samego początku zapisywania)
Nie wiem czemu, mimo, że główna bohaterka drażniła mnie strasznie, w jakiś sposób cała ta opowieść (kiedyś) bardzo mi się podobała. Wciągnęła mnie i zwyczajnie przyjemnie się ją czytało, cóż z tego, że aktualnie nic z niej nie pamiętam (ocenę pozostawiam taką samą jak na lcz).
(aktualizuję gr i dodaję książki od samego początku zapisywania)
April 1, 2018
Reading this book originally in 2007 and rereading it on a whim in 2018 makes a huge-a** difference. I hate dissing Meg Cabot's books because she was my gateway into the world of YA-Lit AND I have loved a gazillion of her chatty, funny reads.
This one however was a cringe-inducing read.
This one however was a cringe-inducing read.
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