Sunday, August 12, 2012

The Alpha Bet by Stephanie Hale

Amazon Description: "Some teenagers use drugs or sex to escape overbearing parents. I used books. 

All my life my mother has been hovering over me, afraid to let me experience ANYTHING. So I got really good grades, graduated from high school when I was sixteen, and escaped to a new life—my own life—at college.

To jump-start my social life, I decided to rush the Alphas, the most exclusive sorority on campus. Things started to get complicated when I told one little white lie. (Okay, maybe not so little.) Then one of the sisters invoked the Alpha Bet, a super-secret set of alphabetical tasks we pledges have to complete to prove our loyalty. Now, the Alpha Bet has taken over my life.

Can you spell B-E-T-R-A-Y-A-L?"

My Review: This book was okay. It was a cute, short (I repeat, VERY short) read that was pretty predictable and not too amazing---but a good way to pass some time. I'll admit, I didn't really expect much, seeing how tiny the book was and the description, but I thought, Hey, it's summer, I'm bored---so why not? 
          The book was amusing enough to read, simply because of Grace Kelly (GK)'s thoughts and the amusing obstacles she occurred in trying to get into The Alphas. However, nothing truly bad ever really happened to GK, because she always pulled some daring and darling plan out of her butt at the last moment, so that irritated me. Things kept simply falling into place for GK, and how realistic is that? For example: She starts college at 16, and she's all nervous and it's going great---until she meets a boy. A boy that she likes. A BOY WHO'S 17 AND ALSO ENTERED COLLEGE EARLY (so that she's legal for him!). It kind of makes you want to go, Seriously? Like, okay, really? I mean, that's a very convenient, isn't it? And also, any time GK made a mistake or betrayed her sorority sisters, they'd all just be very nice and forgive her. I understand that the author was trying to debunk the myth that all sorority girls are evil, but it kind of just made GK's struggles seem pointless and lame. 
          Also, I was really looking forward to reading about GK's experience at college as a 16-year-old, but strangely enough, the book didn't really focus on that as much. Her age just became a sidenote as she became obsessed with rushing The Alphas and trying to get involved with Charlie. And that was just bothersome. 
          Basically, her dramas and problems were really pointless and easily-solved and not as dramatic as GK would have had you believe---but it was okay, in the end, because the book was still amusing and it still kept me turning the pages. Not the BEST book ever, by far, but definitely not a horrible book! It was a cute attempt at a chick-lit set in college! 

Cover: The cover is actually really cute! I love the pink emblem for the title and the little silhouettes of crowns and hair dryers and whatnot. The girls' outfits are cute as well, and I love the whole pink-white-and-green look the book has going on! Very collegiate preppy. 

Overall Grade: C+

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