Lifted by Wendy Toliver

Back Of The Book Description: "Poppy Browne had never stolen anything in her life before moving to Pleasant Acres and meeting Mary Jane and Whitney. But when Poppy walks out of the mall with her two new friends and her first pair of stolen jeans, she's hooked.

Before long, Poppy is lifting whenever she gets the urge---it's never about the merchandise, it's always about the thrill. But when her secret gets out, the girls in Poppy's clique turn on one another. As she watches her life collapse around her, Poppy must decide where her loyalties lie...and how far she'll go to protect herself."

My Review: This was a very enjoyable book, in my opinion. Too often, I find that female protagonists go in two directions: they're either A) fluffy, girly, vapid, and silly, or B) so tomboy-ish and logical that you can't tell they're girls. Poppy was neither of these; she was a very realistic girl. She liked shopping and buying things, yet she also like to get good grades and stay true to her slighty sarcastic nature. She wasn't horrendously mean, but she wasn't the sweetest Snow White either. She liked to decorate her own clothes, but she wasn't some fashion genius wunderkind. Her voice was just very true to normal teens today, and I sympathized with her struggles with shoplifting. I could also great empathize with her struggles with her mother over academics and the need to always be 100% the best---someone a TON of teens today can understand and relate to. I was also pleasantly surprised by her friends, Mary Jane and Whitney. They were the pretty rich girls who adopted Poppy and introduced her to lifting. I assumed that they were fair-weather friends, or mean girls deep down, but they surprised me by being very good friends to Poppy, even till the end. The plot was interesting, and even though it moved at a slightly sluggish pace, it still kept me reading, so that's a plus. There was romance, but it did not dominate the book AT ALL, something I liked. Why do all YA authors assume that teens only care about love? Wrong! All in all, I really liked the book---yes, for the plot, but more for the realistic, enjoyable characters.

Cover: I would have liked it more if it showed something concerning stealing---like a girl slipping something into her purse or something---but this cover nicely shows the depression that came to Poppy more and more, as she lifted, so it was an appropriate cover; just not very eye-catching.

Overall Grade: A-