Last summer, one of the books I secretly loved was Katie Finn’s Top 8: a fluffy novel about a girl who’s Facebook-like account is hacked and thus loses a best friend and love interest in one fall swoop. This summer, I shared my not-so-secret love for Elizabeth Rudnick’s Tweet Heart, a romance based on Twitter. So, imagine my excitement to learn that Katie Finn had written a sequel to Top 8 based on a Twitter-like technology that causes havoc again in Madison McDonald’s friendship and love life.
What’s Your St@tus follows Madison and her friends as they use Status Q to share their daily lives, as well as the details in planning their upcoming junior prom. And boy, will this be a prom they will never forget.
What starts innocently spirals into a world of drama as Madison and the rest of the prom committee are charged with guarding the Hayes crown — the prom queen’s crown that has a legacy in their high school, as it was donated long ago and was made of valuable materials (which are never quite divulged and of which Madison herself is never convinced, either). But, lo and behold, the crown goes missing and it may have disappeared at the hands of her best friend who has been feuding with a rival high school’s prom committee. Naturally, their proms are in the same hotel in different rooms and they just so happen to be on the same Saturday. Say it with me now. . .
Madison is a likable character to me: she is funny, realistic, and she has both her highs and lows. I never find her whiny nor too dramatic, and she is never too good to do something. Her friends are well fleshed, as well, and the added bonus of the Twitter client is contemporary and fun. I think that this plot might be a little more developed than Top 8, and I found myself liking this one just a tad better.
It is not necessary to read Finn’s first title in order to read this one or enjoy it. In fact, there are only one or two references to events past (Madison losing her best friend, for one) but they are explained in such a manner that no real back story is necessary. However, I think if you read one, you will have liked the characters enough to dive into the other.
What’s Your St@tus also deals with a little bit of a trickier subject, that of prom night sex, and I think that Finn does this pretty well. We know each of our characters well enough to know they will make smart decisions, and it never came off as being didactic nor unreal. Not every character will remain chaste, but those who choose not to will do so under their own devices — this will make sense in context of why the conversation about prom night sex happens. Kudos, too, to Finn for writing a book with few questionable scenes (aside from the less-than-candid discussion of prom night sex) and virtually no bad language. This is a title that works for younger high school students, as well as older ones. It may work for mature middle school readers, too.
Hand either of Finn’s titles to fans of Elizabeth Rudnick’s Tweet Heart, Melissa Walker’s Lovestruck Summer, or fans of Suzanne Young’s The Naughty List series. I think this is also an easy sell to fans of Sarah Dessen, Morgan Matson, Elizabeth Scott, or Susane Colasanti. It’ll be less set in terms of family drama and much more in high school drama, but it will be fun and enjoyable none-the-less.
*Review copy received from Scholastic – what a great surprise!