Platinum

Supernatural happenings may be the downfall of the most popular girl at Emory High in Jennifer Lynn Barnes's sequel to GOLDEN. Lilah Covington's mum will be marrying Lissy's uncle, and thus they're family. Lissy, sister Lexie, and their mother and grandmother all have the Sight, each in its various forms - and now it seems Lilah has retronition, the ability to see into the past. That's why only she can communicate with the ghost who's suddenly always around. Plus Lilah's also having visions in which there will be murder...but the only way to stop it and history repeating is to step inside her vision. Lilah is a caricature popular girl: she knows she's on top, and she'll stamp on anyone who tries to better her - even her supposed best friend. There doesn't seem to be any real friendship amongst them, but surely even popular girls experience real friendship. Then there's the girl from forty years ago, who was so in love with her own beauty, power and popularity that she thrived watching boys fight to the death over her. It's lame, and Helen is a caricature as well as Lilah. But despite its flaws, this is actually a fun read. Try not to think, just speed through it, and you should find it a pleasant way to pass your day. Now, if only the author's "Squad" books were published in Australia...

A great follow through to Golden, Platinum comes in the point of view of a supporting character from the first novel. A great idea, with such imaginative gifts, the book was as great of a ride as the first. It's an easy read, and you can finish it in a few hours. It's a great entertainment, but not thought provoking or challenging.

Platinum was so much fun to read, and I really enjoyed the story told from Lilah's point of view. As also, Jennifer Barnes delivers a great read. My only complaint is that it was too short!

PLATINUM picks up weeks after Golden left off. Lilah's not sure exactly what's happening to her. She's seeing people that no one else can see, but she's not sure if it's the past or the future. All she knows is that someone wants to kill her boyfriend and she's got to figure out why. In looking at old yearbooks, she discovers that Brock's not the first boy who could end up dying. Not only does she have to deal with her new visions, but also her social life, which could be falling apart. Her best friend makes a play for her boyfriend. Even though she's now having lukewarm feelings for him, it's against the girl code. She's taking down her best friend if that's the last thing she does. Lilah hasn't gotten to the top without hiccups, but she's determined to have Lissy help her with the visions and remain the Queen Bee. Jennifer Lynn Barnes takes a normal high school drama of best friends vs. boys and adds a paranormal twist. Give this one to fans of vampire books looking for something similar. Reviewed by: Jennifer Rummel

The much-anticipated sequel to Barnes' debut novel GOLDEN, PLATINUM tells the other side of the story, from the perspective of Emory High's Queen Bee herself, the one and only Lilah Covington. The perfect life that Lilah has worked so hard to build for herself seems to be slowly falling apart. Her newfound cousin Lissy seems determined to stay at the bottom of the social hierarchy despite Lilah's best attempts to coach her otherwise, her best friend is making a play for her boyfriend, and she's starting to see people that no one else can see. And maybe even falling for one of them. Sweet revenge is one of Lilah's many talents, but supernatural problems are hardly her forte, which means that she's stuck sucking up to social leper Lissy for help. I'm not generally a fan of sequels, but PLATINUM manages to outshine GOLDEN by a long haul. Lilah is my favorite of Barnes' protagonists, and Barnes does an excellent job of getting inside the head of a girl who is essentially a huge bitch and making the reader love her. We get an inside view of how Lilah grew up, what makes her vulnerable, how she got to be the way she is, and why she fights so hard to keep her life the way it is. Lilah doesn't do anything just to be mean, she's merely a smart girl who knows what she wants and knows people and their social hierarchies well enough to get it. The majority of young adult novels in the post-MEAN GIRLS era that try to capture what goes on in popular cliques fall flat because their authors seem to have forgotten to look for any motivation for their characters' actions beyond the mall or the school dance. What's truly commendable about this novel is that the reasons for each of Lilah's actions are very clear, and because of this we're usually on her side. I think a rereading GOLDEN after knowing Lilah's side of the story would also be an interesting read.