The Naughty List

Do not be fooled by the pink cover. The Naughty List by Suzanne Young definitely ran the gamut of emotions, as ninja-Cheerleader-spy Tessa comes to suspect her too-perfect boyfriend Aiden of cheating. Basically the high school that Tessa goes to is a breeding ground for jerks, as a large amount of relationships end because one person cheats on the other. Tessa and her cheerleader friends decide to combat this trend by starting a secret society known as SOS. What SOS does is investigate suspected cheaters after being asked and then they deliver results to their patron. So far all of their investigations have led to an answer of guilty. All of the cheaters are basically put on a jerkface-roll aka Naughty List. Ya'll I will be the first in line to pick up So Many Boys when it comes out. The Naughty List was FANTASTIC. I love that the girls in this book take charge of a situation and do what they can to help out women-kind. The feminist in me jumps for joy. Also, while Tessa can be kind of annoying with her refusal to swear, it grows on you after awhile, especially the phrases she uses instead of curse words. This book definitely goes fairly deep into how being cheated on can hurt and affect a person's self-esteem. You guys know that feeling you get when your chest clenches over something terrible? I mean, maybe you've been in a relationship and have been on the verge of a break-up. You know that feeling you have during that stage? Well, I had that feeling several times during this book. Oh, man, did I feel for Tessa, especially as she had to deal with a character who I shall call the queen of the skanks. I'm sure plenty of people have had this same feeling when you perceive someone to be flirting with your partner, and your partner to be flirting back. ACK. It's definitely not a good place to be in. However, I loved that The Naughty List could evoke that feeling in me, for such a frilly-covered book. So as far as teenagers go, the characters definitely felt real to me. Aside from Tessa, the characters curse quite a bit, just like real high schoolers. (Yay for swears!) Also, there is sex in the book. I like how real they felt, because yeah, a lot of teens do those things. Granted not very many teens are ninja-Cheerleader-spies, but I can't complain about that part of the book, since it was rather fun to read. The writing is fast-paced and uncluttered. The characters winning, and the experience completely awesome.

You may never think about cheerleaders in the same way after reading Suzanne Young's debut novel "The Naughty List." She flips nearly every cheerleader stereotype on its head in her tale of a cheerleading-squad-turned-secret-society-to-catch-cheating-boyfriends. Rather than rely on the overdone image of a cheerleader as a ditsy blonde backbiter, Young paints a refreshing, nuanced and hilarious portrait of Tessa, the head cheerleader and head spy. Tessa takes cheering very seriously, but not because it's a path to popularity. Because she truly believes in school spirit. And she believes in washing your mouth out with soap too. Rather than swear, she creates her own endearing four-letter phrases like "peanutbutter pickles" or "strawberry smoothies." The story zips along at a quick pace with each chapter punctuated by a "cheater's report" full of witty asides on the cheater's behavior or tacky taste. But the complexity in this breezy tale comes in Tessa herself when she must confront what to do when she's asked to investigate her own boyfriend's possibly naughty ways. The Naughty List is a sparkling debut!

Tessa Crimson (awesome name, right?) is more than just the captain of Washington High's cheerleading squad. She's also the leader of S.O.S (Society of Smitten Kittens), the club that catches cheating boyfriends in the act, with evidence! Lucky for Tessa, she has Aiden. Aiden is the perfect boyfriend: he's sweet, kind, gorgeous, and totally loves her. (I so want an Aiden!). He's not just perfect, he's "strawberry-smoothie purrfect" (there's a ton of adorable kitty references. There's just the small matter that Tessa has been hiding her covert operations from Aiden for the past two years. But now Aiden's wising up and becoming a bit impatient with Tessa constantly being busy. Because of the busyness with more cases, Tessa doesn't really take notice of Aiden's frustrations. But The Naughty List is maxed out, and every single suspect has been caught - every single one of them has cheated. Then new girl, Chloe Ferril, shows up and she's very different from Tessa. She's provocative and crude and seems to have her sights set directly on the most unattainable guy in school, Aiden. Tessa knows that this is one girl who isn't going to retract her claws until she hooks them into Aiden. Tessa has never worried about her and Aiden's "strawberry-smoothie purrfect" relationship, until his name shows up on The Naughty List. Now, Tessa must investigate the one person she never considered to be as naughty as the others. Did Aiden betray her, or are they still as "strawberry-smoothie purrfect" as she thought them to be? If there's one thing that is "strawberry-smoothie purrfect," it's THE NAUGHTY LIST! I fell so in love with Tessa, Aiden, Kira, and Leona that I didn't want to see this story end. I love how Tessa doesn't curse and instead improvises with phrases like "Jingle Bells!," "Shake and bake,!" and my personal favorite, "Peanut butter sandwiches!" Kira had some of the most reasonable advice out of them all, even though she seems to be a couple of kittens short of a litter most of the time. But Tessa would totally have to be my favorite. She's adorable and hilarious, and despite her flaws, she has the sincerest of intentions. Of course, there always has to be the practical voice of reason and the one to keep everything and everyone organized, and that would be where Leona comes in. Leona is so funny! She tends to be the one to say exactly what Tessa is thinking, but won't say herself because it's un-kitten-like. Leona is that girl who doesn't give a care what anyone says; she's just going to say whatever she wants - I love that! And I can't forget Aiden. He's sweet and adorable and the epitome of the dream boyfriend! He's so supportive and patient (at least way more than I would be), at least for a long time. I mean, how many guys want and like painting their girlfriend's toenails? But even the most perfect couples have their flaws. The writing is fantastic and the story is uniquely adorable. It's fun and quick and purrfect for any kitties out there

The Naughty List is just as cute and adorable as the cover it has proving it to be a series that you should definitely be keeping an eye on. Tessa, along with the rest of SOS, was a blast to read about. Since, for one, I admired how they would put themselves in jeopardy just because they wanted to make one girl's live easier by finding out if her boyfriend was a keeper or a loser. Further more, each had distinctive personality that made them easy to distinguish from the others. The plot, just like the characters, was fun to read about. I loved seeing their top secret missions and the drama that had the tendency to come from them. Plus, the relationship between Aiden (love his name!) and Tessa was such a cute addition. My only compliant was the ending. Though, that's just because I can't wait to see what happens next to everyone. Overall, The Naughty List is a fab debut by Ms. Young and I have to say I'm stoked to see what she comes up with next! Grade: B+

After the last cheerleader captain is publicly humiliated, when she finds out that her boyfriend has an "other women". Tessa Crimson takes over the cheerleading squad and starts Society of Smitten Kittens. At the request of girls who suspect that their boyfriends of cheating, SOS will launch a full-scale investigations. If SOS finds any evidence, they will provide it to their clients. So far all of the boys have been guilty. Tessa's boyfriend Aiden is troubled by her frequent absences and the secrecy that comes with SOS. Things become a bit more complicated by the arrival of Christian Ferril and his sister Chloe. Christian is interested in Tessa and Chloe has her eye on Aiden. Then Aiden's name shows up on the list. She starts using her sleuthing skills on him. Is Aiden just as naughty as the rest of them? I found this book to be extremely cute. Tessa and her friends are like able. They were really sweet and original. Their voices brought depth and realism to the cheerleader stereotype. I love secret societies and SOS was ran awesomely well. The reports were through anonymous cell phone and top-secret correspondence. The SOS then receives cheater reports and goes on missions. I found the way that SOS was ran to be clever and plausible for a teenager. I would love to be in a Secret Society like that and it helped me get engaged further into the plot. I also loved the fun alternative cuss words that Tess came up with. This book was so original and I fell in love with it. Young is a fantastic writer that created a clever and unique story. I highly recommend this book, you should buy a copy right now. I can't wait for the sequel So Many Boys. I bet it will be just as amazing.