This book just wasn't for me. The concept was interesting and I liked the idea of a teen recognizing that no one is as perfect as they pretend to be but the writing really fell flat. I didn't like the characters, I didn't like the style, and I hated the abrupt ending. It's a no from me.

Who told this author it was okay to stop a book midway? Nope, absolutely not. I will not be bamboozled into reading yet another YA gossip book just to get some closure... (I totally am because it was interesting until the inadequate ending) If it hadn't been a review copy, I would have been even more distressed. As it is, be ready to pick up the sequel via the library so you can get some closure.

Pretenders (Pretenders: Book 1) by Lisi Harrison

281 Pages
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers, Poppy
Release Date: October 15, 2013

Fiction, Children’s Fiction, Teens, Young Adult, Secrets, High School, Peer Pressure

The book is centered around the first year of high school for five teenagers – three girls and two boys. The school is very exclusive and there are high expectations for the students. A teacher asks her class to keep a journal for the whole school year. She said it is private and she will not read them. She just wants them to feel comfortable recording their year.

The book has a slow choppy pace because it is written as journal entries by each of the five students. Sometimes I confused the girls’ entries. What I liked about the story was the real emotions of fitting in and being different. All the characters have flaws, and the reader sees their struggles. The book was okay, but the ending was nonexistent. It just ended abruptly. I see now there is a second book so maybe there is closure in the next book.

I went into "Pretenders" feeling intrigued by the set=up of this book, which is about the leaked secret journals of five high school students who have been named the "Phoenix Five" – the most outstanding rising sophomores. And though Harrison tackles many challenges and issues that high school students face in these journal entries, I found much of the plot points overdramatic and sometimes irksome. That said, the biggest issue with this book is that it isn't a whole book – it ends without any of the characters being given a full story arc. The book simply ends and it left me extremely confused. Though there is a planned sequel that will presumably continue off from where "Pretenders" ends, I was left so unsatisfied by this that I'm unsure if I'll continue – even if I am a bit curious to know what the full story is.

I got accepted to review this book years ago, but unfortunately never got around to reading it. Apologies for this.

This one didn't work for me at all. I hate writing less than favorable reviews. If I am not enjoying a book, I will usually not finish the book and don't spend any time writing a review for it. This was one of those books that kept me reading and things were heading towards a generous 3-star rating before I got to the last parts of this book.

This book is told through journal entries from a group of high school students. It took me a while to really remember what was going on in each of the kid's lives. The two male students were a little more distinctive but the three female students tended to blend a bit in my head. I did eventually get a better feel for each of the characters and it helped that their lives started to become more connected as the book progressed.

My biggest problem with this book is the ending. I should really say the lack of an ending. I have read books that end in cliffhangers and while it is not my favorite, I have learned to deal with it. This was worse than a normal cliffhanger. This felt like someone ripped a book in half and only gave you part of it. There was no resolution whatsoever when this book came to an abrupt stop. Instead of making me want to rush out and grab the next book in this series, I am completely turned off from this series.

I am not recommending this book to others. I liked the concept of following this group of students through their journal entries but considering the fact that there is no resolution when the book comes to an abrupt stop, I found it to be a very unsatisfying read.

I received a digital review copy of this book from the Little, Brown Books for Young Readers - Poppy via NetGalley.

I requested this one back in the day as I had every intention of reading it. However, its been years and I still haven't gotten around to it and while I feel guilty at not reviewing a book I think that I need to admit to myself that I won't be reading this one anytime soon....if at all.

I really liked how each character had their own distinct voice, but the Pretenders lacks that certain charm that has been apparent throughout Lisi Harrison's previous works. The plot veered wildly in different directions and there is little to wrap up what had been going on throughout the length of the novel. However, I do love that it was formatted to be in journal form! That is something that not a lot of authors explore and was really well done here and makes the story more interactive and in-depth.

Overall it was not an easy read for me. It jumped all over the place from different points of views and I was not a fan of that.
I wish it was just one person maybe 2 but as many as she had in this one was just too much for me personally.
It was just an ok read for me.

First I have to say that I was genuinely looking forward to reading Pretenders. The premise is promising and intriguing and I thought that it had so much potential but unfortunately it didn't live up to that potential and it was quite a let down from the very beginning.

The pretext note from one of the journalists, though you aren't sure which one it is, catches your attention at first. You think, hey, this is going to be interesting. Seeing how all of these people react to their deepest secrets being spread throughout the school... but nope. Not at all. What you actually get instead of seeing the outcome and consequences of these actions and how the characters deal with it is the journal entries themselves. And that's it. Of course, I only got through 21% of the book.. so who knows? Maybe that changes, but all it is is journal entries from 5 different characters and their day to day lives. And I couldn't keep up with a single one of them. And they're not even in any kind of order between the characters. They're random. And I can't even remember their names, that how little I connected with them. There's nothing interesting about them, in my opinion, and their stories just couldn't hold my attention.

Not only did they not hold my attention, but their were completely unrealistic and very cliche. It was like the author was trying too hard to make diverse and interesting characters that she overcompensated, and it just didn't work. One of the characters wrote in her journal as if she was part of a play or a film. One of the characters was completely obsessed with one of the others and that's all she could talk about. One of them was living alone at the age of 14? 15? I can't remember but it was super young. And I can't even remember anything about the others except one liked basketball and the other is an academic over-achiever. And none of it really felt much like journal entries. They didn't really read like journal entries, and it was hard to think of them as such.

I just couldn't read anymore. I couldn't connect with the characters, the writing; the story itself didn't hold my attention and I just couldn't continue on with reading it. And if you know me, you know I HATE DNFing a book. I always feel awful about it. I wanted so much to like the story and give it a chance, but sometimes you just have to move on to the next.

I don’t even know where to start. There are so many things I didn’t like about this book that it’s hard to pick one.

Let me say first: the book is YA. I can see the appeal to teenage girls and if I was still a high school librarian, I would probably add it to the collection. However, personally, I had a hard time finishing it.

Now, why don’t I like it.

It’s written in first person which I generally don’t like.
Not only is it first person, it is first person from multiple viewpoints. Five to be exact. I never was able to keep everyone straight.
I was waffling between giving it a two or three-stars until I got to the end. It has a cliffhanger ending which I ALWAYS hate. Two-stars it is.

Anyway, as an adult reading this book, I can appreciate the idea that people hide things from others. Whether it is to impress or to stay unnoticed, people rarely if ever tell the truth about themselves. In this book, which is supposed to be a compilation of five students’ private journals, all those truths come out.

And that is the one thing I like about it. I like the idea that teenage readers (and yes, I am talking primarily about the girls) will see that everyone has something to hide. No one’s life is perfect no matter how it looks on the outside.

So, yes, I would put this in a school library, but I am not in the least tempted to read the sequel even though there was a cliffhanger ending.

This book was sent to me by NetGalley in return for an honest review.