REVIEW: The Julian Game by Adele Griffin

New girl Raye Archer is desperate for a way into the In crowd, so when ice-queen Ella Parker chooses her to get back at her ex, the gorgeous Julian Kilgarry, Raye is more than game. Even if it means creating a fake Facebook identity as “Elizabeth” so that she can learn enough about Julian to sabotage him. While a fun and dangerous thrill at first, what Raye hadn’t counted on was falling for Julian herself—and igniting Ella’s rage.

As Raye works to reconcile the temptress Elizabeth with her real-life self, Ella serves up her own revenge. Now it’s Raye who falls victim, as Ella creates an online smear campaign of nasty rumors and trashy photographs. Suddenly notorious, Raye has to find a way out of the web of deceit that she’s helped to build, and back to the relationships that matter.

Adele Griffin’s riveting novel explores the issues of generation Facebook: the desire to be someone else, real versus online friends, and the pitfalls and fallouts of posting your personal life online for all the world to judge.

Title: The Julian Game
Author: Adele Griffin
Format: ARC, 201 pages
Genre: young adult
Source: review copy
Published: August 26th, 2010
Buy the book: The Book Depository

My Thoughts
This book caught my attention at first glance. Just look at that cover! As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to get this book. Seriously, the cover just screams at you. But we all know that books are not entirely about appearance. So I read the blurb and it, too, caught my attention. It reminded me of the movie John Tucker Must Die, which I had enjoyed. I had high expectations for this book and sadly, it didn’t quite meet them.

The reason this book didn’t appeal to me is because it didn’t grab my attention from the get-go. For the first 100 pages, I kept waiting for the book to reel me it but it never did. A hundred pages is a long time to wait for something to happen. I will say that the second half of the book was better than the first. I didn’t feel a connection with any of the characters. And it bugged me how obsessed Raye was with Julian. Even when she saw his “true character” she was still lusting after him. One character I did like that I would have liked to see more of was Henry Henry, the British exchange student. He was a sweet character that should have received more page time.

Although the book didn’t grab my attention, I do like the message this book sends across about social networking wrecking havoc if not used wisely. We (and when I say “we” I mean people of all ages - pre-teens, teens, young adults and even adults) really need to be careful with not only how we present ourselves online, but what we do online. Facebook, blogs and email are the main social networking platforms used in The Julian Game. We are constantly hearing about cyber-bullying and that issue is part of the plot.

The Julian Game is not only about retaliation, manipulation and sabotage; it’s also about friendships - online and in real life. Raye learns a valuable lesson when it comes to true versus fake friendships. If you enjoyed watching John Tucker Must Die and/or Mean Girls then you might like The Julian Game.

The Book Vixen Rating

Where to find Adele Griffin online
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