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Book Title: The Class Reject: A Damsel in Disguise

Book Genre: Teen Fiction

Date of Review: March 2, 2016

Chapter(s) Reviewed: 1, 2, & 3

Approximate Chapter Length: 1400 each

Content Flags: Profanity

Summary (copied from book description)

It didn't take long for junior Miren Eze to realize that high school is just an academic cover up for hell.

Especially when she is terrorized daily by Penelope van Helsing, a friend turned evil nemesis. After a cruel prank at an assembly for a coveted award leaves Miren scholarship-less and practically expelled, she's left with no options until her best friend Chara suggests she transfers to the neighboring all-boys school. With the help of Chara's computer hacking boyfriend, they devise a plan that is stupid, risky, and requires plenty of gauze.

But what seems like a bad plot of a rom-com ends up having harsher ramifications than Miren could have ever anticipated. Especially when Jeno, her handsome but cold roommate, discovers her secret - and sees the disguise as the perfect opportunity to get revenge on Penelope.

MEAN GIRLS meets SHE'S THE MAN in a humorous, but darker tale of identity and redemption.

Review

Miren Eze has been tormented daily by former friend Penelope van Helsing, but today is her day to shine. Famous Oprah-wannabe personality Imani Higgins is coming to her school to present an award, and Miren is a finalist. She feels in her gut that she will win. Maybe it'll even be worth having to wear her best friend's too-small shirt after Penelope purposefully spilled Diet Coke on her own uniform, just the latest in a long string of torture.

After some almost-flirting with Miren's fellow nominee and crush Parker (who is, unfortunately, Penelope's boyfriend), Imani Higgins announces the winners with all the flair of a TV host: Parker from the all-boys school, and Miren from her all-girls school. Miren is ecstatic, on fire with satisfaction—even fantasizes quite vividly about Parker kissing her on stage—but her victory is short-lived. In a Carrie-esque moment, Diet Coke splashes down from above, soaking Miren in sticky sweetness.

For a few shining moments, Miren manages to keep her head, reasoning with herself that Penelope looks worse right now than she does. But the jeering, Penelope's smug face, a mouthed repeat of the mystery words that destroyed their friendship, and the complete lack of concern for Miren from the faculty tips her over the edge. She punches Penelope, and a vicious fight ensues, ending when Parker tackles Miren before she can take a guitar to Penelope's face. Needless to say, Miren will have some things to answer for in the headmistress' office.

That is where I stopped reading for this review, but I do plan to continue on. Teen Fiction is not usually my genre, but The Class Reject: a Damsel in Disguise is a compelling read. The narrative voice is clever and a smooth read. Miren is a character who manages to be fun and have good depth at the same time. Honestly, this book can sell itself; I will be using excerpts from the writing to do so.

The opening line immediately showcases the fun narrative voice. There's a minor awkward word choice—I would have gone with 'cleaned' rather than 'cleared'—but aside from that, it's one of the most solid openings I've read on Wattpad:

Miren Eze was still talking herself out of murder as she cleared the deep stain of diet soda on her school uniform. Penelope's doing. On purpose.

And then there is the witty dialogue. Here are some highlights:

"You can't get your award looking like that," was Chara's encouragement.

"You're right. How about I go naked?" (Chapter 1)

"I'm pretty sure we don't have enough time to change your outfit and your attitude." (Chapter 1, Chara again)

And dialogue that manages to hit on important real-world themes while simultaneously doing some serious characterization and staying true to the banter of high school students:

She tilted her head upward, shifting her hands from his grip. Her dark brown eyes clashed with his piercing green ones. "...Why are you being so creepy?"

He laughed. "It's only creepy if you don't like it."

She pressed her lips together. "Just being good looking doesn't excuse you from making rapey comments like that."

"Of course not," Parker Harisson seemed to agree. "That's what my parent's money is for." (Chapter 2)

Miren's loss of control is handled very well and feels real. This was such a compelling read I hardly wanted to stop to take notes for this review. Add to that the fact that this story represents a diverse cast of characters, something I'm always excited to see in fiction, and you've got a real winner here.

To be thorough, there are typos here and there, simple things I'm sure the author would pick up on a reread. And I would have liked a more solid clarification that Miren's kissing fantasy was just that, not something that actually happened. All in all, though, I have very little to complain about and so much to praise.

I find myself in the rare position of highly recommending a Teen Fiction book that even I will read. (Seriously, I've read and truly enjoyed about two teen fiction books in my life, not counting any with fantasy elements.) So please, take a look at The Class Reject: a Damsel in Disguise. It's definitely worth your while.