YOU ARE SO CURSED!

Author: Naomi Nash ISBN:0843953101 3/2004 TEEN CONTEMPORARY Publisher: Dorchester Smooch

High school's a dog-eat-dog world, but Vickie Marotti has an edge. Scorned by the jocks and cheerleaders? Misunderstood by the uptight vice principal? No problem. Not when you're an adept street magician, hexing bullies who dare harass you or your outcast friends! But then cute and popular upperclassman Gio Carson recognizes the truth: Vick's no more a witch than she is class president. Her dark curses are nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Will he tell the world, or will it be their little secret? Vick is about to face down sneering meatheads, viscious yearbook queens, and Rambo the Goat—a school mascot with a ferocious bowel problem. And she is about to learn a valuable lesson: that real magic lies in knowing your true friends. Visit Naomi at http://www.naominash.com.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

Vick Marotti is a high school misfit, using her street magician's skills to thwart any harassment from the popular crowd. When the popular hunk, Gio Carson, realizes the truth about her curses, she's unsure if his attentions are for real or a setup.

Surprisingly, there's more to CURSED than meets the eye. Not only is the story about the romance between Vick and Gio, but it also delves into the themes of true friendship, integrity, and what's really important in life. Vick isn't very likable at the beginning, too caught up in her desires to play one-upmanship on the popular crowd. After being shunned by her closest friends, she realizes what's really important in the long run. At times, the story is ultra-melodramatic, but still satisfying. I would have liked to see more development of the relationship between Gio and Vick. All of a sudden they were together, and I didn't even realize that Vick liked him that much. While some flaws are evident in the plot and character development, Vick's first-person narrative was expressive and lively. As a debut novel, YOU ARE SO CURSED! shows Nash's writing style has great promise.

Kendra Patterson