The betrayal of Natalie Hargrove
Published by Random House Children's Books
Challenge: None
Source: Gifted by the lovely Emma / Asamum
Natalie Hargrove would kill to be her high school’s Palmetto Princess. But her boyfriend Mike King doesn’t share her dream and risks losing the honor of Palmetto Prince to Natalie’s nemesis, Justin Balmer. So she convinces Mike to help play a prank on Justin. . . one that goes terribly wrong. They tie him to the front of the church after a party—when they arrive the next morning, Justin is dead. From blackmail to buried desire, dark secrets to darker deeds, Natalie unravels. She never should’ve messed with fate. Fate is the one thing more twisted than Natalie Hargrove Cruel Intentions meets Macbeth in this seductive, riveting tale of conscience and consequence.
The person who said this book was Macbeth meets cruel intentions wasn't lying. I loved it and read it in one sitting.
The main character Natalie is the most popular girl in school and has worked hard to gain that status. She is a bitch to everyone and uses people left, right and center. She is driven by becoming her High School's Palmetto Princess and will stop and nothing to gain the title.
I have read reviews that have complained that the main character is unlikable but for me that was what made the book so good. She is completely self centred and self obsessed but I think that makes her a more interesting character when you look at what motivates her. I think her self obsession was seen best through her reaction to the outcome of the prank she had been involved in.
That said as the book progresses you get to see how and why Natalie is like she is. Her mother is like a best friend and no a mother figure at all who has remarried several times meaning a multitude of father figures have come and gone from Natalie's life. Her father, who until recently, has been in jail subjected her and her mother to violence on a day to day occurrence.
I found the story and the dynamics of the characters involved fascinating. I loved that this girl had no moral's whatsoever and was totally fixated on one very superficial thing. While taken a little to extremes I think it says a lot about the real price of high school popularity and absurdity of it all. The ending was quite predictable when you think about it but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
Published by Random House Children's Books
Challenge: None
Source: Gifted by the lovely Emma / Asamum
Natalie Hargrove would kill to be her high school’s Palmetto Princess. But her boyfriend Mike King doesn’t share her dream and risks losing the honor of Palmetto Prince to Natalie’s nemesis, Justin Balmer. So she convinces Mike to help play a prank on Justin. . . one that goes terribly wrong. They tie him to the front of the church after a party—when they arrive the next morning, Justin is dead. From blackmail to buried desire, dark secrets to darker deeds, Natalie unravels. She never should’ve messed with fate. Fate is the one thing more twisted than Natalie Hargrove Cruel Intentions meets Macbeth in this seductive, riveting tale of conscience and consequence.
***
The main character Natalie is the most popular girl in school and has worked hard to gain that status. She is a bitch to everyone and uses people left, right and center. She is driven by becoming her High School's Palmetto Princess and will stop and nothing to gain the title.
I have read reviews that have complained that the main character is unlikable but for me that was what made the book so good. She is completely self centred and self obsessed but I think that makes her a more interesting character when you look at what motivates her. I think her self obsession was seen best through her reaction to the outcome of the prank she had been involved in.
That said as the book progresses you get to see how and why Natalie is like she is. Her mother is like a best friend and no a mother figure at all who has remarried several times meaning a multitude of father figures have come and gone from Natalie's life. Her father, who until recently, has been in jail subjected her and her mother to violence on a day to day occurrence.
I found the story and the dynamics of the characters involved fascinating. I loved that this girl had no moral's whatsoever and was totally fixated on one very superficial thing. While taken a little to extremes I think it says a lot about the real price of high school popularity and absurdity of it all. The ending was quite predictable when you think about it but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
Comments
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