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  <id>10997</id>
  <title><![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]></title>
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  <description><![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]></description>
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    <author>
    <id>7176</id>
        <name><![CDATA[Daniel Handler]]></name>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.72</average_rating>
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    <![CDATA[It's first semester senior year, and Flannery Culp needs her friends more than ever. Her homeroom teacher is a tyrant, her biology teacher is a pervert, and in a few months the Winnie Moprah Show will broadcast vicious lies calling her a Satanic murderer when they really mean murderess. Flan needs Kate, even though she gossips incessantly. She needs Gabriel, even though he has a scarcely requited crush on her. She needs V_____, whose name has been changed to protect her wealthy family. She needs Douglas, who can get absinthe. She needs Lily, she needs Jennifer Rose Milton, but most of all she needs Natasha--beautiful, brave Natasha--who is turning her calculus teacher's advice--do something--into a formula for panache. Flannery needs all of the Basic Eight, because high school can get so stressful, you just want to kill someone. <p> Vocabulary: <p> TYRANT<p><p>INCESSANTLY<br/><p> SCARCELY REQUITED<p>PANACHE<p> <p> Study Questions: <p> 1. In order to sell, a work of literature now has to be condensed into a few pithy paragraphs on the front flap. Does this seem right to you? Why or why not? <p> 2. Really, the only way to tell if a book is any good is to purchase it for yourself, take it home, and read it all the way through. Don't you think? Why or why not? <p> 3. If a boy is messing with your head, is it okay to pummel his head? Why or why not?</p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
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    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>4</votes>
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  <read_at>Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Aug 07 09:53:15 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Aug 07 09:56:31 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[How do I love &quot;The Basic Eight&quot;?  Let me count the ways.  I love the delicious untrustworthiness of the narrator.   I love the cheerfully horrifying violence.  I love the snarky questions for the reader at the end of each chapter, textbook-style, that don't just remake the points but cleve...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4208522">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4208522]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>18268691</id>
    <user>
    <id>137677</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Michellette]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Canada]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>573</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>3</votes>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Mar 21 02:17:58 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jan 11 08:04:43 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Reads like a witty Christopher Pike novel (high schooly, murdery), but with Handler's beloved self-conscious presence in the narrative and with generous helpings of black humour. The story is related in a way that anyone who has woken up the morning after drinking far beyond their limit and begins f...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18268691">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18268691]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/18268691]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>13377447</id>
    <user>
    <id>63423</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Faye]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Feb 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Jan 24 06:53:56 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Mar 03 14:59:59 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I couldn't put this book down.  It's similar to The Secret History- high school clique, someone they murdered, you read to find out how on earth and why it happened.  I've been reading mystery cozy after cozy and never care who did it or why, but this story intrigued me.  And when Handler gets to th...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13377447">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/13377447]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>922771</id>
    <user>
    <id>71316</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Dennis]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Grandview, MO]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/71316-dennis]]></link>
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  <text_reviews_count type="integer">101</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769m/10997.jpg</image_url>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10997.The_Basic_Eight_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Precocious teenagers, misanthropes, absinthe lovers]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Apr 27 21:54:32 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Apr 27 21:59:32 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It's obvious that this is a first novel.  If you've read any of the Lemony Snicket books, you'll see where they came from.  Despite its gimmicky plot, horribly precocious teenagers, and its overall grimness, I found myself entranced and enchanted about this book.  The Basic Eight are who I wished I ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/922771">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/922771]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/922771]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>5088141</id>
    <user>
    <id>307982</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lucía]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Tokyo, Japan]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/307982-luc-a]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769m/10997.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769s/10997.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10997.The_Basic_Eight_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>2</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[1990s LHS graduates who really, really enjoy inside jokes]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Aug 25 04:23:18 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 06:59:38 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Poorly written, thinly-veiled satire of my high school. A friend claimed that this was brilliant, so I slogged through it. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5088141]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5088141]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>7530759</id>
    <user>
    <id>219514</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jamie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Los Angeles, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/219514-jamie]]></link>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[dawn]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Oct 10 09:13:28 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Oct 17 10:09:52 -0700 2007</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It was a good book, fun read, very Heather-like and a fabulous capstone/bookend (ha ha) for my &quot;can't get enough gory, psychological, pretentious murder manifestos (manifesto, just in case you're taking this literally is far too strong a word for this book).<br/>So, Daniel Handler.  Yep, he's ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7530759">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7530759]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/7530759]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>2932257</id>
    <user>
    <id>183202</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Callie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Oakland, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/183202-callie-koers]]></link>
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  <id type="integer">10997</id>
  <isbn>0060733861</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060733865</isbn13>
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  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
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  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769s/10997.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10997.The_Basic_Eight_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[fans of coming of age/high school clique genre]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 11 00:53:09 -0700 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 17 00:14:11 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[So if I had read this in high school I can guarantee you it would have been my favorite book at the time. It is an incredibly mean spirited high school drama with a sick twist, revolving around a clique of outcast/precocious/uppity/self-involved intellectuals, much like myself (or the self I thought...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2932257">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2932257]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2932257]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>42211583</id>
    <user>
    <id>1452657</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Dennis D.]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Lebanon, OH]]></location>
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  <id type="integer">530596</id>
  <isbn>0312198337</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780312198336</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">8</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>4.21</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>24</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[It's first semester senior year, and Flannery Culp needs her friends more than ever. Her homeroom teacher is a tyrant, her biology teacher is a pervert, and in a few months the Winnie Moprah Show will broadcast vicious lies calling her a Satanic murderer when they really mean murderess. Flan needs Kate, even though she gossips incessantly. She needs Gabriel, even though he has a scarcely requited crush on her. She needs V_____, whose name has been changed to protect her wealthy family. She needs Douglas, who can get absinthe. She needs Lily, she needs Jennifer Rose Milton, but most of all she needs Natasha--beautiful, brave Natasha--who is turning her calculus teacher's advice--do something--into a formula for panache. Flannery needs all of the Basic Eight, because high school can get so stressful, you just want to kill someone. <p> Vocabulary: <p> TYRANT<p><p>INCESSANTLY<br/><p> SCARCELY REQUITED<p>PANACHE<p> <p> Study Questions: <p> 1. In order to sell, a work of literature now has to be condensed into a few pithy paragraphs on the front flap. Does this seem right to you? Why or why not? <p> 2. Really, the only way to tell if a book is any good is to purchase it for yourself, take it home, and read it all the way through. Don't you think? Why or why not? <p> 3. If a boy is messing with your head, is it okay to pummel his head? Why or why not?</p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2001</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jan 07 08:07:50 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jan 07 08:11:37 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[“The Basic Eight” is the debut novel from <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/search/search?q=Daniel Handler" title="Daniel Handler">Daniel Handler</a>, who has gone on to achieve much greater fame (at least so far) under his pseudonym, <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/search/search?q=Lemony Snicket" title="Lemony Snicket">Lemony Snicket</a>.  It is a compelling story about the lives of a clique of bored, self-absorbed, too-smart San Francisco-area high school students.<br/><br/>...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42211583">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42211583]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42211583]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>64510491</id>
    <user>
    <id>1603926</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Alexandra]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Fortville, IN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1603926-alexandra]]></link>
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  <isbn>0060733861</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060733865</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">101</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769m/10997.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769s/10997.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10997.The_Basic_Eight_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[noone. ]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jul 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jul 22 08:07:30 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Jul 22 18:35:36 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>once. and never again.</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This book is one screwed up piece of fiction.<br/>I was repulsed through the whole thing, and it is just plain messed up. <br/>I liked the beginning, when they aren't talking about killing people and doing drugs (sounds just SO fun, right?)but as the story went on, I got more and more sickened by ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64510491">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64510491]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64510491]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>62230553</id>
    <user>
    <id>2467163</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Mark]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[San Francisco, CA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2467163-mark-hamilton]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-M-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <isbn>0060733861</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060733865</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">101</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769m/10997.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769s/10997.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10997.The_Basic_Eight_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>true</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jul 05 13:27:51 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jul 05 14:17:36 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I always enjoy Handler's writing style and dark humor (best employed in his A Series of Unfortunate Events).  Handler has a fun way of turning cliches upside down and finding quirky paradoxes in his characters' exchanges, but like a superhero who's just discovered his superpower he tends to overuse ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62230553">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62230553]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/62230553]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>66414939</id>
    <user>
    <id>196037</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jrobertus]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Austin, TX]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/196037-jrobertus]]></link>
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  <isbn>0060733861</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060733865</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">101</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769m/10997.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769s/10997.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10997.The_Basic_Eight_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Aug 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Aug 06 07:38:53 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Aug 15 13:38:26 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is a fascinating, but unsettling book.  It was his first novel and was rejected my many, many publishers.  This struggle led him to vent by writing some children's books, &quot;A Series of Unfortunate Events&quot;, under the name Lemony Snicket.  The Basic Eight focuses on Flannery Culp and her...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66414939">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66414939]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66414939]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>75350893</id>
    <user>
    <id>2840338</id>
    <name><![CDATA[kmjd]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Atlanta, GA]]></location>
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  <isbn>0060733861</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060733865</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">101</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769m/10997.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769s/10997.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10997.The_Basic_Eight_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Oct 22 04:52:08 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Oct 22 05:08:38 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I read this book for the first time in 2005 and I have spent the last 4 years trying to find another book that is even close to being as brilliantly written as this one. It has challenged me tremendously as a writer to experience the completely insane ways that Handler uses the classic unreliable na...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75350893">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75350893]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/75350893]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>42714064</id>
    <user>
    <id>827541</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Moira]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Portland, OR]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/827541-moira]]></link>
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  <isbn>0060733861</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060733865</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">101</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769m/10997.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769s/10997.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10997.The_Basic_Eight_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2000</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jan 11 15:16:25 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jan 11 15:28:05 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I've spent a lot of time trying to remember the name of this book, just so I could share with you how much I truly, truly hated it. You're welcome. <br/><br/>The whole time I was reading this I kept checking to see if it had been misfiled, and should have been in the Young Adult literature section...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42714064">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42714064]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42714064]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>11345043</id>
    <user>
    <id>729308</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Shannon]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Naples, FL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/729308-shannon]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1209657134p3/729308.jpg]]></image_url>
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  <id type="integer">10997</id>
  <isbn>0060733861</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060733865</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">101</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769m/10997.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769s/10997.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10997.The_Basic_Eight_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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        <shelf name="the-best" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Dec 31 11:47:02 -0800 2007</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu May 01 07:17:41 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[As soon as I finished this book I turned back to the beginning and read it again. I loved it. It has all the silliness of A Series of Unfortunate Events, but reworked for an older crowd. Yeah, I knew what the twist was going to be long before it was revealed, but the reveal was still great.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11345043]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/11345043]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>72247392</id>
    <user>
    <id>771721</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Raina]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Astoria, NY]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/771721-raina]]></link>
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  <isbn>0060733861</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060733865</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">101</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769m/10997.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769s/10997.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10997.The_Basic_Eight_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[Lowell H.S. grads, especially from the 1990s]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Oct 22 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Sep 23 11:42:17 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Oct 22 08:52:14 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It's hard to review this book objectively. On the one hand, I steer clear of most anything involving murder and sick humor. On the other hand, I went to the same high school as Daniel Handler, and recognized so many minute details he included in the book, and I too have just finished writing a book ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72247392">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72247392]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72247392]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>56214903</id>
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    <name><![CDATA[Aaron]]></name>
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  <isbn>0060733861</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060733865</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">101</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769m/10997.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
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  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri May 15 15:07:47 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri May 15 15:10:46 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>12</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Scathing, self-aware, hilarious and occasionally desperately shocking.  An adult Lemony Snicket for the kids who were smart in high school and didn't know how to control their raging hormones.  Slightly confusing drift towards the ending - I feel the sense of open-ended narrative was purposeful, but...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56214903">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/56214903]]></url>
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</review>
      <review>
  <id>53993520</id>
    <user>
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    <name><![CDATA[Liz]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Perth, 08, Australia]]></location>
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  <isbn13>9780312253738</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175409530m/512679.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[It's first semester senior year, and Flannery Culp needs her friends more than ever. Her homeroom teacher is a tyrant, her biology teacher is a pervert, and in a few months the Winnie Moprah Show will broadcast vicious lies calling her a Satanic murderer when they really mean murderess. Flan needs Kate, even though she gossips incessantly. She needs Gabriel, even though he has a scarcely requited crush on her. She needs V_____, whose name has been changed to protect her wealthy family. She needs Douglas, who can get absinthe. She needs Lily, she needs Jennifer Rose Milton, but most of all she needs Natasha--beautiful, brave Natasha--who is turning her calculus teacher's advice--do something--into a formula for panache. Flannery needs all of the Basic Eight, because high school can get so stressful, you just want to kill someone. <p> Vocabulary: <p> TYRANT<p><p>INCESSANTLY<br/><p> SCARCELY REQUITED<p>PANACHE<p> <p> Study Questions: <p> 1. In order to sell, a work of literature now has to be condensed into a few pithy paragraphs on the front flap. Does this seem right to you? Why or why not? <p> 2. Really, the only way to tell if a book is any good is to purchase it for yourself, take it home, and read it all the way through. Don't you think? Why or why not? <p> 3. If a boy is messing with your head, is it okay to pummel his head? Why or why not?</p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>1</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[no-one, really. nobody should read this book.]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2004</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Apr 26 01:50:03 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Apr 26 02:01:43 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>2</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I first read this when I was eleven or twelve -yes, twelve!-, not realising what I was getting into. Thankfully, a lot of it went over my head. (Probably the unanimously-hated ending did too, but I can't remember back that far, and to be quite honest, I don't want to.) A year or two later I read it ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53993520">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53993520]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/53993520]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>45954159</id>
    <user>
    <id>74891</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Lesley]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Chicago, IL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/74891-lesley]]></link>
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  <isbn>0060733861</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780060733865</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">101</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769m/10997.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166394769s/10997.jpg</small_image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[Flannery Culp wants you to know the whole story of her spectacularly awful senior year. Tyrants, perverts, tragic crushes, gossip, cruel jokes, and the hallucinatory effects of absinthe -- Flannery and the seven other friends in the Basic Eight have suffered through it all. But now, on tabloid television, they’re calling Flannery a murderer, which is a total lie. It’s true that high school can be so stressful sometimes. And it’s true that sometimes a girl just has to kill someone. But Flannery wants you to know that she’s not a murderer at all -- she’s a murderess.]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Feb 19 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Feb 10 12:49:14 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Feb 19 13:29:53 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[i read this in like a day off sitting on the couch nerding it up extended length of time. and it made me laugh. out loud. i love the way it is written. thru edited journal entries. the characters were a trip. i think it is cool when male authors manage to write from a female perspective without bein...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45954159">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45954159]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45954159]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>30766343</id>
    <user>
    <id>366455</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Natalie]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
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  <isbn>0312253737</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780312253738</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">16</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175409530m/512679.jpg</image_url>
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  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[It's first semester senior year, and Flannery Culp needs her friends more than ever. Her homeroom teacher is a tyrant, her biology teacher is a pervert, and in a few months the Winnie Moprah Show will broadcast vicious lies calling her a Satanic murderer when they really mean murderess. Flan needs Kate, even though she gossips incessantly. She needs Gabriel, even though he has a scarcely requited crush on her. She needs V_____, whose name has been changed to protect her wealthy family. She needs Douglas, who can get absinthe. She needs Lily, she needs Jennifer Rose Milton, but most of all she needs Natasha--beautiful, brave Natasha--who is turning her calculus teacher's advice--do something--into a formula for panache. Flannery needs all of the Basic Eight, because high school can get so stressful, you just want to kill someone. <p> Vocabulary: <p> TYRANT<p><p>INCESSANTLY<br/><p> SCARCELY REQUITED<p>PANACHE<p> <p> Study Questions: <p> 1. In order to sell, a work of literature now has to be condensed into a few pithy paragraphs on the front flap. Does this seem right to you? Why or why not? <p> 2. Really, the only way to tell if a book is any good is to purchase it for yourself, take it home, and read it all the way through. Don't you think? Why or why not? <p> 3. If a boy is messing with your head, is it okay to pummel his head? Why or why not?</p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[people who liked Special Topics in Calamity Physics, and The Secret History]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Sep 17 20:52:31 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Aug 21 05:27:18 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Sep 17 20:52:31 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I don't actually give this book four stars.  I would like to give it a 3.75, maybe a 3.6.  A good grade, not a great one.  I tore through this book in part because it is an interlibrary loan and due mercilessly soon, and also because it is witty and compelling and a real page turner. You learn at th...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30766343">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30766343]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/30766343]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>22825325</id>
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    <id>1182592</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kori]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Corona, CA]]></location>
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  <isbn>0312198337</isbn>
  <isbn13>9780312198336</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">8</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[The Basic Eight]]>
  </title>
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  <average_rating>3.86</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>678</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[It's first semester senior year, and Flannery Culp needs her friends more than ever. Her homeroom teacher is a tyrant, her biology teacher is a pervert, and in a few months the Winnie Moprah Show will broadcast vicious lies calling her a Satanic murderer when they really mean murderess. Flan needs Kate, even though she gossips incessantly. She needs Gabriel, even though he has a scarcely requited crush on her. She needs V_____, whose name has been changed to protect her wealthy family. She needs Douglas, who can get absinthe. She needs Lily, she needs Jennifer Rose Milton, but most of all she needs Natasha--beautiful, brave Natasha--who is turning her calculus teacher's advice--do something--into a formula for panache. Flannery needs all of the Basic Eight, because high school can get so stressful, you just want to kill someone. <p> Vocabulary: <p> TYRANT<p><p>INCESSANTLY<br/><p> SCARCELY REQUITED<p>PANACHE<p> <p> Study Questions: <p> 1. In order to sell, a work of literature now has to be condensed into a few pithy paragraphs on the front flap. Does this seem right to you? Why or why not? <p> 2. Really, the only way to tell if a book is any good is to purchase it for yourself, take it home, and read it all the way through. Don't you think? Why or why not? <p> 3. If a boy is messing with your head, is it okay to pummel his head? Why or why not?</p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p></p>]]>
  </description>
  <published>1999</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
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  <recommended_for><![CDATA[People who like Daniel Handler]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Apr 29 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri May 23 12:20:43 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jun 09 23:32:59 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is the first novel of Daniel Handler, alias Lemony Snicket. Supposedly, it was rejected by publishers thirty-seven times before it was finally published. On the surface, it reads like a typical teenage high-school drama told in the typical journal/diary style. Except that the main character, Fl...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22825325">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22825325]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22825325]]></link>
</review>
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