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The List

by Siobhan Vivian (Goodreads Author)

3.51 of 5 stars 3.51 · rating details · 4,646 ratings · 890 reviews

An intense look at the rules of high school attraction—and the price that’s paid for them.

It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn’t matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.

This is the story of eight girls, freshman to sen...more

Kindle Edition, 341 pages

Published April 1st 2012 by Push

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Mar 30, 2012 Emily May rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-na, 2012

2.5
To say that this was one of my most anticipated books of 2012, I am really disappointed. As with Not That Kind Of Girl, I thought this book had the potential to be really good and I'm sure the author set out with the greatest of intentions... and yet this novel failed to deliver. And I think that was mostly because it tried too hard to be a number of different things and, by doing so, was stretched too thin and failed to achieve any of the initial goals.

I gave the rating that extra .5 star because the book has that compulsive readability, I can't be entirely negative about a novel that is so easy to read that you can easily lose a few hours without realising it. This is a novel about teenage girls and how different an experience high school can be depending on the way you look and who your friends are. How one moment - whether fortunate or not - can completely change the way you are seen for the next four years. I liked that Siobhan Vivian recognised that being labelled in a certain way can be a blessing or a burden, depending on the person involved.

The problem is that the author bit off more than she could chew. I don't usually enjoy books with more than one POV... this had eight. EIGHT! The eight POVs were the girls, two from each grade, who were labelled prettiest and ugliet of their year by the mysterious author of THE LIST. Vivian tackles bullying, anorexia, friend troubles, family troubles, boy troubles, being an outsider... great! Five stars for intention!! But the most any character got was six chapters from their POV and this wasn't enough to fully develop their story and an understanding of the way they felt. To fully explore all of those issues mentioned you'd need a full book on each, the idea was just too ambitious.

************************spoilers ahead*************************
But the worst thing that stopped me from giving this the three stars meaning "I liked it" was the lack of closure/solutions for most of the girls. Sorry for feeling the need to include these spoilers, but the ending told us nothing about more than half the girls. Will Bridget ever recover from her anorexia? She's still starving herself at the novel's end. What will Lauren do about her mum trying to pull her out of school? Accept it or fight for her right to a normal teen life? What's next for Jennifer? Will her and Margo ever smooth things over? Is Candace finally going to stop being the bitch she's always been?

There's just not enough! And there's not enough because there's too much... which is ridiculous, I know. Too many characters with their important issues that are never fully explored and never given any kind of closure. The ending was bizarre, I kept waiting for a big come-together in the last chapter that would either give me some hope that the girls would be okay or leave me with an important message that summed up what Ms Vivian wanted to say with this book.

If I was to describe this book in one word, it would be: unresolved.(less)

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Jan 09, 2013 Wendy Darling marked it as dnf · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, realistic-fiction, 2012-publication, annoying-main-characters, read-2012

Made it through about 50 pages before the shifting present tense--among other things--drove me crazy.

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Aug 20, 2012 Tara rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: challenge-ccc2012, released-wishlist

Originally reviewed http://hobbitsies.net/2012/03/the-lis...

he List by Siobhan Vivian is one of those books that made me so freaking angry while I was reading it, and yet I couldn’t make myself put it down.

I hated 90% of the characters in The List. They were all so messed up and obnoxious and self-centered and bratty and downright cruel – and yet, unfortunately realistic. So I guess it’s good that I couldn’t stand them. Although I think someone should push Andrew off of a cliff.

The List took pla...more

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Oct 14, 2012 April rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, for-review, contemporary

Every year at Mount Washington High School, eight girls – two from each grade are singled out and place on The List, judged to be either the prettiest or the ugliest girl in their class. Siobhan Vivian delves into a topic near and dear to my heart, beauty and it’s implications, with her latest book, The List.

Read the rest of my review here

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Aug 29, 2012 Rachel rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Adults should not be allowed to review teen fiction.

The List by Siobhan Vivian is about eight high school girls, two from each grade, who are put on The List during homecoming week at Mount Washington High. The List is a list of the prettiest - and ugliest - girls in each grade, two for each. The book follows all of the girls through the week, narrating their reactions, the school's reactions, and the events that follow because of this list. The List is as followed:

(U) Danielle Demarco: Freshma...more

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Mar 22, 2012 Giselle rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, own, contemporary

A light, quick read - The List follows eight girls who have been named ugliest or pretties on this "List" which has been posted around the school every year for decades. You think being a "prettiest" would be easy? Think again!

Although The List addresses several teen issues throughout the story, it ended up being a much fluffier read than I expected. With eight different points of view, we're taken into each of the four ugliest, as well as the four prettiest girls' lives spanning the week after...more A light, quick read - The List follows eight girls who have been named ugliest or pretties on this "List" which has been posted around the school every year for decades. You think being a "prettiest" would be easy? Think again!

Although The List addresses several teen issues throughout the story, it ended up being a much fluffier read than I expected. With eight different points of view, we're taken into each of the four ugliest, as well as the four prettiest girls' lives spanning the week after being put on this List. Each girl has their own personal problems above now having to deal with being the center of attention. We've got an eating disorder, overprotective mother, outcast rebel, and of course plenty or romantic issues; all thoroughly interesting, some even deeply serious, but sadly most of these go unresolved leaving us with no idea of what's going to happen to these girls. I also kept wondering why the faculty had let this go on for so long, especially seeing the damage it does to the girls on it. I have a hard time believing that they simply let it be because it's a "tradition". Bullying is not taken lightly; parents would have spoken up years ago where I come from.

We've got eight lives to follow, which means a lot of POVs. I had to go back and check the List a few times to remind myself who they were, overall, though, I didn't find it was too much - having this list handy makes it easy to keep track. However, I've always been a fan of multiple perspectives. I found myself really liking the girls, too. They are a fun bunch, all with vastly different personalities that will either enamor or disgust you.

Without getting too profound, this novel is simply about the lives of these girls after they're hit with a target on their backs. Either prettiest or ugliest, this List doesn't favor anybody and consequences are dealt with. I wish it would have delved deeper into their lives, maybe have it span longer than a week, but all in all it's an entertaining read that I would be more inclined to recommend to the younger YA readers.

--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads (less)

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Apr 27, 2012 Clementine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, fiction, ya, favorites

Every year at Mount Washington High School, an anonymous list gets posted. On it, eight girls–two from each grade–are ranked as the prettiest and the ugliest in their grade. It doesn’t really matter who made the list, because once it’s posted, the damage is done. This year, eight girls will find their names on the list and will discover that their lives are forever altered. As they discover what it is to be named, they also begin to discover what appearances mean–and what they don’t.

Siobhan Vivi...more Every year at Mount Washington High School, an anonymous list gets posted. On it, eight girls–two from each grade–are ranked as the prettiest and the ugliest in their grade. It doesn’t really matter who made the list, because once it’s posted, the damage is done. This year, eight girls will find their names on the list and will discover that their lives are forever altered. As they discover what it is to be named, they also begin to discover what appearances mean–and what they don’t.

Siobhan Vivian’s insightful novel about the link between physical appearance and status is powerful, memorable, and upsetting. Written in third person present, Vivian’s novel follows all eight girls in rotating chapters as they navigate the week after the list comes out. While this sort of loose grouping of narratives wouldn’t work in a lesser author’s hands, it does in Vivian’s. Each girl has a distinct voice and is well-characterized. This is a book that readers won’t be able to put down.

Vivian’s exploration of what happens to each of these girls after the list is published is what drives the story, and it is also what is most compelling here. Each girl has a different reaction to what has occurred, and while some of the reactions are expected, others are not: junior Sara’s decision to be as dirty and ugly as possible is by far one of the novel’s most compelling story arcs. So too is junior Bridget’s as she devolves further into an eating disorder. What is remarkable is Vivian’s ability to make each girl completely sympathetic and absolutely authentic in voice and action.

Sophisticated, savvy readers will also appreciate the subtlety that Vivian creates in her prose. Nothing is completely laid out for readers, and Vivian is never overly-didactic with her message. She allows the characters’ actions to speak for themselves, and the story is all the richer as a result. Even tertiary characters are given dimension: Vivian does such a wonderful job with the girls’ mothers that I found myself staying up late into the night thinking about them and what happened to them in their respective youths.

This is a book that begs to be read and discussed, and as a result would be a great novel for book groups. Teens and adults alike are going to want to talk about the characters and the events in this one. The novel opens up all sorts of topics, including femininity, feminism, physical appearance, eating disorders, and the bonds of friendship. Highly, highly recommended. One of my favorite reads of 2012.

The List by Siobhan Vivian. Push: 2012. Library copy.(less)

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May 01, 2012 J rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The whole time I was reading this book---I kept thinking about a comment that Sally Field made in an interview many years ago. She said, "I cannot live up to all the images that people have assigned to me---it would be like chasing ghosts."

Popularity, social outcasts, cliques, friends, enemies, rejection, acceptance,---are the ingredients to a well rounded high school life. No matter the social circle a young teenage girl is blessed with or cursed by, she can never experience friendships charact...more

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Jun 10, 2012 Eileen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrowed, contemporary, young-adult

Review
The List was something I saw a lot of bloggers were getting so I put it on my TBR list, and in a stroke of good luck, it came to my library! I was soecstaticto get this book and I started it a few days ago and finished it in record time. I love the cover, first of all. You can't really see the cover when you go on Goodreads, because it's so blurry, but in real life, the cover is just amazing. The girl to the very left I know for a fact is Sarah, the junior years' ugliest girl. I don't real...more Review
The List was something I saw a lot of bloggers were getting so I put it on my TBR list, and in a stroke of good luck, it came to my library! I was so ecstatic to get this book and I started it a few days ago and finished it in record time. I love the cover, first of all. You can't really see the cover when you go on Goodreads, because it's so blurry, but in real life, the cover is just amazing. The girl to the very left I know for a fact is Sarah, the junior years' ugliest girl. I don't really know who everybody else is, but still, it's an amazing book cover and it's perfectly suited for a light contemporary read about eight girls' journeys in a week of high school up to their homecoming dance.

The List is about eight girls who end up on the list. The list is a list composed of eight girls, two from each grade, one named the prettiest, and the other the ugliest. Four girls every year are named prettiest, and four girls are named the ugliest. The List is about those eight girls' journeys in a week after being put onto the List. When the list is posted a week before homecoming, the eight girls go through major changes in a week until it homecoming arrives. I hope that made sense, I'm trying to tell you a basic feel for what the book was about, and I hope I didn't just slaughter any eagerness you may have had to read this.

In the beginning of The List, I was a little reluctant to get into it because of the lack of romance there was probably going to be. But as soon as I started, I ditched all of those reluctant thoughts and dove right into the book. I love how Siobhan featured all the girls on the list, and they each had a separate, unique story to tell. It wasn't a feature on one specific person, it covered everybody, which wasn't confusing because not only was it told in third person, Siobhan made it so everybody had their own unique voice.

What I loved about it at first was the fact that it was real. It wasn't a contemporary where the main character was perfect and she didn't have those major flaws that many people suffer from today. They weren't all beautiful. Some of them were ugly. The pretty people had their own monsters chasing after them. Bridget, the prettiest person for the junior class, went anorexic for an entire summer, dropped a whole dress size, gained it back, and then lost two dress sizes again. In a week. Siobhan delivered an edgy, realistic novel that faced the hard truths of high school.

The List is a great fictitious exposé on high school and the drama that goes with it. Everybody has their baggage in high school, and these 8 girls have more. "Once you're on the list, you're never the same again." Siobhan Vivian really outdid herself in The List and I will be anticipating her next novels and definitely checking out previous novels, if she ever published any.

See more of my reviews at ***Singing and Reading in the Rain***!(less)

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May 09, 2013 Nia (Kantorka) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: for-swapping

Acht Mädchen, eine Liste: Jedes Jahr wird auf der Mount Washington High School die Liste veröffentlicht. Niemand weiß, wer sie schreibt, doch in der Woche vor dem Homecoming Ball taucht sie überall auf. Auf der Liste stehen das hässlichste und das schönste Mädchen jeder Jahrgangsstufe. Auf einen Schlag berühmt, beneidet, bemitleidet, verlacht oder umbuhlt. Die Liste verändert alles...

Danielle, 9. Klasse, Hässlichste.
Danielle ist ein Schwimmass und zusammen mit ihrer besten Freundin Hope versucht...more

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Jan 12, 2013 Allie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is a very well-written book that examines what happens after eight high school girls are designated either the prettiest or ugliest in their grade. It's often brutal to read but unflinchingly honest about what high school can be like.

I especially liked the characters of Milo and Danielle and really felt for Lauren. Even though the storyline was split among so many characters' perspectives, I felt like I got inside each girl's head enough to understand her motivations and reactions. That ca...more

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Apr 21, 2013 Myriam rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Une lecture fluide et agréable, qui dénonce le terrible sujet de la tyrannie qui peut s'instaurer au sein des lycées, ainsi que les ravages qu'elle entraîne sur la vie des élèves. Leur mal-être, l'exacerbation des insécurités personnelles, qu'importe le clan dans lequel ils se trouvent.
Je regrette que l'auteur n'ait pas plus mis l'accent sur les dérives d'Internet et des réseaux sociaux qui, depuis quelques années, mènent les campagnes de dénigrement à un tout autre niveau d'horreur.
http://unjou ...more

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May 24, 2013 Abby added it · review of another edition

The book, The List by Siobhan Vivian is a book about a list that is placed all around the school and on the list are names of girls in the school that are called the ugliest and the prettiest girls. This list is always hung up before homecoming. Normally the girl the wins homecoming queen is the prettiest in the senior grade. The new principle tries to help stop this list because she feels like it is mean and everyone should be called beautiful. The author’s purpose for writing this book was bec...more

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Feb 20, 2013 Adrienne rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Summary:
Each year, just before Homecoming, a list is posted in Mount Washington High, deciding the prettiest and ugliest girl for each class. No one knows who makes the list, but each year it's there and it's accepted by everyone the school as being the ultimate authority on attractiveness. This year, the eight girls named on the list struggle to deal with how the list affects them.
Danielle, named the ugliest freshman and called masculine to boot, suddenly finds that her boyfriend might not be...more Summary:
Each year, just before Homecoming, a list is posted in Mount Washington High, deciding the prettiest and ugliest girl for each class. No one knows who makes the list, but each year it's there and it's accepted by everyone the school as being the ultimate authority on attractiveness. This year, the eight girls named on the list struggle to deal with how the list affects them.
Danielle, named the ugliest freshman and called masculine to boot, suddenly finds that her boyfriend might not be able to handle the pressure of dating the ugliest girl in the grade; desperate to keep their relationship going, she gives him more than he deserves.
Abby, the prettiest freshman, is thrilled to be named but doesn't know what to do about her older sister's jealousy.
Candace is named the ugliest sophomore, but it must be a mistake, because she isn't ugly--at least outside. But now that she's been called ugly, it gives her friends the chance to show her how they feel about her personality, and it turns out that not many of them actually like her.
Lauren goes from being the awkward, formerly homeschooled girl to being instantly popular when she's named as the prettiest sophomore. Although she knows it's the list that has made the difference, she can't help but enjoy the attention.
Sarah has never been considered pretty, and now, as she's dealing with jealousy over her sorta boyfriend's pretty ex-girlfriend, being named the ugliest junior tips her over the edge. Deciding to show the school that she doesn't care about them, she decides to completely ignore her personal hygiene, refusing to bathe, brush her teeth, or change her clothes.
Bridget is named the prettiest junior, but it reinforces her skewed perceptions of herself and that if she is to gain any weight, it will make her ugly.
Jennifer is named the ugliest senior and is the only person to have made the list all four years of her high school career, but she refuses to let it get her down; she actually sort of celebrates her status, and in so doing, finds people sympathizing with her and including her as she's never been included before. However, the one person who doesn't want to include her is Margo, her former best friend, and the one who is named the prettiest senior. Margo has always dreamed of being the Homecoming queen, and normally the prettiest senior is a guarantee for Homecoming queen, but Jennifer's new status is threatening Margo's dream--and reminding her of why their friendship ended in the first place.
Review:
This book is unsettling and probably a great one for discussion but necessarily one that's enjoyable. The discussion of beauty and the responses of each girl certainly warrant discussion (probably vigorous discussion), but it's also one of those books that leaves you feeling depressed afterwards. I admit, I'm a die-hard happy-ending sort of girl. I believe in HOPE, and a book that doesn't give me that isn't usually one I can enjoy. There are a few bright spots in this one, with a couple of the characters, but the final scenes, which deal with the two characters I liked least, realistically show the emptiness of their dreams but don't offer any sort of hope for them moving on from their current situation. I also find it hard to believe that this sort of tradition would continue year after year--really, there's not a single teacher or administrator who refuses to turn a blind eye to this until this year's principal? I find that hard to believe...and barring that, in today's world, wouldn't there be some parents slapping the school with a lawsuit before this thing continued for years? I guess if you can suspend disbelief on that, that will probably help you get into the book. Again, it's a good one for discussion, but it's not necessarily enjoyable.

Language, underage drinking (sanctioned by parents) and sex (off page) and topless making out (on page). (less)

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May 31, 2013 Lissa Chandler rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle

I really liked this. I liked that you just kind of got to know everyone and that everything was tied up (meaning we know where the list came from) but each girl's storyline was so open ended. There were definitely certain girls I identified with more than others and I loved that I identified with the pretty girls and the ugly girls equally. I loved the relationships between the sisters. I loved that each girl had their own personality, too, and that some just accepted their looks as a fact and o...more

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May 30, 2013 Chloe rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a good story, it was really well written.
Sure, it was about high school things, where pretty and ugly girls exist.
This had the narrative voices of about 8 girls, so it was kind of hard to keep track of all them.
I really get the fact of how we see ourselves and how other people see you.
Danielle, in the swim team, is thought to be boyish by other people, and while that might be true, Danielle was really the character that I love and believe that this kind of character actually exists in r...more This was a good story, it was really well written.
Sure, it was about high school things, where pretty and ugly girls exist.
This had the narrative voices of about 8 girls, so it was kind of hard to keep track of all them.
I really get the fact of how we see ourselves and how other people see you.
Danielle, in the swim team, is thought to be boyish by other people, and while that might be true, Danielle was really the character that I love and believe that this kind of character actually exists in real life.
I liked Danielle the best out of all characters.
But, while because Danielle broke up with her boyfriend, Andrew, because he would not stick up for her in front of his friends because Danielle made The List as a ugly girl.
But it turns out that (view spoiler) God, Jennifer is just so ugh. And while Danielle was really depressed, she danced with this other tall, senior guy that was on the swim team with her. But like, everybody in the swim team was on it, because they wanted to prove to Andrew that Danielle can have a great time without Andrew.
And Jennifer called, well thought to herself, when she sees that Danielle is dancing with a cute, tall guy after breaking up with her boyfriend, and calls her behavior (view spoiler)
Well, Jennifer, (view spoiler)
I swear, the reason Margo ditched her at the end of 8th grade was not because Jennifer was ugly and Margo was pretty, it was just Jennifer herself.
While the book was good, I really didn't like Jennifer, like really.
All the other narrative characters might have some flaws, but they weren't like, rotten as Jennifer.
Jennifer was just such a..
Anyway, I really enjoyed the book, I liked how the author unraveled her string of problems and friendship slowly.
Good read, just leaves a bad taste in my mouth because of Jennifer.(less)

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May 25, 2013 Petit-lips rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

http://lectures-petit-lips.blogspot.f...

Tous les ans, au lycée de Mount Washington, une liste est publié quelques jours avant le bal de l'automne. Sur cette liste figure les 4 filles les plus belles et les 4 plus moches de leur niveau, de la 3eme à la Terminale.

Nous suivons donc la vie et la réaction de ces 8 filles et leur entourage. Si au départ j'étais très emballée par le concept, j'ai commencé à être déçue en approchant de la fin du livre. En effet, je pensais que l'auteur allait nous faire...more

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May 20, 2013 Christine rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Every year, the Monday before homecoming, a list is published naming the prettiest and ugliest girl for the freshman, sophomore, junior and senior class. Told from alternating perspectives, we follow the girls for the week to see how they are impacted.

Vivian tackles several issues that many young girls face including eating disorders, relationships (both love and friendship), co-dependent parents (or parent in this case) and self image. How do we see ourselves and how do we measure our worth? I...more

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May 15, 2013 Cheyenne rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I am currently reading the book called The List by: Siobhan Vivian. As far as I am in this book I would say I’m pretty hooked. Since it’s really relatable it makes it that much more fun to read. This book is about eight girls that really learn the true meaning of being pretty and ugly. There is this list that made every year around homecoming and it tells who is the prettiest, and who is the ugliest in each grade. Every girl has a different problem that is related to the list and each one can be...more

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May 11, 2013 Abbie rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ebooks, ya-contemporary, never-read-again

No. Hell no.

I had wanted to read this book so badly but now that I've finished it I regret ever wanting this book.

I don't actually see the point in the List. It's a stupid (and cruel) list of the ugliest and prettiest girls from every level of the high school with no basis and evil intentions. I don't even understand why the list only targets girls. Guys should've been on the list too because they're critical creatures.

The book follows the target girls experiences after the list's publication....more

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Apr 29, 2013 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: misery-oh-misery, youngadult

Do you remember what you looked like in high school? No, wait… not how you actually looked, but how you felt like you looked. Even if you looked okay, you didn’t necessarily feel like you did. And worrying about everyone looking at you, judging you, that horrible self-consciousness that scars you for THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
Okay, maybe I'm being a little overdramatic, but this is a book about teenagers, and that's what it feels like when you're a teen.

And truly, high school sucks. No, I don’t me...more

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Apr 28, 2013 Kathryn rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: american, book-club, on-my-nook, young-adult

At last month's book club, we were discussing which book to read next. I said, "The other two books are books I would read on my own. But this one [The List] is something I would NEVER pick up on my own." (Which was a vote in favor of selecting it, since one of the major benefits of this book club has been that I've read several books I would otherwise have never read.)

The List details the events of homecoming week at a local American high school, where on Monday morning each year, The List, whi...more At last month's book club, we were discussing which book to read next. I said, "The other two books are books I would read on my own. But this one [The List] is something I would NEVER pick up on my own." (Which was a vote in favor of selecting it, since one of the major benefits of this book club has been that I've read several books I would otherwise have never read.)

The List details the events of homecoming week at a local American high school, where on Monday morning each year, The List, which identifies the ugliest and the prettiest girl in each grade, is posted. Each of these eight girls gets her own chapters through the week as she deals with the fallout of having been singled out in this fashion. The eight girls are well-drawn characters with their own distinct voices and personalities - contrary to what one might expect given the format of the book (eight chapters per day of the week, one for each girl), it isn't difficult to keep them straight.

So, why would I have never picked up this book on my own? Two words: high school. While this book did capture and keep my interest, it was also a hideous flashback to the worst years of my life (so far, and let's hope that remains the nadir). A list like this, complete with cruel remarks about the girls, is exactly the sort of thing the kids at my school would have done, and they wouldn't have cared about the feelings they hurt. In fact, they'd have enjoyed hurting people's feelings - cruelty was the goal of most of their interactions.

It's hard for me to think about this book with any level of objectivity. I'm still swinging back and forth. On the one hand, you do get eight very different characters with different ideas about what it means to be feminine, plus their assorted sisters, friends, and boyfriends, and you see eight very different responses to being put on the list. On the other hand, though, did "the homeschooled girl" and her mom really have to be portrayed as weird? Did Margo really have to be so perfect? Her only flaw was that she dumped Jennifer in a mean way four years previously, but other than that, she was a shining angel who got everything she wanted, which irritated the everloving crap out of me. (I might have identified with Jennifer for the first few chapters.) And did Fern have to be so unpleasant? I'd have liked to see the only explicitly intelligent character be portrayed as a positive role model. In some ways, I almost think this book reinforced certain stereotypes. But perhaps that was intentional - the book is drenched in high school.

I'll have to think about this book some more. (less)

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Apr 26, 2013 Emma rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Honestly, this book was entirely disappointing...I was expecting good things, considering I loved the co-written book of hers, Burn for Burn, but after reading this I can tell she let Jenny Han carry most of Burn for Burn because this book...it just really sucked.
First of all, most of the characters were spoiled. Jennifer and Margo - ugh. Candace - holy crap, can someone be that conceited? It seemed unreal. Danielle needed to act her own age, as in stop acting like she was, like, twenty-five wh...more

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Apr 20, 2013 Debra Goodman rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Has anyone in my friends group read this book?
This book follows a week in the lives of eight high school girls who are posted on "The List" of prettiest or ugliest girl of their year. The week ends with homecoming and one possible theme was whether homecoming dance - and electing a girl as "queen" - is any less destructive than something like "the list." It was certainly intriguing and would be an very interesting book to discuss with adolescent girls. I found it depressing how far we have not c...more

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Apr 15, 2013 EParkinson rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: psla-ya-top-40-stuff

“The List”, a tradition at Mount Washington High School, is published the Monday of Homecoming week each year and highlights “the prettiest” and “the ugliest” girls in each grade. This list, though a tradition, wreaks havoc for those named “ugliest” and brings glory, popularity, and “friendship” for those named “prettiest”. Although no one knows who creates the list each year, Principal Colby, a young, new principal is determined to find out who would do such a cruel thing and put an end to “The...more

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Apr 03, 2013 Alexa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I enjoyed The List, though the tense choice was sometimes very jarring (third person present is so awkward, especially mixed in with "flashbacks" in third person past!). As others have pointed out, there's not a very satisfying resolution for most of the characters.

But the big thing that I can't believe more people haven't pointed out in reviews (from what I've read) is that Jennifer is totally a sociopath! Once I realized what she had done, and why Margo had stopped being friends with her, I fe...more

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Apr 01, 2013 Lesley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Actually 3.5 stars, but closer to 3 than 4. Although I feel bad about rating anything after reading this book! It's painfully, brutally realistic. I agree with other reviewers who said it was hard to read and yet they couldn't stop. This was partly because we wanted to find out what would happen to the characters--and then we didn't get to find out after all. So that's one of the reasons I deducted stars--although I hope the book won't start hating itself as a result! In a way, it's a tribute to...more

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Apr 01, 2013 V rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Este libro pintaba para "lectura rápida", y lo fue, fue fluido y sin complicaciones.
Lo más sorprendente de esté libro es que te la crees, la gente es así, aún cuando las cosas lucen sumamente injustas, y lo son, son felices cuando salen beneficiadas, y toma tiempo admitir y darse cuenta del error.
La etiqueta, la burla, el reconocimiento, la burla, de nuevo, por que la que pasan estás chicas es demasiado real. Al principio me gustaba pensar que en mi escuela jamás pasaría algo así, pero en realid...more

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Mar 15, 2013 K rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The List by Vivian Siobhan ★★★★☆
After reading the Drowned Cities, I tried to find a book that was more "modern" and not about the far future; that is why I chose to read The List by Vivian Siobhan.

I am not the kind of person that likes to read, so finding a good book is hard for me. However, I actually thought The List was a pretty good book.

The plot itself was pretty interesting, however, my favorite thing about this book is how the author introduced new characters. Since this book is obviou...more

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Mar 14, 2013 Aml rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I chose this book because it stuck out to me a lot out of the list of books I was given by my teacher this year. I really like that this showed all types of people in high school, how everyone has different reactions to a big event in their life, and it really depicts how cruel teenage girls can really be in high school. What I didn’t like about the story was how the girls made the “list” such a big deal. I think in reality that’s something silly that girls shouldn’t let get to them. What I like...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
The End	6	46	Jun 10, 2013 03:47pm
Mock Printz 2014: The List by Siobhan Vivian	10	78	May 21, 2013 07:27am
Advice	9	40	Mar 16, 2013 06:47pm
Bridget Spoiler	22	61	Mar 15, 2013 06:12pm
Huntsville-Madiso...: Staff Picks: The List by Siobhan Vivian	1	2	Jun 20, 2012 06:55am
Thoreau's quote	1	19	May 01, 2012 12:00pm

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Young Adult > High School

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Womens Fiction > Chick Lit

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About Siobhan Vivian

Siobhan Vivian is the author of THE LIST, NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL, SAME DIFFERENCE, and A LITTLE FRIENDLY ADVICE. She also co-wrote BURN FOR BURN, the first novel in a planned trilogy, with her best friend JENNY HAN. She currently lives in Pittsburgh.

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Quotes from The List

“Sometimes, when you get something new, you trick yourself into believing it has the power to change absolutely everything about you.” — 50 people liked it

“That's how inside jokes usually are. Funny to those inside, annoying as shit to the rest of the world.” — 18 people liked it

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avg rating	preview: The List Goodreads rating: 3.51 (4646 ratings)
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