"People ask me all the time what having Vince MacKenzie for a father was like. What they mean is, was he always crazy?"
High school junior Jord... read full description
reviews
Aug 01, 2010
Morgan
rated it: 
I really did love this book. So, to clarify, I would rate it 4.5 stars if I could.
It's about Jordan, an average teenager with divorced parents. She lives with her father, a predictable optometrist because her mother is too eccentric for her tastes. Her summer after her junior year was off to a normal start- a best friend, dumb job, and a new love interest- but then came Gayle D'Angelo. Gayle D'Angelo is her father's new girlfriend.....who happens to be married. But Jordan's fat More...
It's about Jordan, an average teenager with divorced parents. She lives with her father, a predictable optometrist because her mother is too eccentric for her tastes. Her summer after her junior year was off to a normal start- a best friend, dumb job, and a new love interest- but then came Gayle D'Angelo. Gayle D'Angelo is her father's new girlfriend.....who happens to be married. But Jordan's fat More...
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Oct 18, 2008
Diana
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This is the second book this year to portray the death and destruction caused by a parent's affair. Jordan likes living with her rather bland optometrist father much better that she liked living the the laid back bed and breakfast run by her hippie-ish mother and artist step-dad. She isn't even thrilled when Kale, the attractive school bad-boy decides he is in love with her. She likes the strange neighbor who plays the bagpipes but his sister, her best friend, would be appalled since she thinks
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Apr 12, 2008
Suzanne
rated it:
This is a book I just could not put down. Well, ok, I put it down a couple of times but it was for things like eating and sleeping and going to the bathroom, all things us humans (especially the pregnant ones) need to do (a lot).
Anywho, what a page turner! I knew what was going to happen, protagonist Jordan knows what is going to happen, the whole world could see what was going to happen--and you just want to get to the implosion as fast as you can. Best part? Jordan is a very real More...
Anywho, what a page turner! I knew what was going to happen, protagonist Jordan knows what is going to happen, the whole world could see what was going to happen--and you just want to get to the implosion as fast as you can. Best part? Jordan is a very real More...
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Jan 31, 2012
Ellie
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Deb Caletti's "The Queen of Everything" intrigued me from the very start. I can honestly say that it turned out to be one of my favorite novels, and succeeded my every expectation. "The Queen of Everything" is narrated by a teenage girl, Jordan, who appears to be living the epitome of regular 21st century life. Her parents are divorced, though her dad seems to be the more normal of the two. When Jordan discovers that her seemingly-sane father is having an affair with a woman
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Feb 05, 2011
Cory
rated it: 
This is the second Deb Caletti book I've read. I wasn't impressed. Those that compare her to Sarah Dessen and Elizabeth Scott are mistaken.
One thing I've noticed about Caletti is that she has a tendency to ramble. Rambling isn't a bad thing. In fact, rambling can be a very good thing when used properly. But Caletti has a tendency to ramble about non-essential things that have nothing whatsoever to do with the plot. She'll introduce a minor character with a lot of exposition, then sh More...
One thing I've noticed about Caletti is that she has a tendency to ramble. Rambling isn't a bad thing. In fact, rambling can be a very good thing when used properly. But Caletti has a tendency to ramble about non-essential things that have nothing whatsoever to do with the plot. She'll introduce a minor character with a lot of exposition, then sh More...
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Dec 04, 2007
laaaaames
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Deb Caletti writes lovely prose, and captures so much really spot-on emotion in this book. I really enjoy YA books dealing with parents, for some reason, so this book was incredibly readable.
I am a bit worried that now I've read two of Caletti's books that featured the same sort of "bad boy" with similar reactions by the protagonists, but I was at least relieved in this book that a bad decision re: sex wasn't grounds for punishment.
I am a bit worried that now I've read two of Caletti's books that featured the same sort of "bad boy" with similar reactions by the protagonists, but I was at least relieved in this book that a bad decision re: sex wasn't grounds for punishment.
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Aug 26, 2011
Julie
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This was another one that has been sitting on my bedside table for some time. I got it at a library book sale because I had read good things about the author, but in the meantime I read a couple of other books by her, one that I liked (The Nature of Jade) and one I didn’t (Honey, Baby, Sweetheart), and I lost interest. I would say that this one fell in between. She once again focuses on a female teenage protagonist who is trying to figure out her identity; this time the hook is that Jordan i
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Jun 16, 2011
Barky
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 09, 2011
Mallorie
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I would recommend the book I am reading, The Queen of Everything by Deb Caletti, to a friend because if you get embarrassed with your parents you could easily relate to this book. One example that kids can relate to is “People ask me all the time what having Vince MacKenzie for a father was like. What they mean is: Was he always crazy? Did he walk around the kitchen with an ice pick in the pocket of his flannel bathrobe every morning as he poured himself a cup of coffee,” (1). This is embarrassi
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Jun 11, 2011
Krista
rated it:
What a fantastic tale Deb Caletti writes about Jordan and her family and friends. Jordan is a remarkable young woman with sass and self-confidence. The characters are convincing and likeable. This extremely well written book is very sensitive, humorous, endearing and entertaining! It holds your interest throughout. It was not a book that I could put down once I started it and I read it into the night. When I completed it, I read it again as I didn't want it to end! I could vividly picture the ch
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Sep 28, 2011
Amber
rated it:
Sometimes it's just one little thing an author does that can compound and really taint a book for me (like the one Sarah Dressen book I read that constantly used the word "though")... That in mind, for whatever reason, I could not shake the feeling like the author had to put every fun/amusing/interesting insight she has ever had into this book. E.g., about how when men cook a meal they need people to tell them how great it was, but not so for a woman. These "insights" were ev
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Jul 11, 2010
Vivian
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Jordan was a character that, while I could not empathize with her situation, that I definitely felt I could sympathize with. Her voice was real, poignant, and also extremely funny. Every character was extremely well developed. Most importantly, nothing that Jordan did- even her most stupid decisions- made me dislike her. Caletti did a great job of showing us her emotional struggle and desperation.
Filled with great advice along the way and a satisfying resolution, this book is touching, ser More...
Filled with great advice along the way and a satisfying resolution, this book is touching, ser More...
Jul 07, 2009
Kristin
rated it:
As my first Deb Caletti book, The Queen of Everything got me hooked on her writing. I like how Deb Caletti slowly reveled details to the reader throughout the story - this way you weren't overwhelmed, could really absorb everything, and couldn't put the book down. A few eccentric characters and Jordan's narrative style provide entertainment in this novel, which is good because otherwise teens could've gotten frightened away by the seriousness of murder, mental health, and family drama. The first
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Oct 27, 2010
Gleniz
rated it:
What I liked most about this book is the main character, Jordan. Her decisions and her mistakes make her real. It's one of the books that I think is underrated (in the Philippines; I don't know with the other countries). It's not the most popular book like Twilight or Gossip Girl, but that's the thing that I loved about this book. I would want to read this again mainly because of Big Mama's words of wisdom. As of now, I'm consumed with my new books that are waiting to be opened and read. But I p
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Nov 20, 2011
Sana
rated it:
There is just something about Deb Caletti's novels that reel me in every time i pick them up. There is something in the words and the characters that makes you feel one with the novel and just connect. Just as i adore Sarah Dessen, i just about love Deb Caletti.
The Queen of Everything was definitely different from what i had read before. Jordan has to live with the fact that her father is going crazy when he starts having an affair with a married woman. She has her own problems as well More...
The Queen of Everything was definitely different from what i had read before. Jordan has to live with the fact that her father is going crazy when he starts having an affair with a married woman. She has her own problems as well More...
Apr 17, 2009
Lisbeth
rated it:
IRB #7 I give this book three stars because personally it wasn't intriguing. I feel that the main character (Jordan) was somewhat hiding who she truly was. She liked her neighbor , but because he was considered a "freak" she worried what her best friend might think. Instead, she plays along with Kale, a guy she wanted nothing to do with, but didn't know what to do about it. I really thought this book was going to be more interesting and I wasn't going to be able to put my book down, I
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Apr 28, 2010
Deceree
rated it:
Queen of Everything moved me. Caletti has brought her character to reality. Jordan's voice is a mirror to anyone else that this thing happens maybe not to us but other people. Some may see it like a normal sarcastic situation that happens badly to a person but what we don't see are the things that lie beneath. The hurtful feeling that Jordan had felt as a teen is so real. Real. The stubborn stuffs she'd done so real that you'd want to get involved. A good read, worth spending the day.
Jun 04, 2010
..Fifi...
rated it:
This book had a great starting...it was very discriptive...but sometimes alittle too discriptive that she gets off point...I had to skim through some parts because they were so not important...also, the whole book was about build up of the ending which like the last chapter which kinda sucked...like she made it all lead up to a boring ending...the ending could have been much much better...all in all...the book was ok, not great...I give it a 2.5 or so...
Jun 02, 2011
Danielle
rated it:
This is the second Deb Caletti book I have read and while it was better than the first, I still don't like her writing as much as Sarah Dessen's. I'm really trying to like Deb Caletti because I saw her in person and she was lovely, but I think I just compare her too much to Dessen. Overall, this book had an interesting plot and and the main character was pretty likeable. This is probably a good book to recommend to a young teen girl.
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Mar 02, 2009
Brigita
rated it:
My favourite part:
"Big Mama assures me that real love is deep and true and careful. And finding it is like a long, long walk on the beach. Where a lot of other things get put in your pocket - rocks ugly when dry, jagged parts of shells, all called treasures - before you find that whole, white sand dollar. That whole sand dollar that you trust has the five bony seagulls inside, but you'll never break it open to find out for sure.
"Big Mama assures me that real love is deep and true and careful. And finding it is like a long, long walk on the beach. Where a lot of other things get put in your pocket - rocks ugly when dry, jagged parts of shells, all called treasures - before you find that whole, white sand dollar. That whole sand dollar that you trust has the five bony seagulls inside, but you'll never break it open to find out for sure.
Jan 13, 2009
Saleena
rated it:
It starts off with some prissy girl who thinks she's in control of everything, which I made me groan internally in the beginning. But eventually, when her father starts sleeping with a married woman, everything spins out of control, and it ends violently and disturbingly. It was very well written and I like how the main character finally gained some insight.
Nov 26, 2011
Jennifer
rated it:
What do you do when normal lets you down? Caletti - never shy about dealing with issues - turns her sharp eye for characterization toward the story of a girl whose life becomes the stuff of the six o'clock news. As always, reading Caletti is likely binging on Ben & Jerry's after having gone fat-free for months - rich, sumptious, and eye-rollingly good.
Jul 07, 2009
Rtyndall40
rated it:
I was interested in another writer's voice. I thought Caletti tried to cram too much into a 15-year-old's voice. Some of the characters, like Big Mama, were interesting but there wasn't much of them. I liked the book; I just wanted less hyperbolic imagery for every little detail.
Apr 14, 2011
Jen
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I loved this book! The building of suspense, the genuine engaging narrative voice, the characters who each quickly became real with deft strokes of detail. Masterful, beautiful, and the kind of book that inspires me to get back to my own writing. Thank you, Deb Caletti!
Aug 18, 2010
Danae
rated it:
this book made me kinda mad. he dad just really ticked me off, i mean her was really dumb. How could you just think about yourself, you do have a daughter you know? i felt so sorry for her.Though i didnt like this book much, i was still touched at the end of the story.
Apr 03, 2009
Catherine
rated it:
This was interesting. Jordan and her father both hooking up with dangerous people. The scandal of the murder. In spite of all that emotion and drama, the tone of this book was rather understated and reflective and somewhat chilly.
Jun 15, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
It's not so much the character I enjoyed but Deb Caletti's writing and plot. I didn't really get "into" the book until around quarter way in. I feel like Caletti does add something to a teen read other authors can't provide. Though at the same time I feel lost in her characters. They are either flat or "annoyingly eccentric" (if that's even possible? But Kale shooting rabbits and having blood fly everywhere? Um, that scene was just sick) I felt the same way about this book as
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Dec 29, 2010
Kricket
rated it:
jordan mckenzie likes living with her father, a gentle optometrist, until he begins a relationship with a married woman. meanwhile, jordan is beginning her own rocky relationship with the class hunk/jerk, mostly to get out of the house. but she can't stop thinking about her friend melissa's older brother jackson, the island weirdo who plays the bagpipes. and her dad is acting weirder and weirder...
i believe this is caletti's debut, and it's a bit more sensational than her others. like More...
i believe this is caletti's debut, and it's a bit more sensational than her others. like More...
Jul 30, 2011
Michelle
rated it:
I honestly really didn't like this book, and it was hard for me to get through (sorry). I really only got into the last 50 pages or so. I was kind of disappointed with this one.
Apr 24, 2009
Katie
rated it:
One of the best books I've read in my adult life. So not chick lit...awesome prose. Left me thinking, left me wishing it was 2x's as long. Highly, highly reccommend.
