So Yesterday

published	September 8th 2005 by Razorbill
first published	2004
binding	Paperback
isbn	1595140328 (isbn13: 9781595140326)
pages	240
description	Ever wonder who was the first kid to keep a wallet on a big chunky chain, or wear way-too-big-pants on purpose? What about the mythical first guy who ...more [close] Ever wonder who was the first kid to keep a wallet on a big chunky chain, or wear way-too-big-pants on purpose? What about the mythical first guy who wore his baseball cap backwards? These are the Innovators, the people on the very cusp of cool. Seventeen-year-old Hunter Braque's job is finding them for the retail market. But when a big-money client disappears, Hunter must use all his cool-hunting talents to find her.Along the way he's drawn into a web of brand-name intrigue—a missing cargo of the coolest shoes he's ever seen, ads for products that don't exist, and a shadowy group dedicated to the downfall of consumerism as we know it. [close]
date added	12-30-06 edit book

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Alexis rated it:

06/29/08

bookshelves: teen-fiction

Read in June, 2008

recommends it for: readers of smart teen fiction, Westerfeld fans

In So Yesterday there's a different world existing alongside our own. It's a world of cool, determined by the Innovators, spread by the Trendsetters (the "cool hunters"), picked up on by the Early Adopters, played out by the Consumers and clung to with a vengeance by the Laggards.

Hunter Braque is a Trendsetter. He searches for trends, passes them on to be produced, and keeps the ball rolling. Then he spots Jen, an Innovator, and from there his conception of the Cool Pyrami...more In So Yesterday there's a different world existing alongside our own. It's a world of cool, determined by the Innovators, spread by the Trendsetters (the "cool hunters"), picked up on by the Early Adopters, played out by the Consumers and clung to with a vengeance by the Laggards.

Hunter Braque is a Trendsetter. He searches for trends, passes them on to be produced, and keeps the ball rolling. Then he spots Jen, an Innovator, and from there his conception of the Cool Pyramid is thrown for a loop. There's a shoe - a really f-n cool shoe, a kidnapping, an anti-client, and a whole bunch of really pissed off rich kids. Jen's thirst for adventure pulls Hunter along, forcing him to confront what he already knows about the reality of the cool pyramid - that there's something off about it, and a new player is stepping in.

In the reality of the novel, Scott Westerfeld would be an Innovator. It's difficult to explain his books, because they always have so many complex layers running matrix-like through them. I appreciate it when authors have clearly done a lot of research for their novels, and I love it when they seamlessly incorporate all that work in a way that enhances the story and builds it into something more. Kelley Armstrong is another author who has obviously done her research and created a wonderful series as a result. Michael Crichton also falls into this category, but his novels are more of a regurgitation of facts than a carefully structured plot, and the tone is more "look how smart I am" and less "I'm trying to write a smart novel you will enjoy." (Not that I haven't enjoyed Crichton novels in the past. I have, but now that I'm older I can see that they come across as pretentious.)

Scott Westerfeld is one of the most innovative, original writers of teen fiction working right now. His books are smart, fast-paced, exciting and fun. Like Peeps included tons of information about parasites to provide a comparison to the vampire parasite of the story, So Yesterday contains many facts about inventions and innovations in a way that helps push the story along. Hunter is a likable main character and a good narrator, the supporting cast is amusing, and the "Innovator facts" are informative and relevant.

I've read most of Westerfeld's books and liked them all, but I can't shake the feeling that's he's not really sticking the landings. By that I mean I'm not always crazy about the way his books end. There's nothing wrong with the endings, per se. All the plot threads get tied up neatly, but I feel like a couple of them get frayed first. I can't really describe it, as it's more of a general feeling, but it's the reason I give his books 4 stars instead of 5. Regardless, I highly recommend him as an author, and So Yesterday is a quick, smart read for an older teen or twenty-something. ...less

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Gopakumar rated it:

07/22/08

Read in January, 2007

"…the first rule of consumerism: Never give us what we really want. Cut the dream into pieces and scatter them like ashes. Dole out empty promises. Package our aspirations and sell them to us, cheaply made enough to fall apart."

"At the top of the pyramid there are Innovators. The first kid to keep her wallet on a big chunky chain. The first to wear way-too-big pants on purpose. To wash jeans in acid, stick a safety pin in something, or wear a hooded sweatshirt inside a leath...more "…the first rule of consumerism: Never give us what we really want. Cut the dream into pieces and scatter them like ashes. Dole out empty promises. Package our aspirations and sell them to us, cheaply made enough to fall apart."

"At the top of the pyramid there are Innovators. The first kid to keep her wallet on a big chunky chain. The first to wear way-too-big pants on purpose. To wash jeans in acid, stick a safety pin in something, or wear a hooded sweatshirt inside a leather jacket. The mythical first guy who wore his baseball cap backward.

When you meet them, most Innovators don’t look that cool, not in the sense of fashionable, anyway. There’s always something off about them. Like they’re uncomfortable with the world. Most Innovators are actually Logo Exiles, trying to get by with the twelve pieces of clothing that are never in or out of style.

Except, like Jen’s laces, there’s always one thing that stands out on an Innovator. Something new.

Next level down the pyramid are the Trendsetters.

The Trendsetter’s goal is to be the second person in the world to catch the latest disease. They watch carefully for innovations, always ready to jump on board. But more importantly, other people watch them. Unlike the Innovators, they are cool, so when they pick up an innovation, it becomes cool. A trendsetter’s most important job is gatekeeper, the filter that separates out real Innovators from those crazy people wearing garbage bags. (Although I’ve heard that in the 1980’s, there were some Trendsetters who actually started wearing garbage bags. No comment.)

Below them are the Early Adopters.

Adopters always have the latest phone, the latest music player plugged into their ear, and they’re the guys who download the trailer a year before the movie comes out. (As they grow older, Early Adopters’ closets fill up with dinosaur media: Betamax videos, laser discs, eight-track tapes.) They test and tweak the trend, softening the edges. And one vital difference from Trendsetters: Early Adopters saw their stuff in magazine first, not on the street.

Further down we have the Consumers. The people who have to see a product on TV, placed in two movies, fifteen magazine ads, and on a giant rack in the mall before saying, “Hey, that’s pretty cool.”

At which point it’s not.

Last are the Laggards. I kind of like them. Proud in their mullets and feathered-back hair, they resist all change, or at least all change since they got out of high school. And once every ten years they suffer the uncomfortable realization that their brown leather jackets with big lapels have become, briefly, cool.

But they bravely tuck in their Kiss T-shirts and soldier on."...less

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