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12th out of 18 books
—
8 voters
Golden (Golden #1)
When Lissy James moves from California to Oklahoma, she finds herself in the middle of a teenage nightmare: a social scene to rival a Hollywood movie. And if understanding the hierarchy of the Goldens vs. the Nons isn’t hard enough, Lissy’s ever growing Aura Vision is getting harder and harder to hide, and if she’s not careful, she’s going to become a Non faster than you c...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
August 31st 2011
by Delacorte Books for Young Readers
(first published April 21st 2006)
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I'll admit I nearly skipped the beginning chapter, with the confusing dream and Lissy riding in the car. Ho-hum, I thought, yet another girl moving to a new town with worries about a new school. But Lissy's ability to see auras made me keep reading. As I kept going, Lissy grew on me. I also liked seeing the different personalities of the Goldens emerge.
Soon I started laughing and snickering. (In the appropriate places of course.) I loved lines like, "With my luck, she'd probably thought of a bra...more
Soon I started laughing and snickering. (In the appropriate places of course.) I loved lines like, "With my luck, she'd probably thought of a bra...more
This book started off slow and a bit juvenile but as it went on, I found that I was starting to like Lissy and really liked all her snarkiness. I thought she was hilarious. Then about halfway there was suddenly a story and a mystery to solve and I was really enjoying it. I read that Jennifer Lynn Barnes wrote this book when she was 19 and, if that's the case, that would definitely explain some of the juvenile-ishness (like my word there) of the book. One of the best parts of the story was that,...more
Lissy James comes from a long line of ladies who possess the Sight, a supernatural sense or ability of some kind. She can see people's auras, with different shades indicating different personalities - and good or bad intentions. The women in her family - especially her younger sister Lexie, who has yet to acquire a Sight of her own - think she should be proud of her Aura Vision and hone her skill. Lissy would rather not broadcast her gift to her classmates.
Before her family moved, Lissy told he...more
Before her family moved, Lissy told he...more
Three words: I LOVE TOBY. She is my idol. I admire her strong-willed, sarcastic-snapping, down-to-earth self. The second book in The Squad, for me, is better than the first. I loved all the action and how Barnes made it totally unpredictable. And this is coming from a spy junkie that can usually anticipate what happens next. It was just so capricious and witty at the same time. I loved it. It's cheerleading and espionage put together.
Killer Spirit never got boring. Barnes did a fantastic job kee...more
When Lissy and Lexie’s family is forced to leave California for a small town in Oklahoma, Lissy is determined to act normal and be accepted. That is cue to suppress her mysterious but often just inconvenient Seer ability to see people’s auras: different colors for different personalities. Yeah, an ingredient for “freak,” right?
At Emory High, the cliques are terrible. You are either a Golden—the popular and the gorgeous—or you are a Non. It doesn’t help that the triumvirate of the Golden girls se...more
At Emory High, the cliques are terrible. You are either a Golden—the popular and the gorgeous—or you are a Non. It doesn’t help that the triumvirate of the Golden girls se...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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This was surprisingly entertaining. Lissy and her family have just relocated to Oklahoma, and at Lissy's new high school, you are either a "Golden," part of the popular crowd, or a "Non," someone with no social status. All of the women in Lissy's family have some type of Sight, and Lissy herself is gifted with "aura vision," the ability to see and understand auras. When she begins her sophomore year at a new high school, her powers start to grow, distracting her and making it difficult for her t...more
I don't know what it is about Jenna Lamia's voice, but she can suck me into any book she reads. Golden is a pretty good story, but when narrated by Lamia I found it addicting.
It takes place in Oklahoma where Felicity and her family find themselves after moving from California. Felicity finds out quickly that this town and her high school are very different that what she thinks it will be like. First, there is a caste system of sorts within the high school. Will she be a Golden or be relegated t...more
It takes place in Oklahoma where Felicity and her family find themselves after moving from California. Felicity finds out quickly that this town and her high school are very different that what she thinks it will be like. First, there is a caste system of sorts within the high school. Will she be a Golden or be relegated t...more
Okay, so I had two main problems with this book.
1) It was to short: there were not enough pages in this book to let a reader truly understand the plot.
2) The characters: All the characters bugged me, some of them were all the same and the others were just not put in properly, they did not fit.
I loved the storyline to this novel, it was different, well thought out, just not put together properly, some of the descriptions did not make sense and i didn’t fully understand what had happened by the en...more
1) It was to short: there were not enough pages in this book to let a reader truly understand the plot.
2) The characters: All the characters bugged me, some of them were all the same and the others were just not put in properly, they did not fit.
I loved the storyline to this novel, it was different, well thought out, just not put together properly, some of the descriptions did not make sense and i didn’t fully understand what had happened by the en...more
I actually surprised myself by liking this book. I thought it was going to be like a supernatural version of Gossip Girl or something and it kind of was but I still enjoyed it.
When Lissy James moves from California to Oklahoma, she finds herself in the middle of a teenage nightmare: a social scene to rival a Hollywood movie. And as if understanding the hierarchy of the Goldens VS Nons Isn't hard enough, Lissy's ever-growing Aura Vision is getting harder and harder to hide. If she's not careful,...more
When Lissy James moves from California to Oklahoma, she finds herself in the middle of a teenage nightmare: a social scene to rival a Hollywood movie. And as if understanding the hierarchy of the Goldens VS Nons Isn't hard enough, Lissy's ever-growing Aura Vision is getting harder and harder to hide. If she's not careful,...more
The beginning is slow, but once you get into it, Golden is a novel that is hard to put down. There were revelations that actually surprised me once the mystery started to unravel. Because while this is very much your typical unpopular-girl-trying-to-navigate-her-way-through-high-school sort of book, it also has a rather intriguing mystery attached to it. I was definitely more interested in this than Lissy's analyses about how much of a freak she is, so it's a good thing that the mystery takes ov...more
Featuring a teenager in Oklahoma with some special abilities, this book had some nice, if not always original, ideas coupled with an interesting tone. I particularly liked the strings and what could be done with them. However, the book failed to fully develop the ideas and in so doing failed to fully utilise what it had. At times, it felt like it was trying to be too much-a modern witches novel, a look at family, another broad dig at social structure in schools and a teen thriller with a scary g...more
A supernatural sophomore moves from CA to OK with her supernatural mom and seemingly normal sister and father. The aura-seer is immediately caught up in the tangled alliances of the town's citizens, both adult and teen. The popular crowd is oddly well defined in the town's school, a fact which is connected to the book's title.
The action of this novel moved quickly, which I liked. The characters were easy to access and interesting. The end leaves plenty of room for follow-up. I'm looking forward...more
The action of this novel moved quickly, which I liked. The characters were easy to access and interesting. The end leaves plenty of room for follow-up. I'm looking forward...more
The women in Lissy's family have always had some kind of extra sensory powers. Lissy sees people's auras. When her family moves from California to Oklahoma Lissy finds herself at odds with the popular clique at school called the "Goldens". She begins to discover there is something more evil walking the halls of the high school than just the popular set. Can she figure things out before it's too late? If you liked Barnes' second book Tattoo, you will enjoy this book which is actually the first bo...more
Jennica Munden
Modern Fantasy
Critical analysis: In this story, there is evil. There is magic. It’s the popular crowd versus the losers. But there is still some time for a hint of romance and plenty of growing up.
Opinions: It is interesting enough, but I just didn’t like it. If you are a teen still trying to make your way through high school, it might be a nice read. But just remember to be yourself, no matter how crazy things get.
Summary: Lissy James moves from California to Oklahoma and finds he...more
Modern Fantasy
Critical analysis: In this story, there is evil. There is magic. It’s the popular crowd versus the losers. But there is still some time for a hint of romance and plenty of growing up.
Opinions: It is interesting enough, but I just didn’t like it. If you are a teen still trying to make your way through high school, it might be a nice read. But just remember to be yourself, no matter how crazy things get.
Summary: Lissy James moves from California to Oklahoma and finds he...more
Review Posted on Reading Lark 12/13/11: http://readinglark.blogspot.com/2011/...
I heard Jennifer Lynn Barnes speak at the Smart Chicks tour stop in Seattle earlier this year. I was really intrigued by her background as a writer (she started publishing works in her teens) and her life experiences. One doesn't often hear of someone who has been both a competitive cheerleader and a primate researcher. She is such an interesting person. I have her wolf series to read, but I wanted a taste of her wri...more
I heard Jennifer Lynn Barnes speak at the Smart Chicks tour stop in Seattle earlier this year. I was really intrigued by her background as a writer (she started publishing works in her teens) and her life experiences. One doesn't often hear of someone who has been both a competitive cheerleader and a primate researcher. She is such an interesting person. I have her wolf series to read, but I wanted a taste of her wri...more
Oct 31, 2011
Jackson Radish
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
teen,
paranormal
I actually really loved this book. I feel like I should think it was cheesy, but I was so drawn in by the whole storyline that I pretty much found excuses to drive around so I could finish it (I listened to the audiobook)
The book was a great mix of teen girl angst--girl has to move from her home in California to a small town in Oklahoma and deals with some intense cliquey popular girls (the "Goldens") try to make her life hell while she struggles to make new friends, misses her old friends (incl...more
The book was a great mix of teen girl angst--girl has to move from her home in California to a small town in Oklahoma and deals with some intense cliquey popular girls (the "Goldens") try to make her life hell while she struggles to make new friends, misses her old friends (incl...more
When Lissy James or as she would rather prefer, felicity, moves unwillingly from hotshot California to what she believes to be hillbilly Oklahoma, she expects to be the talk of the school at Emory High. I mean after all she is from California and this is just nowhere Oklahoma, right? Apparently not. See at Emory High there are two kinds of people, those who matter, and those who don't. A.K.A the "Golden's" and the "Non- Golden's", or the
One of the main reasons i liked this book is because i c...more
One of the main reasons i liked this book is because i c...more
Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com
Jennifer Lynn Barnes wrote GOLDEN when she was only nineteen, but you can't tell that by reading this book. It doesn't seem like a teenager wrote it (not that all teenagers are bad writers, but most think they're way better than they actually are), but an experienced author. In the novel, Lissy James' family moves to California from Oklahoma. Big deal. Lots of people move. Lissy's move, however, is a little different.
There are two major dramas she...more
Jennifer Lynn Barnes wrote GOLDEN when she was only nineteen, but you can't tell that by reading this book. It doesn't seem like a teenager wrote it (not that all teenagers are bad writers, but most think they're way better than they actually are), but an experienced author. In the novel, Lissy James' family moves to California from Oklahoma. Big deal. Lots of people move. Lissy's move, however, is a little different.
There are two major dramas she...more
What better setting than high school to explore the true nature of evil?
Lissy James is the new kid in school. A recent transplant from California, she dosen't understand the odd social structure of her new high school where popular kids are Goldens and those less fortunate are known simply as Nons.
To complicate Lissy's life, she's been blessed (or cursed?) by The Sight. Every female in her family line has a version of The Sight and Lissy can see a halo of color around every individual. These aur...more
Lissy James is the new kid in school. A recent transplant from California, she dosen't understand the odd social structure of her new high school where popular kids are Goldens and those less fortunate are known simply as Nons.
To complicate Lissy's life, she's been blessed (or cursed?) by The Sight. Every female in her family line has a version of The Sight and Lissy can see a halo of color around every individual. These aur...more
Move over Mean Girls there's a newer and better story in town! I just finished reading the book Golden by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. This book was really fantastic. The story begins with a girl named Lissy James who's mother and grandmother have what they call the Sight. The Sight comes in different form and Lissy's happens to be that she can see people’s auras. She sees different shades of colors like purple, green, blue, and the worst and evilest of all an aura with no color at all. Lissy has to mo...more
Unoriginal plot, that's a lie. THE most unoriginal plot, only two possible twists to the end of this set up exist A)she ends up with boy at school #1/ mean girl #1's ex or B) she ends up with the one boy she met on the first day of school who told her to watch out for the mean girls.
So the plot was BLAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH. The supernatural concept started out tired, but the complexity of it made it so much better as the book went on.
Bad plot, unoriginal concept, so why did I enjoy it so much?
The an...more
So the plot was BLAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH. The supernatural concept started out tired, but the complexity of it made it so much better as the book went on.
Bad plot, unoriginal concept, so why did I enjoy it so much?
The an...more
An entertaining and suspenseful story. The writer takes high school cliques and social status to a new level. The main character Felicity is down to Earth and had me laughing out loud. Her sleuthing instict reminded me of Nancy Drew. The supernatural undertones of the novel created intriguing characters and situations. A must read if you like mysterious stories that take place in high school and involve the supernatural.
This was a pleasantly surprising listen. The main character was a pretty level-headed and interesting and complex female character, which I enjoyed. Except for the bit about Paul. Which seemed totally unnecessary. I thought the magic/powers were really cool, even though the "garn" was a bit weird. And I totally dug the villain and his storyline. This was just a nice alternative to the romance-y fantasy stuff out there for young adults.
You know, this book was a lot of fun! And the best thing was that when you start reading this story, even though Lissy is dealing with her Aura Vision pretty much right away, you get the sense that it's just a very simple tale with everyday-type characters. Yet, it's not. There's a mystery weaved into the story, depth, as well as a cast of teenagers and adults that inject this story with a wealth of intrigue.
I really loved this book. I admit, this wasn’t the first time I read the book but still it captivated me.
When Lissy James and her family moved from their home in California, she found out that things were done a little differently in the small town of Oklahoma. The students at her new school, Emory High, were separated into two categories, those that matter (Goldens) and those at don’t (Nons)… black and white, no room for any grey. I had to laugh at Lissy’s attempt to be normal and fit in, when...more
When Lissy James and her family moved from their home in California, she found out that things were done a little differently in the small town of Oklahoma. The students at her new school, Emory High, were separated into two categories, those that matter (Goldens) and those at don’t (Nons)… black and white, no room for any grey. I had to laugh at Lissy’s attempt to be normal and fit in, when...more
Ok well I really liked it - it was good. . .but not as good as Tattoo, Fate, or The Squad. It think this is one of Ms. Banes earlier books and it wasn't as attention grabing as the others. The bad guy was evil - a definite plus - and Dylan was great. All in all a very enjoyable read. . .though I would have to say that it is not her best work!
This is the first book I read by this author and I enjoyed it so much i found and read two more! these are really fast reads i'd get about two-thirds of the way in and go oh my gosh i'm almost done! Then i'd think that not enough had happened yet how is the author going to end it! Every time she did it supurbly and quickly and surprisingly.
I enjoyed the audio version of this book, which was superbly produced. The story itself was well-written, nicely paced, and the characterizations were excellent. I thought the language the author used was age appropriate and although it felt like a cliquey book, it wasn't at all too superficial. The main character, Lissy James, is not a striking beauty. She's pretty average, except for her power to see auras. When she and her family move to Oklahoma, she is dead set on hating it and rejecting he...more
I used to own this book and I reread it several times where it snuck off to I haven't the slightest. If you ever watched the tv Heroes and enjoyed it (at least the first season) I would say this book has a similar story line. My sister and I loved this book and I definitely want to buy another copy.
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Jennifer Lynn Barnes (who mostly goes by Jen) was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has been, in turn, a competitive cheerleader, a volleyball player, a dancer, a debutante, a primate cognition researcher, a teen model, a comic book geek, and a lemur aficionado. She's been writing for as long as she can remember, finished her first full book (which she now refers to as a "practice book" and which none...more
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Sep 11, 2010 09:10am