Goodreads Mobile | see what your friends are reading

Mar 26, 2009

Allison rated it:

Katcher, Brian. Playing With Matches, 304 pgs. Random House Children’s Books.; Language~PG-13, Sexual Content~PG-13; Violence~G;

Leon dreams of one day hooking up with the beautiful Amy Green. Unfortunately, Leon is your typical seventeen year old complete with obnoxious cohorts and girls who are friends . . . but not girlfriends. More often than not he is concentrating on her in chemistry instead of the teacher. Then he is paired with Melody for their history project and things s More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 29, 2008

Heather rated it:

Time to be honest here. I only read this book as a favor to a friend who gave me a stack of books to read. I picked this one to read first because it was the one I wanted to read the least. The cover did nothing for me and I dreaded starting it. Imagine my surprise to discover I couldn't put it down.

Leon is a self-professed loser. He was bullied in middle school and has gotten throgh high school by essentially being invisable. But when he has to do a project with the school "fre More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Oct 01, 2008

Sara rated it:

I enjoyed this somewhat cringe-worthy novel of teen romance, angst and whatnot. Leon is a junior in high school and can't seem to get any girls--especially his dream girl, Amy. He's pining away at his locker when he suddenly finds himself sharing locker space as well as project time with Melody, a scarred, childhood burn victim who is even more of an outcast than he is. Strange and wonderful things start to happen. He develops friendly--maybe even more than friendly--feelings for Melody, and More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Oct 05, 2009

Miriam rated it:

Leon Sanders wants to date dream girl Amy Green, but he would settle for dating just about anybody. He has gone through the school systems with a relatively low place on the social food chain, experiencing somewhat decent luck with friends and zero luck with girls.
One day Leon finds that his new locker neighbor is Melody Hennon, the ultimate outcast. A victim on a childhood burn incident, Melody is severely disfigured.

“The flames had eaten away most of Melody’s face and left More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 20, 2008

Jennifer rated it:

Read for professional review.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 19, 2008

Kimberly rated it:

First, a disclaimer: I only read this book because a) our school librarian begged me to, and b) I had to stay after school with some students who were testing and had absolutely nothing else to do.

I'll start with the positives. (Well, the positive. There is only one.) It was a very quick read. I finished it in about an hour.

Now for the negatives. It's a horribly cliched story about an awkward high school boy who falls for an ugly outcast, thereby entagling himself in a b More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 03, 2011

Thomas rated it:

I read this book two years ago - originally I had given it four stars, but now I'm giving it 3.5 and rounding it down to three. I felt like the main character possessed qualities (or a lack of qualities) that made him more relatable to the average teenage male. This didn't make me like him any less, though.

Also, the ending annoyed me. It sort of made the entire book pointless, at least plot-wise. If the author had the intention of utilizing this work as a wake-up call to all the indi More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Mar 29, 2009

Patricia rated it:

A good story about getting what you think you wanted, only to find out that maybe you made the wrong choice after all.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 01, 2009

Liza rated it:

I absolutely adored this book. The story of a boy who falls in love with a disfigured girl was touching, emotional, memorable.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 16, 2009

Hope rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like

Sep 05, 2011

Alyssa rated it:

At first, I really loved Leon. He was an odd teenager, who was lucky enough to have the friends he did. He reached out to Melody despite how she looked and what everyone else thought but he still couldn't help but wonder what people would think of them together. No, that's not really cool but it's true and it's honest. Then along came Amy (boo-hiss! But what's a book without an antagonist, right?) and Leon gave up everything for her. Melody begged for Leon to come back but Leon had to go with th More...

0 comments like

Feb 08, 2011

Nurshafiqa rated it:

mr. brian katcher you are officially one of my favorite authors!

it was oh-so-funny. i laughed (quite loudly, i must add) and grinned and smiled a lot throughout the book.

but it was also kind of.. painful. a lot of truths were said in this book. between looks and personality, looks almost always won. that realization was like a rude awakening for me. how many times did we bear with the hot guy/girl we've crushed on forever even if they are boring you out of your minds and you More...

0 comments like

Jul 07, 2010

Mrs. Foley rated it:

Desperate to improve his standing with the girls at Zummer High, Leon Sanders--a junior--seems to be making headway with his long-time crush Amy Green, but when he starts to get to know a social pariah named Melody Sanders, Leon begins to see beyond Melody's disfigurement. - from library catalog record

Gateway nominee for 2010-2011 (Missouri author too!)

Review from School Library Journal:
Leon Sanders, 17, a self-described geek, craves the attention of perfection-pers More...

0 comments like

Jun 16, 2010

Lisa rated it:

Playing with Matches is a young man's romantic coming of age story. Leon is a junior in high school hoping for his first serious girlfriend and a one way ticket out of the geekdom he feels mired in. Leon grapples with dating someone with whom he really connects with on many levels but doesn't find very attractive or dating someone really beautiful but flawed and selfish. Leon suffers from his own esteem problems which further complicate matters. Leon's romantic interests are diametric opposi More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 20, 2010

Peter rated it:

i thought that this was a book that everyone can connect to no matter who they are. it was about a guy named leon sanders who meets a girl named melody, also known as the ugliest person in school. when he gets to know her, he actually begins to like her a relationship grows. he then dumps her for the hottest chick in school, amy. however, he realizes that even though he thinks amy is good looking, he sees that melody was more important to him.
my favorite part of this book was when leon d More...

0 comments like

Nov 07, 2009

Jeff rated it:

This book is everything I love about Young Adult novels. There are realistic characters like Leon (a nerdy loser) and Melody (an outcast, because she is severely scarred from burns) who are not over elaborate metaphors or uninteresting characters seen in adult fiction. The book reminds me of movies like American Pie, Sex Drive, and others, but Playing With Matches delivers a full-fledged plot instead of running gags that make you want to gag in a mostly good way. The ending will leave you sat More...

0 comments like

Oct 21, 2009

Sarah rated it:

How important is physical beauty in human relationships, and why? Young adult books and movies often suggest that inner beauty is far more valuable and that the smart hero or heroine will win out, despite not being on the Homecoming court. But the characters in those books - our their adult counterparts - are rarely repulsive, or even ugly.

Playing With Matches is different. The male narrator is the smart slightly nerdy type, probably average looking, certainly self-deprecating. But More...

0 comments like

Oct 23, 2011

Wisteriouswoman rated it:

At first I found the book interesting. I liked the main premise that it is important to look beyond appearances to find a true friend that can appreciate who you are as a person on the inside too. But then the main character still went for the girl who he had a crush on all along. I got so I didn't like him very much and I liked his choice of friends even less. I skipped to the end and was glad I didn't read the whole thing. The girl with the burn scars wasn't all that realistic. It is hard to More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 09, 2010

Courtney rated it:

A refreshing take on the traditional coming-of-age/first romance story. Leon is a guy who deems himself one of the most unpopular kids in school. Not as unpopular, however, as a few others, including a girl named Melody, who has burn scars all over her face due to an early childhood accident. One day, Leon makes a joke and Melody laughs. A friendship begins. Eventually, Leon must admit to himself and everyone else that he actually is more than friends with Melody, even if it might mean losing an More...

0 comments like

Mar 23, 2011

Lydia rated it:

Katcher's novel is about a rather "pity-poor-me" high school student called Leon. After spring break, his locker ends up being next to Melody's -- a girl who has a disfigured face. Yet, Leon lusts after the ever perfect Amy. When he opts to work with Melody, rather than a guy he can't stand, he finds a friendship that not only transcends Melody's deformity, but also enhances his self-esteem. That is, until the "perfect" Amy decides to pay him attention.

Katcher's nov More...

0 comments like

May 13, 2010

Sarah rated it:

I had a hard time getting into and then staying with this book. While I was interested in the premise, and found the end to be realistic and hopeful, I didn't like Leon at all. What little he learned and the infinitesimal amount he grew by the end was nowhere near enough for me. Though I normally prefer my characters flawed, he had no redeeming characteristics that weren't lost by the middle. I hated that the story was told from his POV because that meant I was in his head much longer than prefe More...

0 comments like

May 16, 2011

Brian rated it:

Playing with Matches is what I would describe as an unconventional love story. Leon is your typical high school dork who can't get a girlfriend. He befriends Melody, who is a girl who had severe facial damage. She's someone who no one has bothered to talk to or give a chance to. But he has his eyes on the beautiful Amy, who wouldnt' give him a chance. Is it worth throwing away a deep friendship with Melody for a chance with the beautiful Amy? This book was a powerful read, filled with a ca More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 09, 2010

Erin Ashley rated it:

Playing with Matches is a story that makes you feel for the underdogs and for the people who just don't seem able to get a break from it all. I really felt for Melody and her struggle in the world to not be looked upon as a freak, someone who just wants to have someone to call a friend and who needs a shoulder to lean on once in a while. That made me feel for Leon also who is an outcast at best and at worst a terrible person who knows he has done a terrible thing. I despise Amy with a passion se More...

0 comments like

Jun 23, 2011

Terry rated it:

Guys like the hot chick. Beauty is only skin deep. These two truisms, and the tension between them, are the fondation of Katcher's funny coming-of-age story. There's a lot to like in this book: plenty of humor, believably dorky protagonist, an interesting twist on teen-aged love/lust. Leon fits the social-misfit roll well (he likes "Monty Python," "Black Adder," and t-shirts with odd sayings) making his journey from awkward-with-girls to caught-in-a-love-triangle believable. More...

0 comments like

May 04, 2010

S.t.raslawski rated it:

Summary:
Leon believes that looks on a girl are everything, until he meets Melody, a girl who makes him think differently.

Passage:
page 88

"So are you ready to get back, Melody?"
"In a minute." She stood there staring at THe Twilight Zone: Season One, which I'd gotten out of the half-price bin. If you only looked at her eyes, you'd think she was holding a diamond bracelet. A single tear trickled over her shortened nose.
"Hey, More...

3 comments like

Dec 30, 2009

Sarah-Greenbeanteenqueen rated it:

I read this one because it was on the Gateway premlinary nominee list and I'm so glad it was. I'm not sure if I would have come across it otherwise. I wasn't sure what to expect-I'll admit when I first saw it on the list, I thought "oh, it's just on there because it's a Missouri author." But I was blown away by this book.

Brian Katcher packed so much emotion into this story-I found myself tearing up at parts and honestly, I don't cry that much in books. The characters are a More...

0 comments like

Apr 01, 2009

Barbara rated it:

Leon Sanders wants a girlfriend desperately but he has low expectations about his prospects. He also has low self esteem and when he makes Melody Hennon smile, he overcomes his squeamishness about her looks and becomes friends with her. Melody was severely disfigured in a fire when she was four years old. As their friendship grows, like any teenage boy Leon begins to notice her nicer physical attributes and begins to have romantic feelings for her, but he cannot overcome his fear of what others More...

0 comments like

Mar 22, 2011

Kristan rated it:

There were some moments during which I actually rolled my eyes. At the book. There were also moments that I laughed out loud, in public. That's pretty much the gist of Leon's POV; Playing With Matches is well written enough that I groaned when I was supposed to and laughed when I was supposed to. So, you know, plus. However, yes, the story errs on the trite side. And the weak explanation Amy gives for being interested in Leon does not really justify their shoddy relationship. But, considering ho More...

0 comments like

Oct 26, 2009

Dennis rated it:

Leon is a living train wreck about to happen. You can see it coming, you can't do anything about it, yet you have to watch. Even he sees it coming most of the time, but can't keep from making all the wrong choices. Short, nerdy, never had a date Leon meets and falls for a true soulmate, who has always been shunned because of her disfigured face. Then can't bring himself to resist the unexpected advances of the school dream girl. I couldn't stop cringing, and couldn't stop reading.

0 comments like

May 02, 2009

Julie rated it:

Reading this book was like watching a train wreck about to happen. I could see Leon's mistakes coming a mile away and I wanted to punch him in the face for being so obtuse. The traditional boy doesn't know what he has till it's gone story was made refreshing for me because it was told through the Leon's eyes. His learning process and the fact that everything doesn't end perfectly is what made this a book worth reading.

0 comments like

reviews