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Sep 02, 2011

papalbina rated it:

2.5

The book may be entertaining, but I was expecting a little bit more. I read a couple of teen books about girls falling for the wrong guys and screwing everything up and losing herself and finding herself again and parents with problems or not enough caring or... the list can be very long. Since the pattern in this book is not new, I expected it will surprise me with something else. It could have been the main character or the situation or how she gets out of it, but instead of tha More...

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Dec 29, 2011

Laura rated it:

Moving is difficult for any teen, and particularly difficult in your senior year. Making Charlotte's life worse is that she has a learning disability for math while her brother is a genius. Why Charlotte hasn't been given more tools with which to deal with her math issues is beyond me, but because of them she's not allowed to enter her new school's Gifted and Talented program. That the new school is a public school and not one of Seattle's many private schools is a huge disappointment to her More...

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Sep 10, 2011

Kvothem rated it:

This book was a little disappointing to me.
It grabbed me in the prologue when we meet Jessie and Kara, two ten year old girls who are best friends, hanging out in a tree playing a make-believe game on the grounds of their elementary school. They've been playing this game since the first grade and while they know it's time to stop playing make-believe games, they just have so much fun doing it that they can't stop. The game is over when a teachers aide comes for Jessie. Jessie's mother and More...

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Sep 07, 2011

Alan rated it:

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

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Jul 27, 2011

bjneary rated it:

I was not a fan of the lead character, Charlotte Locke. It is tough to move your senior year, but Charlotte seems to run headlong into the wrong best friend, pink haired Amanda, and her ex-boyfriend, Neal. Charlotte is jealous, mean and petty to her brainiac brother, James Henry. She goes from being a daughter who confided in her mother, to one who hides what she is doing and where she is going from her mother. Charlotte tells us she is afraid, yet she smokes, joins the debate team, does aci More...

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Jul 23, 2011

Lisa added it

in a sentence or so: Charlotte just moved with her genius little brother, her professor mom and her newly famous author father to the Pacific Northwest. now, all she has to do is prepare herself for college, make friends, and otherwise be a huge success during her senior year while being horribly socially unaware and with zero idea of what she's doing. hopeful cringing ensues.

Charlotte Locke is smart. she's clever. she's witty. she's sweet. and she's lost. after moving to a new school More...

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Jul 02, 2011

Brandy rated it:

Charlotte's family is going through a lot of changes: they've moved from sunny Florida to rainy Seattle, Washington, her dad has become a published author and is away traveling a lot, and though her brother Henry James is going to a fancy private school, Charlotte will be attending a public school for the first time. While Henry James is a genius, Charlotte struggles with dyscalculia - a math learning disability. When she begins settling into her new school, she sees Amanda Munger - the Girl More...

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May 28, 2011

cecilia rated it:

You might laugh at me, but when I read the prologue I had the irrational fear that we had another choker on our hands and it almost made me want to hide under the bed. I didn't want another hair-raising thriller, but I'll lay all worries to rest because Girl Wonder is not that sort of book! No creepy best friend, but it does have a girl who definitely has to look up the definition of "best friend" because she is failing that role miserably.

Charlotte reminded me a lot of me in More...

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May 07, 2011

A Canadian Girl rated it:

Girl Wonder by Alexa Martin is a fast-paced debut exploring themes like friendship, family, sex and drugs through the eyes of a girl trying to figure out who she is and her place in the world. With a father who is a famous author, a mother that is a professor and a genius younger brother, Charlotte feels like a misfit because she has dyscalculia. When her family moves and Charlotte is forced to go to public school because of her learning disability, Charlotte meets Amanda and is thrilled when t More...

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Apr 20, 2011

Melanie added it

Charlotte Locke is a small fish in a big pond. Her mother is a professor, her father a famous writer, and her little brother a genius. Charlotte is relatively average, her giftedness in language arts balanced out by a learning disability in math. When her family moves right before her senior year of high school, Charlotte is unable to gain admittance to the fancy private school where her brother will attend or the Gifted and Talented program at the local public school. Stuck in regular classes w More...

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Apr 11, 2011

Erin rated it:

17-year-old Charlotte recently moved with her family from Florida to Seattle. Not only is she dealing with leaving her old life, but she has to start a brand new school and try to make new friends. Her brother is a boy genius, attending a private school for accelerated students. Her parents have very high expectations for her, but unfortunately Charlotte never feels like she can live up to their standards.

A few weeks into school, Charlotte finds herself friends with one of the mo More...

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Mar 29, 2011

Chanelle rated it:

This was one of those books that took me a while to get into, but once I did, I was hooked. The beginning is a little slow and actually, the main character isn't all that interesting. She doesn't have any kind of hobby that would be interesting to read about, and she doesn't even have a great personality that might make up for it. Despite this, I still enjoyed the book and here's why.

Girl Wonder is honest. It doesn't shy away from difficult topics. And though Charlotte, the main charac More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 11, 2011

Karla rated it:

Summary:

The first day of Senior year finds Charlotte Locke at a new school with no friends, a math SAT score so low that she has to go to (gasp!) public school--regular classes, not the gifted and talented program she is used to--and quickly approaching application deadlines for colleges she has no hope of getting into anyway.

Enter Amanda Munger, resident Girl Wonder. With an electrifying mop of hot pink hair, the kind of book smarts that makes the AP class More...

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Apr 29, 2011

Chelsea rated it:

School can be tough for everybody, but for Charlotte Locke, it's even harder. She suffers from a learning disability that makes numbers and letters particularly difficult. Moving to a new school for her senior year doesn't help things either. Then she meets Amanda Munger and Neal Fitzpatrick, two beautiful people with reputations of their own and an interest in her. Amanda is quirky and fearless. Neal is sexy and funny. Charlotte is drawn to Amanda and Neal like a moth to a flame. And like the m More...

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Apr 27, 2011

chanceofbooks rated it:

Girl Wonder is the perfect gift for the 11-15 year-old girl in your life. Some YA fiction crosses over easily to the adult audience, and while I found Girl Wonder enjoyable in the same way that I enjoyed the Princess Diaries series, I think its target audience of teen girls will absolutely ADORE this book. It offers the familiar theme of awkward girl facing a new and hostile environment as she starts a new school in a new city, but Martin’s fresh voice puts a unique spin on this classic trope. R More...

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Apr 03, 2011

Cheree rated it:

Charlotte has always been encouraged to achieve her highest and in her family where her father's a professional writer and her mother's a university lecturer, it's important to score the highest grades and think about what she needs to get into the best colleges. Unfortunately life isn't that easy for her. Being diagnosed with a learning difficulty which hinders her maths level, she doesn't have the right grades to get accepted into the same gifted school that her brother is in, it doesn't even More...

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Apr 25, 2011

Linda rated it:

Girl Wonder is a quick engaging read full of honesty and relatable characters. It begins a bit slowly, with Charlotte moving across the country at the beginning of her senior year. Due to a learning disability, she's been bumped into regular classes instead of the gifted & talented ones. For some people this wouldn't be so bad, but Charlotte is constantly competing with her genius brother and trying to make her parents proud. When Amanda Munger (Girl Wonder) takes Charlotte under her wing, thing More...

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Mar 18, 2011

Chrissy rated it:

The first thing I noticed about GIRL WONDER, by Alexa Martin, was the fabulous cover. The colors are gorgeous -- vivid and bright against the stark black background. And while I do my best not to judge a book by its cover, this was definitely a cover that made me more curious about the pages inside.

Our wonderfully flawed heroine, Charlotte, has been forced to transfer to a new, strange school just in time for her senior year. (Tragic!). To make matters worse, she's been denied en More...

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May 27, 2011

Kate rated it:

I read this ARC via Netgalley.

Charlotte has felt inadequate in her family of Ivy League graduates, critically acclaimed authors, and professors ever since she found out she has a learning disability, and now that the family has moved to Seattle from Florida and she didn't get accepted into the private school with her brother, she must attend public school. But even at the public school, the gifted and talented program rejected her because of her math grades. Charlotte feels lost un More...

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Sep 03, 2011

Britta rated it:

This book is about so many different things, but mostly it is about life. It is the story of one girl's journey that is very entertaining to read and leaves you with a hopeful, optimistic outlook on life in general (without being cheesy).

Charlotte has always been in the gifted and talented programs at school. She excels at reading and writing... but she is diagnosed with a learning disability when it comes to numbers. When Charlotte switches to Shady Groves school, she is unable to e More...

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Aug 30, 2011

Sarah rated it:

Relocating across the country is never easy, and for Charlotte Locke, who just moved to Seattle to start a new school at the beginning of her senior year, things couldn’t get any worse. She has no friends, her parents’ marriage seems to be crumbling before her eyes, and her low math scores kept her out the private school her parents expected she would attend. Then Charlotte meets Amanda, the charismatic, rebellious Girl Wonder who seems to have the key to everything Charlotte is looking for (c More...

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Jul 30, 2011

Jessica rated it:

When Charlotte Locke’s family moves to Seattle, Washington her senior year of high school, Charlotte is naturally disappointed. But when she begins school and learns that she’s been bumped into lower level classes because of her low math scores, Charlotte knows the school year is off to a bad start.

But then she meets Amanda, otherwise known as Girl Wonder. Amanda is confident, gorgeous and popular. Her pink hair sets her apart, and she knows it and loves it. Charlotte is intimidated an More...

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Apr 06, 2011

First Novels Club rated it:

GIRL WONDER by Alexa Martin, due May 3rd from Hyperion, caught me off-guard. I tend to be pretty picky about my contemporary realistic YA fiction. I mean, I'm a Sarah Dessen fan (is there anyone who isn't?) and if I've got a big box of tissues handy (and someone to hug later) I'll gladly curl up with a Laurie Halse Anderson, but I have to admit that I don't branch out nearly as much in this area of YA as I do for the fantastical stuff. So when I got an ARC of this book from NetGalley, I wasn't q More...

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Apr 06, 2011

Sara rated it:

GIRL WONDER by Alexa Martin, due May 3rd from Hyperion, caught me off-guard. I tend to be pretty picky about my contemporary realistic YA fiction. I mean, I'm a Sarah Dessen fan (is there anyone who isn't?) and if I've got a big box of tissues handy (and someone to hug later) I'll gladly curl up with a Laurie Halse Anderson, but I have to admit that I don't branch out nearly as much in this area of YA as I do for the fantastical stuff. So when I got an ARC of this book from NetGalley, I wasn' More...

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May 05, 2011

Katie rated it:

Girl Wonder was a hard book to read, so summing up my feelings isn’t easy either. And when I say it was hard to read, I don’t mean that I hated it and didn’t want to finish it, I mean that it was intense and personal. There isn’t much going on besides Charlotte’s friendship with Amanda and her relationship with Neal, but I’ve been in a situation almost exactly like this before, so even if I didn’t care for the pace and other characters and plot as a whole (which I did!) this story still drew me More...

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Mar 23, 2011

Megan rated it:

Everyone knows it's hard to be the new girl, but for Charlotte Locke it seems impossible. It's hard to fit in when you move during your senior year. To make matters worse, because of her math-related learning disability, she is not allowed into the gifted program. Things at home are bleak too. Charlotte stresses about her mom's health, when her dad isn't away talking about his best-selling book he nags her about college applications and learning to drive, and as usual, her genius younger brothe More...

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Mar 18, 2011

the golden witch. rated it:

Oh, this book had so much promise. But even though Martin's prose is absolutely beautiful as it draws you in, the overused tropes of the teenager trying to fit in, finding a kindred spirit on the fringe and trying to get into her inner circle as well as the favored older sibling combined with the potential for parental divorce just didn't mesh well. Martin's way with words is the only thing that saved this book, because the rest of these "coming of age" tropes, when combined, just made More...

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Jul 15, 2011

Katie rated it:

That was...really awesome.

Review: Girl Wonder absolutely blew me away. I have a feeling this read will stay with me for a long time.

Before I read this, I had seen absolutely no reviews around the blogosphere, I probably just missed them.

I'm so glad that I did, though! I'm not much into contemporary that deals with really big issues because I can't usually relate to the characters. But in this I did. Big time. Even though Charlotte and I have never shared the same ex More...

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Apr 03, 2011

Danny rated it:

Oh this book was really amazing! I love it, which is why this is more a 4.5 stars for me!

This is the story about Charlotte who is surrounded by a smart and successful family. Her mom is a Professor, her dad a popular author and her little brother is a super genius which is why the moved into a new town so that James can attent a school for gifted people. Charlotte is smart too but she has a learning ability in math and is just a normal girl. But it truly doesn't help that everyone th More...

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Jan 28, 2012

Gianna rated it:

I hate how adult authors think they can imagine what teen readers like to read. They believe the only books that can grab our attention need to be full of drugs, smoking, sex, and betrayal. This book not only disgusted me in what adults think would be appropriate for kids our age but took an unusual take on the main character. Usually people do not find the main character as someone so weak they feel they are owned. The main character in this story, Charlotte, has given me reasons to believe tha More...

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