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The List
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An intense look at the rules of high school attraction - and the price that's paid for them.
It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.
This is the story of eight girls, freshman to s ...more
It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.
This is the story of eight girls, freshman to s ...more
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Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
April 1st 2012
by Push
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2.5
To say that this was one of my most anticipated books of 2012, I am really disappointed. As with Not That Kind Of Girl, I thought this book had the potential to be really good and I'm sure the author set out with the greatest of intentions... and yet this novel failed to deliver. And I think that was mostly because it tried too hard to be a number of different things and, by doing so, was stretched too thin and failed to achieve any of the initial goals.
I gave the rating that extra .5 sta ...more

Often it pays to be just in the middle of things-to be your ole regular, average self because often it sucks to be at the bottom just as it does to be on top (no innuendos intended^^) and The List accurately portrays this reality of life and what better setting can effectively show this than high school?
Labels are annoyingly inevitable part of social life and to young people’s crucial, formative years, labels may tremendously affect their self worth. Mount Washington High School’s ominous list c ...more

Jan 03, 2012
Arlene
rated it
it was amazing
Recommended to Arlene by:
Street Corner Booker - ARC Tour Flannery
Thank you Flannery from The Readventurer for allowing me to read this ARC. :D
With trembling hands, she quickly finishes pinning the dress and puts it on…then she twists her hair up, adds a bit of lipstick. She gets ready without looking in the mirror…. She doesn’t need to see herself. She already knows. She will never be pretty...
So here’s what happens every year at Mount Washington High School. A week before Homecoming, students walk the halls in search of The List posted and scattered around t ...more
With trembling hands, she quickly finishes pinning the dress and puts it on…then she twists her hair up, adds a bit of lipstick. She gets ready without looking in the mirror…. She doesn’t need to see herself. She already knows. She will never be pretty...
So here’s what happens every year at Mount Washington High School. A week before Homecoming, students walk the halls in search of The List posted and scattered around t ...more

Adults sometimes shouldn't review teen fiction. Or at least, we should get some teenagers to review it too.
The List by Siobhan Vivian is about eight high school girls, two from each grade, who are put on The List during homecoming week at Mount Washington High. The List is a list of the prettiest - and ugliest - girls in each grade, two for each. The book follows all of the girls through the week, narrating their reactions, the school's reactions, and the events that follow because of this list. ...more
The List by Siobhan Vivian is about eight high school girls, two from each grade, who are put on The List during homecoming week at Mount Washington High. The List is a list of the prettiest - and ugliest - girls in each grade, two for each. The book follows all of the girls through the week, narrating their reactions, the school's reactions, and the events that follow because of this list. ...more

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Harlequin (UK) Limited and NetGalley.)

This was a YA contemporary story about a group of girls on prettiest/ugliest list.
There were several main characters in this and it was quite hard to keep up with them all. I felt quite sorry for the girls who were labelled as ugly, especially with the treatment they then received from their ...more
“Freshmen Uglist:
Danielle DeMarco –
Also known as Dan the Man.”

This was a YA contemporary story about a group of girls on prettiest/ugliest list.
There were several main characters in this and it was quite hard to keep up with them all. I felt quite sorry for the girls who were labelled as ugly, especially with the treatment they then received from their ...more

2.5 stars
GOD this book. Legit.
It had all the potential, a total 5 star potential.
BUT THE ENDING.
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Lol funny to say is I'm writing this review watching the Victoria's Fashion Show and eating a candy bar. But the ending seriously just ruined the whole book. :/
Gifs to describe my feelings. Enjoy.
At the beginning of the book...

In the middle of the book...

At the ending of the book, reading the ending..

So in general it was a HUGE let down.
...more
GOD this book. Legit.
It had all the potential, a total 5 star potential.
BUT THE ENDING.
WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?
Lol funny to say is I'm writing this review watching the Victoria's Fashion Show and eating a candy bar. But the ending seriously just ruined the whole book. :/
Gifs to describe my feelings. Enjoy.
At the beginning of the book...

In the middle of the book...

At the ending of the book, reading the ending..

So in general it was a HUGE let down.
...more

“To lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself.”
----Simone de Beauvoir
Siobhan Vivian, the New York Times bestselling author, has penned an incredibly enlightening and an entrancing contemporary young adult fiction, The List in which the author has woven a story about eight high school teenage girls from various grades who are picked up for a list that labels four of the girls as the ugliest in their high school and rest four as the prettiest, but little did they knew that b ...more
----Simone de Beauvoir
Siobhan Vivian, the New York Times bestselling author, has penned an incredibly enlightening and an entrancing contemporary young adult fiction, The List in which the author has woven a story about eight high school teenage girls from various grades who are picked up for a list that labels four of the girls as the ugliest in their high school and rest four as the prettiest, but little did they knew that b ...more

2.5 stars. This book had a lot of potential, but was ultimately ruined by a focus on too many topics at once.
The List is about standards of beauty and how they play into the friendships between girls. I liked the message the author was trying to get across. Unfortunately, the author touches on too many topics without adequate development or closure. In fact, the ending barely closes off anything.
As an example, the author is clearly trying to call out slutshaming. Unfortunately, there are many ...more
The List is about standards of beauty and how they play into the friendships between girls. I liked the message the author was trying to get across. Unfortunately, the author touches on too many topics without adequate development or closure. In fact, the ending barely closes off anything.
As an example, the author is clearly trying to call out slutshaming. Unfortunately, there are many ...more

Jan 24, 2012
Wendy Darling
marked it as dnf
Made it through about 50 pages before the shifting present tense--among other things--drove me crazy.

“That's how inside jokes usually are. Funny to those inside, annoying as shit to the rest of the world.”
― Siobhan Vivian, The List
This is going to be a tough book to review. I say that because for most of the book I thought it was going to be five stars. I loved it..until the end. And if you have read this I am sure you will guess my complaint because I have read several reviews that all mention what I am going to mention.
So this book is from the POV of eight different High School girls. Every ...more
― Siobhan Vivian, The List
This is going to be a tough book to review. I say that because for most of the book I thought it was going to be five stars. I loved it..until the end. And if you have read this I am sure you will guess my complaint because I have read several reviews that all mention what I am going to mention.
So this book is from the POV of eight different High School girls. Every ...more

wow wow wow wow...bloody amazing
Check out my video review here --> http://youtu.be/LJp1TnxyCYA ...more
Check out my video review here --> http://youtu.be/LJp1TnxyCYA ...more

A light, quick read - The List follows eight girls who have been named ugliest or pretties on this "List" which has been posted around the school every year for decades. You think being a "prettiest" would be easy? Think again!
Although The List addresses several teen issues throughout the story, it ended up being a much fluffier read than I expected. With eight different points of view, we're taken into each of the four ugliest, as well as the four prettiest girls' lives spanning the week after ...more
Although The List addresses several teen issues throughout the story, it ended up being a much fluffier read than I expected. With eight different points of view, we're taken into each of the four ugliest, as well as the four prettiest girls' lives spanning the week after ...more

So, I wanted to really, really like this book, but the ending was so abrupt that I just can't. Every year in this high school, a list comes out naming the prettiest and ugliest girls in each grade. The List deals with the fallout of this list over the next week. But is it really just over the course of one week?
Being listed as the prettiest junior encourages one girl's budding eating disorder - which is also wreaking havoc on her relationship with her younger sister. This isn't something that en ...more
Being listed as the prettiest junior encourages one girl's budding eating disorder - which is also wreaking havoc on her relationship with her younger sister. This isn't something that en ...more

Only read Bridgette's story.
All I'll say is the author did a brilliant job of capturing the mind of a teenager and the sorts of issues she experienced. ...more
All I'll say is the author did a brilliant job of capturing the mind of a teenager and the sorts of issues she experienced. ...more

*I'm in a minority here. A big, lonely minority*
You know that annoying plot mountain concept? The fact that a story has a beginning, middle, and end? Here's a little demo:

Yeah, well this book has NONE OF IT. Well, maybe I'm being a bit harsh. It had a prolonged intro. I was waiting for almost two hundred pages for it to be over. Some books start their rising action at twenty friggin' pages and this book HAS NONE. You get to know the character's problems and... and... and... literally NOTHING ...more
You know that annoying plot mountain concept? The fact that a story has a beginning, middle, and end? Here's a little demo:

Yeah, well this book has NONE OF IT. Well, maybe I'm being a bit harsh. It had a prolonged intro. I was waiting for almost two hundred pages for it to be over. Some books start their rising action at twenty friggin' pages and this book HAS NONE. You get to know the character's problems and... and... and... literally NOTHING ...more

Nov 29, 2017
Maddie L
added it
I really enjoyed reading this book. I heard that it was a very good book if you liked realistic fiction, I totally agree! If you like realistic fiction I HIGHLY recommend it for you!

The List is ridiculously heartbreaking. It's meant to be. But for me, it was absolutely ... gutwrenching. As someone who suffered with depression as a teenager, I knew the book would be pretty personal and touchy but ... holy crap. I was a messy puddle of emotions on my bedroom floor when I closed the book. It's like Siobhan Vivian reached into my head, gripped every insecurity I had about myself as a teenager and squeezed. Hard.
Before I get into how much this book made me feel, I'll start with ...more
Before I get into how much this book made me feel, I'll start with ...more

The whole time I was reading this book---I kept thinking about a comment that Sally Field made in an interview many years ago. She said, "I cannot live up to all the images that people have assigned to me---it would be like chasing ghosts."
Popularity, social outcasts, cliques, friends, enemies, rejection, acceptance,---are the ingredients to a well rounded high school life. No matter the social circle a young teenage girl is blessed with or cursed by, she can never experience friendships charact ...more
Popularity, social outcasts, cliques, friends, enemies, rejection, acceptance,---are the ingredients to a well rounded high school life. No matter the social circle a young teenage girl is blessed with or cursed by, she can never experience friendships charact ...more

"The List" is such a heartbreaking, smart, funny, book! It has really captured the lives of high school girls, and their issues with identity, self-esteem, and judgement from others. Most importantly, the danger of labels.
...more
...more

2.5 stars.
Reposting my review.
Every year, 8 girls get listed as the "ugliest" or the "prettiest" girl of their year.
For this years prettiest, we have freshman Abby Warner, sophomore Lauren Finn, junior Bridget Honeycutt, and senior Margo Gable.
For the ugliest, we have freshman Danielle Demarco, Candace Kincaid, Sarah Singer, and Jennifer Briggis (who's been listed as the ugliest for the last three years as well, making her the only student who has been listed all four years).
The story happens o ...more
Reposting my review.
Every year, 8 girls get listed as the "ugliest" or the "prettiest" girl of their year.
For this years prettiest, we have freshman Abby Warner, sophomore Lauren Finn, junior Bridget Honeycutt, and senior Margo Gable.
For the ugliest, we have freshman Danielle Demarco, Candace Kincaid, Sarah Singer, and Jennifer Briggis (who's been listed as the ugliest for the last three years as well, making her the only student who has been listed all four years).
The story happens o ...more

2 1/2 stars. I think this is one of those cases where the author bit off more than she could chew.
Let's start with the positive. I really appreciated the diversity and the examination of different kinds of girls in school. There were airheads, mean girls, ones with pent-up anger, and genuinely nice girls. This book showed girls under the pressure of their cliques to maintain a perfect image, girls hiding their problems behind a beautiful smile, and worst of all - jealousy, guilt, and betrayal. I ...more
Let's start with the positive. I really appreciated the diversity and the examination of different kinds of girls in school. There were airheads, mean girls, ones with pent-up anger, and genuinely nice girls. This book showed girls under the pressure of their cliques to maintain a perfect image, girls hiding their problems behind a beautiful smile, and worst of all - jealousy, guilt, and betrayal. I ...more

This book was a different take on high school contemporary. An original plot, memorable characters, and quick pace, made it a delectable read. Being a Jenny Han fan, I’ve been meaning to read Siobhan Vivian for a long time now, The List certainly made me want to discover more of the author. 3.5/5 stars.
THE PLOT
A week before the homecoming dance, the students of Mount Washington High come to school to find a list taped and stapled to doors, lockers, notice boards and everywhere else. It isn’t som ...more
THE PLOT
A week before the homecoming dance, the students of Mount Washington High come to school to find a list taped and stapled to doors, lockers, notice boards and everywhere else. It isn’t som ...more

Meh. This one just didn't do it for me. I only got about 104 pages into it and just don't really care about the characters or the plot. Many of the minor characters weren't even named, they were, "her friend from science class" or some other descriptor that didn't include a name. That made me feel like the author didn't really care either. This has been on my "currently reading" list long enough. It's time to move it onto my DNF list.
Not my cup of tea. Others may enjoy, but I just couldn't get ...more
Not my cup of tea. Others may enjoy, but I just couldn't get ...more

Really? That's it? It's a pretty mediocre book.
Full review to come can be seen at The Hardcover Lover. ...more
Full review to come can be seen at The Hardcover Lover. ...more

Apr 14, 2019
❤Amy and Sofie❤
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favorites,
favourites
First of all, wow.
This book was so.. what's the word.. Teenage! Suited me so much. It deserves my 4 stars!
I wanted to know who wrote the list. If they didn't reveal who did I wouldn't have given it 4 stars.
There were 2 girls for each grade. And eight girls on the list altogether.
My favourite was probably Margo Gable. She was the prettiest senior. She used to be pals with Jennifer Briggis until they fell apart in eight grade. Now Jennifer has come back and now Margos chance for homecoming queen ...more
This book was so.. what's the word.. Teenage! Suited me so much. It deserves my 4 stars!
I wanted to know who wrote the list. If they didn't reveal who did I wouldn't have given it 4 stars.
There were 2 girls for each grade. And eight girls on the list altogether.
My favourite was probably Margo Gable. She was the prettiest senior. She used to be pals with Jennifer Briggis until they fell apart in eight grade. Now Jennifer has come back and now Margos chance for homecoming queen ...more

Do you remember what you looked like in high school? No, wait… not how you actually looked, but how you felt like you looked. Even if you looked okay, you didn’t necessarily feel like you did. And worrying about everyone looking at you, judging you, that horrible self-consciousness that scars you for THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.
Okay, maybe I'm being a little overdramatic, but this is a book about teenagers, and that's what it feels like when you're a teen.
And truly, high school sucks. No, I don’t me ...more
Okay, maybe I'm being a little overdramatic, but this is a book about teenagers, and that's what it feels like when you're a teen.
And truly, high school sucks. No, I don’t me ...more

I'm not entirely sure what exactly I expected to get from The List, but I ended up quite disappointed anyway. Don't get me wrong. This is a very readable book with a nice story that moves at a quick pace, but I really slogged through some of the chapters, mostly because there were certain characters I just couldn't stand. The beginning was rough and I initially thought the writing quite juvenile, though it later became clear that this was more a reflection of the character in question than the w
...more

Every year at Mount Washington High School, eight girls – two from each grade are singled out and place on The List, judged to be either the prettiest or the ugliest girl in their class. Siobhan Vivian delves into a topic near and dear to my heart, beauty and it’s implications, with her latest book, The List.
Read the rest of my review here ...more
Read the rest of my review here ...more
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