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The List

Siobhan Vivian (Goodreads Author)

3.45 · Rating details · 20,897 Ratings · 2,858 Reviews

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

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Hardcover, 336 pages

Published April 1st 2012 by Push

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Lists with This Book

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

2012 YA Contemporaries

307 books — 2,646 voters

2012 YA Contemporary Challenge!

239 books — 1,325 voters

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Aug 16, 2011 Emily May rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, 2012

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 star because the book has that compulsive readability, I can't be entirely negative about a novel that is so easy to read that you can easily lose a few hours without realising it. This is a novel about teenage girls and how different an experience high school can be depending on the way you look and who your friends are. How one moment - whether fortunate or not - can completely change the way you are seen for the next four years. I liked that Siobhan Vivian recognised that being labelled in a certain way can be a blessing or a burden, depending on the person involved.

The problem is that the author bit off more than she could chew. I don't usually enjoy books with more than one POV... this had eight. EIGHT! The eight POVs were the girls, two from each grade, who were labelled prettiest and ugliet of their year by the mysterious author of THE LIST. Vivian tackles bullying, anorexia, friend troubles, family troubles, boy troubles, being an outsider... great! Five stars for intention!! But the most any character got was six chapters from their POV and this wasn't enough to fully develop their story and an understanding of the way they felt. To fully explore all of those issues mentioned you'd need a full book on each, the idea was just too ambitious.

************************spoilers ahead*************************
But the worst thing that stopped me from giving this the three stars meaning "I liked it" was the lack of closure/solutions for most of the girls. Sorry for feeling the need to include these spoilers, but the ending told us nothing about more than half the girls. Will Bridget ever recover from her anorexia? She's still starving herself at the novel's end. What will Lauren do about her mum trying to pull her out of school? Accept it or fight for her right to a normal teen life? What's next for Jennifer? Will her and Margo ever smooth things over? Is Candace finally going to stop being the bitch she's always been?

There's just not enough! And there's not enough because there's too much... which is ridiculous, I know. Too many characters with their important issues that are never fully explored and never given any kind of closure. The ending was bizarre, I kept waiting for a big come-together in the last chapter that would either give me some hope that the girls would be okay or leave me with an important message that summed up what Ms Vivian wanted to say with this book.

If I was to describe this book in one word, it would be: unresolved. ...more

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Jul 21, 2017 Aj the Ravenous Reader rated it really liked it

Shelves: contemporary, psycho, somebody-s-sick, young-adult, physically-owned-books

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

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Jan 03, 2012 Arlene rated it it was amazing

Recommended to Arlene by: Street Corner Booker - ARC Tour Flannery

Shelves: arc, read-2012, ya-contemporary, young-adult

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

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Jun 28, 2012 Rocket rated it it was ok

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

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Feb 16, 2017 Aditi rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, my-reviews, harper-collins, friends, family

“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

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Jan 21, 2014 Sarah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2016-resolutions, contemporary, netgalley-edelweiss, r2r-complete, read-2016, read-with-abbie, young-adult

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

“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 friends. ...more

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Jan 24, 2012 Wendy Darling marked it as dnf

Shelves: young-adult, realistic-fiction, 2012-publication, annoying-main-characters, read-2012

Made it through about 50 pages before the shifting present tense--among other things--drove me crazy.

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Apr 22, 2012 Charley Cook rated it really liked it

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

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Jun 11, 2016 Elise (TheBookishActress) rated it it was ok

Shelves: rep-feminist-classic, genre-contemporary, read-2016, 2-star

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 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 instances of slutshaming within the book that aren't addressed within the narrative. Another example: there's an eating disorder storyline which is never resolved. The ending flat-out leaves it ambiguous as to whether Bridget will ever recover. Perhaps it's meant to arouse feelings in the reader, but I don't feel it works here. Rather than actively choosing this open ending, it feels as if the author simply couldn't be bothered to close off this storyline.

I had mixed feelings on the characters. Abby and her sister were likable enough. Same with Danielle and her best friend. I absolutely loved Lauren and Candace's story and their friendship development. Sarah's character was a standout here as well. She's a loner girl who couldn't care less about typical beauty. Unfortunately, a badly-developed romance took away from the impact of her story. Bridget's storyline was touching and well-developed, although again, it lacked any form of closure.

The two senior girls I found... completely unappealing. Jennifer is okay for most of the book, and it turns out that she (view spoiler) I also was completely uninvested in Margo.

Altogether, the message of the book was good, and the author did a good job integrating so many topics and making all the characters memorable. (I didn't forget who any of them were, even two days after finishing!) Unfortunately, the storyline and pacing feel messy and abstract. This novel reads like the first draft of an incredible novel. Tentatively recommended. ...more

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Nov 05, 2014 Cassie rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2014-read

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.

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Jan 23, 2012 Giselle rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, own

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 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 being put on this List. Each girl has their own personal problems above now having to deal with being the center of attention. We've got an eating disorder, overprotective mother, outcast rebel, and of course plenty or romantic issues; all thoroughly interesting, some even deeply serious, but sadly most of these go unresolved leaving us with no idea of what's going to happen to these girls. I also kept wondering why the faculty had let this go on for so long, especially seeing the damage it does to the girls on it. I have a hard time believing that they simply let it be because it's a "tradition". Bullying is not taken lightly; parents would have spoken up years ago where I come from.

We've got eight lives to follow, which means a lot of POVs. I had to go back and check the List a few times to remind myself who they were, overall, though, I didn't find it was too much - having this list handy makes it easy to keep track. However, I've always been a fan of multiple perspectives. I found myself really liking the girls, too. They are a fun bunch, all with vastly different personalities that will either enamor or disgust you.

Without getting too profound, this novel is simply about the lives of these girls after they're hit with a target on their backs. Either prettiest or ugliest, this List doesn't favor anybody and consequences are dealt with. I wish it would have delved deeper into their lives, maybe have it span longer than a week, but all in all it's an entertaining read that I would be more inclined to recommend to the younger YA readers.

--
For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads ...more

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Oct 18, 2016 Carlos De Eguiluz rated it liked it

Una novela que si que te hace comprender la mente de la joven adolescente, en el escenario que prefieras.

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Apr 04, 2016 Kate ♡ added it

Shelves: 2016-read

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.

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Mar 07, 2012 Jo rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2012

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 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 ends with the Homecoming Dance, which is where the book ends.

One girl is flunking her Earth Science class, but takes pride in her status as prettiest. What is going to happen to her the rest of the year? Is she going to get her act together? Realize that those sophomore boys are only talking to her because she's prettiest? Or that those sophomore boys see the words "most f***able" when the page says "prettiest"?

Another girl is physically attractive, but listed as ugliest because she's so mean. Did she learn her lesson? I can't really tell. She gets kind of sad when her friends abandon her, but does this cause her to evaluate her behavior and become better person?

A previously home-schooled girl is listed as prettiest, and it freaks her mom out, resulting in a decision to sell the house they just inherited and move. Does she talk her mom out of it? Does she persuade her mother that moving is a bad, bad idea when the decision is made so abruptly and with so little information?

Or our seniors: Does the list-writer get rid of the stamp or choose the next list-writer by passing it on? She leaves the dance before giving it to so-and-so to throw out as agreed. How does the prettiest senior deal with her friends after they shifted their allegiances to the ugliest senior? Do those friends remain allies with the ugliest senior? I don't think they do, but I can't quite tell. And how does the ugliest senior deal with going back to school after getting a brief taste of popularity, then losing the race for Homecoming Queen?

While I really appreciate the issues Vivian tried to address in this book and the conclusion she tried to reach (superficial evaluations based solely on appearance suck butt), I feel that she fell short of the mark by following the characters for only a week. These are big-deal issues, and they need more time than Vivian allowed them. I was (obviously) left with a significant number of questions. While I often appreciate endings that leave some loose ends, I don't want to be so bogged down in questions about the characters' futures that I finish the book and ask, "Where's the rest of it? What happens to all these people?"

Now, I will allow that answering most of the remaining questions about eight different characters, when your book is already 325 pages long, is a lot to ask. But this just makes me wonder if, maybe, the author should have considered writing the story differently. I can almost see this as a series of 8 (characters) or 4 (class year) books, where each book follows the characters for a semester or the whole year. I just need more. Does the anorexic get help or starve herself to death? Does Sarah change her punk style (and then perhaps go back to it when she can't stand being a drone anymore)? Does Danielle's sudden return to the varsity swim team cause tension between her and Hope? How does this experience change Margo's thoughts on college? I even want to know more about Fern, and I think it would be interesting to see her applying to colleges at the same time as Margo. (In my high school, Honors/AP track students started working on applications their junior year so they could be sent by Homecoming; regular students waited until their senior year.)

So, I'll stop babbling now and summarize my point: Good idea, bad execution. Well-written, but lacking satisfying resolutions. Having read other books by this author, I'm not totally turned off her writing, but I will avoid books with too many characters. And a final note: Another uncorrected proof someone at work got for early review, then added to the book exchange in the "lounge". ...more

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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!

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Jan 14, 2015 Dulce María rated it really liked it

Shelves: this-book-needs-a-long-epilogue

Llegue a este libro esperando algo completamente distinto creí que sería narrado por la creadora de la lista e interactuaría con cada una de las chicas, en cambio me encuentro con que es narrado desde el punto de vista de las 8 chicas las mas "feas" y las más "bonitas". Este libro me recordó perfectamente lo que es estar en secundaria y que el mundo a tu alrededor sea tan superficial como para que estas cosas importen, pero sobre todo toco varias fibras sensibles de mi yo del pasado sin buena au ...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Katie added it

Shelves: for-review, books-i-own

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 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 something slightly negative. Only slightly. While reading, I wasn't a huge fan of the constant character changing. There are eight girls, eight separate stories and point of views. I both loved and hated certain characters, so I would feel a bit antsy sitting through ALL of their chapters because I just wanted to get to the girls with stories that I actually cared for. But after I finished the novel and set it down, it all felt really ... necessary. The characters - to me - represent every kind of girl; shy, smart, innocent, mean, etc. And to get a glimpse at how beauty is perceived on every angle was so brilliant and eye-opening, even if this is just fiction.

I already talked about how emotionally overwhelming this book was for me, but let me just clarify one more time: THIS BOOK MADE ME FEEL ALL THE THINGS. All of them. Each of the characters had distinguishing personalities and emotions and they all had battles to face when the list was put up so I was never bored, even if I didn't particularily like the character I was reading about. And the way Vivian entwined all of their stories at the very end was so powerful. Some characters had happy endings, some didn't. I appreciated that she took a more authentic approach to ending the book instead of giving each of them a light, fluffy conclusion.

Overall, if my incoherent gushfest didn't clue you in, I absolutely loved The List. It's so raw and heartwrenching and authentic. I really feel like this is a book that any young girl struggling with her looks should read. If I was a teenager when I read this, I like to think it would have opened my eyes to the fact that it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks of you, only what you think of yourself. I definitely recommend! ...more

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Feb 21, 2015 May rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: estantería

The List es una novela Young Adult autoconclusiva que cogí con muchas ganas. Es una novela de la que he oído hablar cosas bastante buenas y otras no tanto. Pero aún así tenía ganas de leerla y tener mi opinión. The List cuenta la historia de ocho chicas totalmente diferentes y con una historia propia que nos muestra cómo son y por qué aparecen en dicha lista.
Lo primero que me llamó la atención y lo que, de hecho, más me ha gustado de esta novela es la lista que aparece en la historia. Es lo más ...more

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Apr 30, 2012 J rated it liked it

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

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Jan 23, 2018 Emily_C1 rated it really liked it

"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.

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Feb 12, 2017 Jen rated it it was ok

Shelves: didn-t-finish

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

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May 26, 2016 Sara rated it did not like it

Shelves: 2016-reads, abandoned, ya-ya-ya, contemporary-ya

*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:
description

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 EL ...more

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Apr 28, 2015 Bee (Heart Full of Books) rated it it was ok

Shelves: review-books, standalones

What a disappointment! I really wanted this to be good, like REALY wanted to love it, and it had such potential! But the characters were all high-school cliches and the ending was so unsatisfying and gave literally no closure - apart from Danielle, you go Danielle!

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Jul 22, 2014 Deanna rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, shitty, pissed-me-off-so-much, boring, bullshit-of-the-century, romance, contemporary

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

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Apr 14, 2014 Drew rated it liked it

Shelves: young-adult, contemporary

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 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. It was a whirlwind of drama.

The basic summary is that a list goes around every year and on it are the names of the prettiest and ugliest girls in school. Some of the girls are surprised where their names end up and the twisted tradition, unsurprisingly, causes a lot of problems.

The leader of a popular group, Cadence, starts questioning how nice she really is when the list names her "ugliest on the inside," Danielle's doubts toward her boyfriend grow when he doesn't stick up for her after she is nominated ugliest, and Bridget's eating disorder she has struggled to overcome last year flares back up.

So many different problems were looked at - money issues at home, sister rivalries, bad boyfriends, fake friends, and body image issues. I thought the author did a great job at digging into each of these girls' minds and laying out all their thoughts for the reader to understand and sympathize with.

When I started this book I thought it could easily be four star material, for the plot and narratives were set up perfectly. What could go wrong? But it gradually became apparent that the author missed a lot of potential when, near the end of the book, I realized the plot wasn't going anywhere.

Sadly, many of the issues the girls were dealing with weren't resolved by the end. This may have been an attempt to make things more realistic - the anorexic girl was still unhappy with her body at the end? Deal with it. But the lack of conclusion made the rest of the story feel kind of pointless.

The writing was entertaining and I thought this was an interesting experiment, but to me it felt like the author took on more than she could handle. With a more mindful plot and a carefully executed ending, this could have been a very important book.

I would have liked to see a stronger message about how outside beauty doesn't matter, and it's people's dynamic, sparkling personalities that really count. But in The List the gorgeous mean girls blended in with the truly kind-hearted ones and I felt like a huge and powerful point had been missed. ...more

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Apr 09, 2012 Erin Lynn rated it it was ok

Shelves: young-adult, contemporary

Really? That's it? It's a pretty mediocre book.

Full review to come can be seen at The Hardcover Lover.

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Sep 11, 2017 Fuzaila rated it liked it

Shelves: chick-lit, contemporary, drama-overloaded, made-me-cry, romance-lovey-dovey, school-boarding-genres, young-adult

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

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Dec 22, 2012 Γιώτα Παπαδημακοπούλου rated it really liked it

Ποιος από εμάς δεν θυμάται τα σχολικά του χρόνια; Άλλοι τα αναπολούν και άλλοι, χαίρονται που έφυγαν και δεν θα γυρίσουν ποτέ. Κακά τα ψέματα, τα χρόνια του Γυμνασίου και του Λυκείου ειδικά, δεν περνάνε για όλους, το ίδιο ευχάριστα. Κάποιοι βρίσκονται στο επίκεντρο και κάποιοι άλλοι, στο περιθώριο. Άλλοι θεωρούνται άξιοι να διεκδικήσεις την παρέα τους και άλλοι, ανάξιοι, έστω και για να ρίξεις μια δεύτερη ματιά προς το μέρος τους. Και ανάμεσα σε όλες τις κατηγορίες ανθρώπων, βρίσκονται οι όμορφο Ποιος από εμάς δεν θυμάται τα σχολικά του χρόνια; Άλλοι τα αναπολούν και άλλοι, χαίρονται που έφυγαν και δεν θα γυρίσουν ποτέ. Κακά τα ψέματα, τα χρόνια του Γυμνασίου και του Λυκείου ειδικά, δεν περνάνε για όλους, το ίδιο ευχάριστα. Κάποιοι βρίσκονται στο επίκεντρο και κάποιοι άλλοι, στο περιθώριο. Άλλοι θεωρούνται άξιοι να διεκδικήσεις την παρέα τους και άλλοι, ανάξιοι, έστω και για να ρίξεις μια δεύτερη ματιά προς το μέρος τους. Και ανάμεσα σε όλες τις κατηγορίες ανθρώπων, βρίσκονται οι όμορφοι και οι άσχημοι, με τους πρώτους να γίνονται αντικείμενο θαυμασμού ή ζήλιας και τους δεύτερους, αντικείμενο χλευασμού και κακόβουλων κουτσομπολιών. Την ιδέα της τελευταίας παρατήρησης εκμεταλλεύεται η συγγραφέας Siobhan Vivian στο βιβλίο της με τίτλο, "Η Λίστα", που πρόσφατα κυκλοφόρησε από τις εκδόσεις Παπαδόπουλος. Ένα βιβλίο που αν μη τι άλλο, θίγει πολλά και σοβαρά ζητήματα, άξια να μας προβληματίσουν και να μας κάνουν να σκεφτούμε λίγο περισσότερο.

Υπάρχει κάπου ένα σχολείο στο οποίο, τηρείται μια παράξενη παράδοση. Στην αρχή κάθε σχολικού έτους, εμφανίζεται μια μυστηριώδης λίστα η οποία, φέρει μια παλιά, χαμένη σφραγίδα του σχολείου, γραμμένη από κάποιο άγνωστο άτομο, όπου και αναφέρει τα ονόματα του πιο όμορφου και του πιο άσχημου κοριτσιού, κάθε μίας από τις τέσσερις τάξεις του Λυκείου. Οι καθηγητές, παρά που έχουν προσπαθήσει πολλάκις να βρουν τον ένοχο, δεν τα καταφέρνουν και η λίστα, εμφανίζεται κάθε χρόνο, την ίδια εποχή, στοχοποιώντας τα κορίτσια εκείνα που πιστεύει πως αξίζουν να βρίσκονται στην υψηλότερη και στην κατώτερη θέση, καθορίζοντας έτσι την πορεία της ζωής τους για όλο το έτος που θα ακολουθήσει. Και αν νομίζετε πως μόνο τα άσχημα κορίτσια έχουν να αντιμετωπίσουν προβλήματα, την κατακραυγή και την χλεύη των φίλων και των συμμαθητών τους, τότε πλανάστε πλάνην οικτρά καθώς, ακόμα και η ομορφιά, έχει το δικό της τίμημα.

Η Siobhan Vivian, μέσα από το βιβλίο της αυτό, θέτει σπουδαία ερωτήματα και περνά τελικά στον αναγνώστη, εντυπωσιακά δυνατά μηνύματα. Δύο κατηγορίες, τόσο διαφορετικές, μα και τόσο όμοιες. Γιατί τα κορίτσια της λίστας, σε όποια κατηγορία κι αν ανήκουν, έχουν να αντιμετωπίσουν τα δικά τους προβλήματα, τον δικό τους Γολγοθά γιατί η ομορφιά ή ή ασχήμια, δεν είναι τίποτα άλλο παρά έννοιες. Απλές και ανούσιες έννοιες οι οποίες στην πραγματικότητα, δεν χαρακτηρίζουν την ποιότητα του εσωτερικού τους κόσμου, ούτε της ποιότητας ζωή τους, τη δύναμη και την ισχύ της φιλίας των ατόμων που τους περιβάλλουν, πολύ περισσότερο δε, της ίδιας της ευτυχίας η οποία δεν έρχεται ούτε στερείται πραγματικά από την απονομή και μόνο ενός τίτλου. Η κάθε μία από τις οκτώ αυτές κοπέλες, πρέπει να σκεφτεί, να αναλογιστεί και τελικά να καταλήξει, τι είναι πιο σημαντικό για εκείνη, ποια είναι τα πράγματα που πραγματικά έχει ανάγκη, τι μετράει ουσιαστικά και κατά πόσο, μπορεί να γίνει η ζωή τους χειρότερη ή καλύτερη αν αφεθούν και παρασυρθούν από την θεωρητική δύναμη μιας ταμπέλας.

Οι φιλίες, οι έρωτες, η ανάγκη για επιβεβαίωση, η επιθυμία να ξεχωρίζουμε με όποιο κόστος, η νευρική ανορεξία, είναι μόνο μερικά από τα ζητήματα που φέρνει στην επιφάνεια "Η Λίστα". Οι έφηβοι πρωταγωνιστές της ιστορίας, καλούνται να αντιμετωπίσουν τα όριά τους, να ερμηνεύσουν τους όρους της φιλίας και της ομορφιάς και αντιμετωπίζοντας την σκληρή πολλές φορές κριτική των συνομηλίκων τους, να ανακαλύψουν ποιοι πραγματικά είναι, να κερδίσουν την χαμένη τους αυτοεκτίμηση και τελικά, να κατανοήσουν ποια είναι τα πράγματα που αξίζουν πραγματικά σε αυτή τη ζωή. Η γραφή της Siobhan είναι απλή, στρωτή και κατανοητή. Η ιστορία της δεν χαρακτηρίζεται από εκπλήξεις ωστόσο, έχει μια εξαιρετική δυναμική, περνώντας με απλό και άμεσο τρόπο, όλα όσα θέλει χωρίς να πασχίζει, χωρίς να κουράζεται, ούτε η ίδια και κατ' επέκτασιν, ούτε και οι αναγνώστες της που παρασύρονται σε ένα εξαήμερο οδοιπορικό οχτώ διαφορετικών ανθρώπων, εκπροσώπους ορισμένων κατηγοριών που δεν είναι ξένοι αλλά, βρίσκονται γύρω μας, αποτελούν κομμάτι της καθημερινότητάς μας.

Καλώς ή κακώς, οι νέοι σήμερα, έχουν να αντιμετωπίσουν περισσότερα προβλήματα απ' ότι στο παρελθόν. Ο σύγχρονος τρόπος ζωής, τα κοινωνικά status και τα πρότυπα που επιβάλλονται με κάθε μέσο, δεν μπορούν παρά να οδηγήσουν τους νέους στην υιοθέτηση κατασκευασμένων ταμπελών που στην ουσία, δεν τους ταιριάζουν και ακόμα χειρότερα, δεν είναι αυτές που θέλουν και μπορούν να τους κάνουν ευτυχισμένους. Η ευτυχία, έρχεται όταν κατανοούμε την αλήθεια και όταν την υιοθετούμε ως τρόπο ζωής, όταν την κάνουμε προσωπικό μας στόχο και βίωμα. "Η Λίστα" λοιπόν είναι ένα σπουδαίο βιβλίο που κάθε έφηβος αλλά και κάθε ενήλικος, θα έπρεπε να διαβάσει γιατί τότε, ίσως να καταλάβαινε και να έδινε σημασία και προσοχή σε πιο σημαντικά πράγματα από αυτά που κάποιοι άλλοι χωρίς ουσία θέλουν να επιβάλλουν. Η ευτυχία, βρίσκεται στα πιο μικρά πράγματα, είτε είναι όμορφα είτε είναι άσχημα. Στις ανθρώπινες σχέσεις και στη δύναμη που απαιτείται να παραδεχτούμε τα λάθη μας και τελικά, να πάμε μπροστά. ...more

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Apr 29, 2013 Jackie "the Librarian" rated it really liked it

Shelves: misery-oh-misery, youngadult

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

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Apr 26, 2014 Ellis rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: anticipaaaation, barf-meh-shrug, book-datemate-please-materialise, boss-heroine, genre-contemporary, disappointing-execution, hate-to-like, i-am-not-amused, i-will-go-down-with-this-ship, in-my-possession

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

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About Siobhan Vivian

Siobhan Vivian

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Siobhan Vivian is the author of THE LAST BOY AND GIRL IN THE WORLD (April 2016), as well as THE LIST, NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL, SAME DIFFERENCE, and A LITTLE FRIENDLY ADVICE. She also co-wrote BURN FOR BURN series with her best friend JENNY HAN. She currently lives in Pittsburgh.

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