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The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door
by
That's the day the trouble started.
The trouble that nearly ruined my life.
The trouble that turned me Dark.
The trouble that begs me for revenge.
Celia Door enters her freshman year of high school with giant boots, dark eyeliner, and a thirst for revenge against Sandy Firestone, the girl who did something unspeakable to Celia last year.
But then Celia meets Drake, the cool new ...more
The trouble that nearly ruined my life.
The trouble that turned me Dark.
The trouble that begs me for revenge.
Celia Door enters her freshman year of high school with giant boots, dark eyeliner, and a thirst for revenge against Sandy Firestone, the girl who did something unspeakable to Celia last year.
But then Celia meets Drake, the cool new ...more
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Hardcover, 272 pages
Published
February 21st 2013
by Viking Children's
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When Sandy Firestone made Celia Door’s life miserable in middle school, Celia decides to start her high school career with revenge on her mind. When an incident prompted by Sandy and her friend Mandy, Celia places a wall and guards herself with fronting an unfriendly manner. Karen Finneyfrock’s The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door details her freshman year as she plots her revenge. Her plotting gets on paper but never seems to take flight. When the new kid from New York City, Drake, comes into her li
...more

Reading the first few pages of this book was misleading. I assumed that I would be reading a novel of a humorous yet Dark young girl in high school whose story would stand out. With a point and a lot of snarky sentences to make me laugh and giggle childishly.
I was wrong about the first part, though the laughing was minimal and the smirks few and far between.
This book, though a little bit endearing at times, really made me frustrated with the lack of...well...plot; Purpose; A point. There really ...more
I was wrong about the first part, though the laughing was minimal and the smirks few and far between.
This book, though a little bit endearing at times, really made me frustrated with the lack of...well...plot; Purpose; A point. There really ...more

I soooo loved this book. Maybe it's because I was a young poetry geek like Celia, or that I, too, tried to read my way through sections of the library (the young readers' biography section of my county library when I was about 9 or 10). I thankfully didn't have her painful unpopularity issues, but by the age she is at the beginning of this book, 14, I was also the proud possessor of an "I could care less whether you like me or not" attitude. It sometimes takes people a little longer to grow that
...more

When I received this ARC, I was extremely excited to begin reading it because I was familiar with and impressed by the author's spoken word/slam poetry work. That, coupled with a ringing endorsement from Sherman Alexie on the cover, made this seem like it would be a real treat for me.
Unfortunately, this novel didn't grab me like I had hoped, and I stopped reading a little before the half-way mark. Though I liked the opening and found some humor in the writing, it felt forced at times and the na ...more

In The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door, Celia is an outcast and wants to be known as Celia the “Dark” and not by her real name, Celia Door. Celia is out for revenge for Sandy Firestone for making her “dark.” With her lace up black leather boots, she is writing a plan to get back at Sandy but some “light” is brought into her life, Drake. Drake moved from New York to Hershey, Pennsylvania, hoping to get into an art school in New York.
Karen Finneyfrock keeps the readers on the edge of their seats with ...more
Karen Finneyfrock keeps the readers on the edge of their seats with ...more

Wow, my favorite ARC so far from ALA midwinter. I loved this book and finished it in like a day? A must-read! It's a YA, a lower YA--I would love my almost 13 yo girl to read it. Celia's voice is perfect!
There are spoilers, so don't read anymore if you don't want to know.
To me this is a story of pure friendship and the up and down of it as you try to 'help' your friends with their schemes and plans.
Celia is a wannabe famous-poet. (the poems show so much of her character throughout the story--wha ...more
There are spoilers, so don't read anymore if you don't want to know.
To me this is a story of pure friendship and the up and down of it as you try to 'help' your friends with their schemes and plans.
Celia is a wannabe famous-poet. (the poems show so much of her character throughout the story--wha ...more

Celia Door is known as Celia the Dark, because she has separated herself from her classmates, always wears a dark hoodie and black boots, and is all around surly. She wasn't always this way though, thanks to popular girl, Sandy, who pretty much bullied her all throughout middle school. Celia has decided to seek revenge on Sandy now that they are in high school and the stakes are higher. Things are already looking up for Celia now that she is in high school, because she meets charismatic Drake wh
...more

If I had read this book a few years ago, I probably would’ve given it a five-star rating. As it is, I’ve read too many similar books in the past couple of years to still be impressed or affected by this type of story. I expected revenge, but that’s not what I got.
I appreciate the positive messages hidden in this story and how it focuses on more than just a girl being bullied at school. What also makes it slightly different from other such books is that it shows how revenge can sometimes backfir ...more
I appreciate the positive messages hidden in this story and how it focuses on more than just a girl being bullied at school. What also makes it slightly different from other such books is that it shows how revenge can sometimes backfir ...more

3.5 Stars
Anyone who reads YA on a regular basis has come across a myriad of books that confront the issue of bullying. When I first picked up this galley, I didn't know that Celia Door's story fell into that category. While it does confront that issue, it ended up being about much more. Celia was immediately endeared to me with her determination to form a protective outer shell that consisted of a bad attitude and lots of goth make-up. Her obsession with revenge on the girl who made her school l ...more
Anyone who reads YA on a regular basis has come across a myriad of books that confront the issue of bullying. When I first picked up this galley, I didn't know that Celia Door's story fell into that category. While it does confront that issue, it ended up being about much more. Celia was immediately endeared to me with her determination to form a protective outer shell that consisted of a bad attitude and lots of goth make-up. Her obsession with revenge on the girl who made her school l ...more

In the realistic fiction book The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door by Karen Finneyfrock, which took place in Hershey Pennsylvania, The main character Celia Door seeks revenge on Sandy Firestone. In the book Sandy picks on Celia in middle school because Celia was an outsider, a loner in the eyes of mean middle school girls (Sandy and Mandy), so when Celia enters high school she has one thing set in her mind, revenge on Sandy Firestone. But in the book she soon meets Drake the cool new kid from New Yor
...more

High school freshman Celia Door is Dark. She’s been Dark since middle school, when an incident instigated by mean girls Sandy and Mandy occurred. Celia guards herself with dark clothes, poetry, and a standoffish demeanor. But the thing is, she does care about how she’s treated. Sandy and Mandy continue to abuse her, and she wants revenge.
She plots and plots, but her plans for revenge don’t take off the way she wants them to. There’s a new boy at school, Drake, who’s absolutely cool and intereste ...more
She plots and plots, but her plans for revenge don’t take off the way she wants them to. There’s a new boy at school, Drake, who’s absolutely cool and intereste ...more

I can understand why Celia Door has received so many positive ratings, and praises from the likes of Sherman Alexie and Ruth Sepetys. The narrative bravely faces the cringe-inducing awkward and the seemingly insurmountable troubles of being 14. And it's done very well. For me, it was too well: I fully acknowledge Finneyfrock's skill in crafting such a spot-on fourteen year-old, full of flawed, overly emotional logic, angsty poetry, and everything else that is awful about being an early teen. But
...more

Read this in one sitting, at the beach, in moderate solitude, and found myself having flashbacks to my own high school years during this time. Celia Door, I would have been friends with both you and Drake! Having heard Karen Finneyfrock perform her poetry here in Seattle, I must admit I had high expectations for this book. Good thing I wasn't disappointed. Definitely age appropriate for teens, but relatable to the adult audience as well. Refreshing to find a young adult novel with no blatant sup
...more

Great story of friends, coming out and a library loving girl. Yes, Celia is a freshman who loves books and is awkward around people. Her best feature is her ability to stand up for what she believes in easily--that is so rare in YA books without a fight. Her issues are fitting in, which she may never do, and by the end of the book, everyone is ok with that.

Fantastic - I'd read an entire series about Celia Door. Once I finished, I found myself dying to know what she'd be like later in high school.
...more

You know how oatmeal can be boring or cool? Like you can add nuts and raisins in it, and honey and turn something blah into something you actually crave? Well, this book is so bland, you can just call it porridge. Sugar-free oat-mush.
But yet I'm giving it 3 stars when I've given way more exciting books 1 or 2 stars. The reason for that is because it's written well and because the author managed to pull shit together at the end. Wrap it up nice and tight in a satisfying way.
Here's where the spoil ...more
But yet I'm giving it 3 stars when I've given way more exciting books 1 or 2 stars. The reason for that is because it's written well and because the author managed to pull shit together at the end. Wrap it up nice and tight in a satisfying way.
Here's where the spoil ...more

I had enjoyed "The Sweet revenge of Celia Door." This was a coming of age novel about a young girl struggling to find out were she is suppose to fit in. Celia is fourteen years old with newly split parents and just entering high school. Celia does not have any friends as she struggles to fit in with the other kids, that is until this new boy comes to town. Drake is from New York and right away takes a liking to Celia even though people tell her to stay away. Celia is struggling with fitting in
...more

I rate "The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door" a little less than 4 stars but overall it's a very interesting book. I love how the author weaves in her love for poem into this book while keeping a good storyline. Another thing I really love is how she doesn't reveal what happened in the past, but gave hints along the way, until the end. Which can also be shown in books like One of Us Is Lying, another book that I really love as well. Sometimes, I found it hard to relate to the characters, more specifi
...more

This book is about a girl named Celia who has been an outcast at school ever since her enemy, Sandy, made a book listing all of Celia's flaws. As the new school year starts, Celia plots to get revenge. She becomes friends with Drake, the new boy who tells Celia one of his biggest secrets: he's gay. Through drake, Celia learns a lot of valuable life lessons, and Sandy ends up getting what she deserves.
In my opinion, this wasn't that good of a book because it got really boring and I found my mind ...more
In my opinion, this wasn't that good of a book because it got really boring and I found my mind ...more

Apr 19, 2019
Danii Allen
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
lgbtq,
2019-popsugar
Read as part of the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2019, to fill A book with a title that contains "salty", "sweet", "bitter", or "spicy".
I liked this book, but as someone who is no longer fourteen, reading this gives a lot of feelings of oh god, how I do not miss being fourteen.
The fact that 75% of the story is spoiled on the blurb is a definite downside, but it was fine as a whole. LGBTQ+ issues were handled pretty well although I don't how how realistic the queer portrayal was. Not massively real ...more
I liked this book, but as someone who is no longer fourteen, reading this gives a lot of feelings of oh god, how I do not miss being fourteen.
The fact that 75% of the story is spoiled on the blurb is a definite downside, but it was fine as a whole. LGBTQ+ issues were handled pretty well although I don't how how realistic the queer portrayal was. Not massively real ...more

The unexpected Gem that needs to reach the Right Audience
It’s been a long time since a character spoke to me the way that Celia Door did. It’s been even longer since a book has touched me in the manner the Sweet Revenge of Celia Door did. When I first began reading it, I expected some fluffy paranormal type book, with the darkness being demonic or woowoo. Glad I was wrong. Glad I got more than I bargained for.
Betrayal, the proverbial stake through the heart. We’ve all been there, in that Brutus ...more
It’s been a long time since a character spoke to me the way that Celia Door did. It’s been even longer since a book has touched me in the manner the Sweet Revenge of Celia Door did. When I first began reading it, I expected some fluffy paranormal type book, with the darkness being demonic or woowoo. Glad I was wrong. Glad I got more than I bargained for.
Betrayal, the proverbial stake through the heart. We’ve all been there, in that Brutus ...more

When first reading this book, I thought it would be mediocre. Finneyfrock took her time arriving to the climax but I can say the climax grabbed me like a good book does. I did like this book, it struck a special cord with me as I share some similarities with the main character. Though, Celia was a little preachy at first I came to empathize with her after the intially introduction.

I have to apologize because I finished this book several days ago and then read another contemporary book. So I think the impact it left on me has faded a bit and my true emotions may not show as strongly as they may have if I had reviewed immediately after finishing the book.
This book did impact me fairly strongly and I think that's because it's about bullying (largely). Through the book we know that something happened to Celia the previous year that devastated her enough to become 'Celia the d ...more
This book did impact me fairly strongly and I think that's because it's about bullying (largely). Through the book we know that something happened to Celia the previous year that devastated her enough to become 'Celia the d ...more

Have you ever wanted to get revenge on your friend enemy for doing something that they did to you in middle school? I really enjoyed The sweet revenge of Celia Door and i think people should read this book. This genre is realistic fiction because this could happen to some people in High School.
It takes place in Hershey High School and Celia's house. This setting is important to the book because Celia is starting high school and she spends time at her house more. Celia is the girl who is kin ...more
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“Autumn stomps around outside the house
like an annoying little sister, tapping
on all the shutters, kicking up the piles
of leaves you rake, pretending to howl
like a wolf. But I'm glad she's here,
so we can cuss at Summer together,
pretending we don't even remember her name.”
—
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like an annoying little sister, tapping
on all the shutters, kicking up the piles
of leaves you rake, pretending to howl
like a wolf. But I'm glad she's here,
so we can cuss at Summer together,
pretending we don't even remember her name.”
“THE DAY I ALMOST KILLED MYSELF
It was afternoon and the razor
reflected the sky like like a mirror. The bath towels
were white like the bathtub and my wrists
were white like the towels.
The bathwater got lukewarm.
The afternoon turned into late
afternoon and I was still pulling ropes of air
into my lungs like a sailor. The razor reflected
the sunset. The bathwater got cold.
The bath towels were white like the bathtub
and my wrists were white like the towels.”
—
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More quotes…
It was afternoon and the razor
reflected the sky like like a mirror. The bath towels
were white like the bathtub and my wrists
were white like the towels.
The bathwater got lukewarm.
The afternoon turned into late
afternoon and I was still pulling ropes of air
into my lungs like a sailor. The razor reflected
the sunset. The bathwater got cold.
The bath towels were white like the bathtub
and my wrists were white like the towels.”