All's Fair in Love, War, and High School

Pullman High #2

by Janette Rallison

When your chance for getting into college and your date for the prom are all on the line… Sixteen-year-old Samantha Taylor is used to having things go her way. She's head cheerleader and has all the right friends and a steady stream of boyfriends. But when she tanks the SATs, her automatic assumptions about going to college don't appear to be so automatic anymore. She determines that her only hope for college admission is to win the election for student body president. Unfortunately, with her razor wit and acid tongue she's bettersuited to dishing out insults than winning votes. When she brashly bets her classmate Logan that she can go two weeks without uttering a single insult, Samantha immediately realizes that she may have bitten off more than she can chew. And when her current boyfriend dumps her, less than three weeks before the prom, it couldn't be a worse time to be forced to keep her opinions to herself. Finding a new boyfriend will be a challenge now that Logan shadows her every move, hoping to catch her slipping back into her old ways. Samantha is determined to win the election and find a dream date for the prom, no matter what it takes. After all . . . all's fair in love and war (and high school!).

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Humor, Chick Lit, Young Adult Romance

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2003

About the author

Check out my awesome book trailers!
My Unfair Godmother:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AlRg0...
My Fair Godmother: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=up1jF8...
Just One Wish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP1Nce...
My Double Life
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzuswp...

Janette Rallison has five children who keep her well supplied with plot ideas, sometimes even making cameo appearances in her novels. She likes to write romantic comedy because there is enough angst in real life, but theres a drastic shortage on both humor and romance.


Playing the Field was named Society of School Librarians International Best Book Award Honor Book, and both Alls Fair In Love, War, and High School and Love, Life, and the Pursuit of Free Throws were included on YALSAs Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults list. Fame Glory, and Other Things on My To Do List, was just chosen for IRAs YA Choices list for 2007

"

Reviews

[Kristyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute! Janette Rallison writes great books for pre-teen/teen girls. They are clean, but yet funny, witty, and good enough to keep an old person like me interested. I can really relate to a lot of the characters in her books, either from my high school years, or my kids' friends now. This one made me laugh a lot. Plus, her books always seem to have a moral to the story and the characters learn from their dilemmas.

It's great to read books about teenagers that are normal and not dark, foul-mouthed, depressed or being stalked by a supposedly teenage guy from another century. (No, I'm not thinking of Twilight.)

My daughter and I love to talk about our favorite parts of Janette Rallison's books after reading them, and that makes them great in another way. My daughter thought it was weird that the leading male of the book had the same name as her brother, but I thought it was cool.

[Melanchallina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Джанет Рэллисон "В любви, на войне и в школе все средства хороши" (Школа Пулман 2/3)

8 из 10

Жанр: YA, современный любовный роман, милый роман
POV: от первого лица
Геометрия чувств: прямая
Отличительные черты: популярная, немного глупенькая героиня, милый герой, отсутствие героев в стиль "самец" или "мачо мен"

РЕЦЕНЗИЯ:
Джанет Рэллисон известна некоторым читателям в России по любительскому переводу наимилейшей книги "Моя прекрасная крестная", представляющую собой волшебную историю с хорошим юмором и забавными приключениями героини в поисках себя. В "В любви, на войне и в школе все средства хороши" магии нет, нет приключений, фей-крестных и драконов, но стиль Рэллисон все также четко виден. Джанет Рэллисон один из немногих авторов, который пишет о подростках и для подростков правдоподобно, по крайней мере, насколько это возможно.

"В любви…" - наимелейший рассказ (не могу назвать это книгой, слишком уж небольшой объем произведения), который я советую вам, если вы хотите чего-то легкого и простого. Эта книга из разряда "прочитал и забыл", которую я вряд ли буду когда-нибудь перечитывать, и все же я действительно получила настоящее удовольствие и вовсе не жалею потраченного времени.

Хочется отметить, что у Рэллисон отличное чувство юмора, которое она умело передала Саманте, главной героине романа.

Итак, Саманта. Королева школы, капитан черлидеров. Она любит внимание, бегать на свидание и оскорблять всех вокруг. Но наступает момент, когда корона вот-вот слетит с ее прелестной белокурой головки. Парень бросает ее прямо перед выпускным, оценки по экзамену катастрофически плохие, а еще это дурацкое пари с не менее дурацким Логаном Хансеном.

Что ждет Саманту в будущем?
Выиграет ли она спор?
Найдет ли пару на выпускной?
Победит ли в гонке за место президента школы?

Ну это вы узнаете сами, если прочитаете "В любви, на войне и в школе все средства хороши".

[Zoe and the Edge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Samantha has got some serious issues. She has a massive inferior complex.
At first I wasn't looking forward to the cliché mean-girl-turns-nice scenario. But Ms. Rallison pulled off Samantha's personality makeover well. I started getting interested with the bet and Samantha's forced cheeriness had me laughing. I also liked that her catty friends struggled with her new kindness.
I cringed through Samantha's crush on Josh from Blue Eyes and Other Teenage Hazards. Because Josh is obviously destined to be with Cassidy. And speaking of Cassidy, Samantha's one-sided feud with her continues.

This book's a little different from the other Rallison books I've read due to the heroine not being nice, smart, or a stellar daughter.

The romance was a slightly more mild which was kind of annoying because I didn't know what the hero was thinking. He just turned around at the end. So that was a bit abrupt.

[jules ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･ · Rating 5 out of 5]

the most unexpected books are the funniest 💓

[Kate McMurry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute, YA chick-lit novel

In the first book of this trilogy, Blue Eyes and Other Teenage Hazards, pretty, popular cheerleader, Samantha, is a main antagonist to her nearby neighbor, Cassidy, who is the protagonist of that novel. The events in Blue Eyes occur during the previous school year, when Sam was a sophomore. It is not necessary to read the books in this series in order, but they are all quite enjoyable and definitely worth reading.

Sam has had an adversarial relationship with Logan for the past three years. He was briefly her boyfriend when they were in eighth grade, and he has been her coworker for several years at the local bookstore in Pullman, Washington. Sam finds it impossible to resist accepting a bet from Logan, who claims that she cannot go two weeks without insulting anybody. At first it seems like it will be no big deal for her to win the bet, but it actually proves to be an enormous challenge, one that will, ultimately, drastically change her approach to everyone in her life. Most especially to Logan himself.

Sam has a frequently funny growth arc across the course of this novel, from a cynical, snooty cheerleader--who is not quite a full-on Mean Girl, but getting close--to a decent human being by the end of the book. This story is not as outright hilarious as the previous book, but it does offer a significant number of laugh-out-loud moments.

As is always the case with JR's teen novels, this story is G-rated and suitable for all ages.


I rate this book as follows:

Heroine: 3.5 stars
Hero: 4 stars
Subcharacters: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
Chick Lit Plot: 4 stars
Romance Plot: 4 stars
Overall: 4 stars

[Charissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This YA romance is almost slapstick funny, yet I really got into it. Sixteen year old Samantha is a popular cheerleader who seems like she has it all, but when she receives her SAT scores, she realizes college might not be in her reach unless she changes. She decides to run for student body class president to have something better on her resume, and when her friend/enemy/coworker, Logan, challenges her to go two weeks without insulting anyone, she thinks—Piece of cake. But it’s harder than it seems when she is naturally so snarky and self-centered. I loved the character arc in this story. Sam is a normal girl with normal problems—and she tends to be quite egocentric, but she learns (the hard way) that life is better when you’re nicer and reach out to others. Sweet, witty, silly, and heart-growing story.

[mich · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

This was cute, but kinda forgettable (I read it a couple weeks ago and I already don't remember much about it other than I thought it was cute and a little dumb).

This was my first read from this author though, and I liked her sense of humor -- it made me pick up a bunch of her other books (there's kinda a lot, which I didn't realize. Hadn't really heard of her before even though I apparently already had a couple of her books downloaded on my kindle LOL)

[Tristi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Janette Rallison writes young adult fiction that is fun, quirky, and yet remarkably clean. I find her one of the best YA authors currently on the market for knowing how to entertain without relying on the tired old tricks of sex, drugs, and language.

[Madeline W · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel was, in many ways, an accurate representation of the perks and downfalls of the unhinged high school experience. In the spirit of Samantha's bet, however, I will try to be as nice as I can going forward with my review.

I think it can be said that the FMC and MMC match each other’s freaks, so to speak, which makes some of the more frustrating parts of their personalities more bearable. Samantha and Logan are both critical individuals who are trying to play mind games in the dating scene. I assumed they would end up together after everything just because there was no way Logan and Cassidy would actually stick together as prom dates (with their other prospects in the room as well). But their banter was decently cute, albeit cringe when the bet first started. They were hard characters to like, but I liked them well enough together.

If you are wondering about the other characters and their levels of annoyance, don’t get your hopes up. Samantha’s friends in general are kind of intolerable. Again, there is some growth - or potential for growth - exhibited at the end. But their favorite hobby is legitimately making fun of people in the hallway. Make no mistake, some of the nerd clique are also intolerable, AKA Doug. The man has to know that asking for hot girl media is not going to convince someone to date you.

Also, essentially every character is someone else's ex, including their current partner in several cases. I do not like this trope at all and think that going back to exes in almost any case is rather toxic. However, as someone who experienced high school as both a student and a teacher, I have to say that it's not necessarily an inaccurate picture of the teenage dating scene.

One thing I did applaud the author on was allowing Samantha to maintain her failures and actively learn a lot of her lessons the hard way. Nothing is magically fixed at the end, but she was genuinely moved by not insulting people, and she has a plan going forward for her grades. I was annoyed that she didn’t know from the beginning how she could use prom committee and cheerleading for her college applications, but I mean…her SAT score and knowledge of university admissions may be equally low in this case.

Despite the few cringey blips along the way, I had a decent time going through this. The line about putting the CAN I DATE in candidate was probably my favorite part, though, I can’t even lie. I may read the first book of the series, at least, to get a rounder picture of the school and town.

[Amanda P. · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF main character didnt like her therw all i made it threw.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

ANOTHER RALLISON BOOK! Man, I feel really old reading this. BUT its a great short book that you can read maybe on the subways or bus. All's Fair in Love, War, and High School by Janette Rallison is a book about a cheerleader trying to improve on her intellectual side because she was worried about her future.

Samantha is this stuck up cheerleader that insults almost everyone she sees. She has a friend name Logan, and they have this awkward relationship between each other because they dated before. But still, they talk, but only because they work at the same place.

The story begins when Logan wanted Samantha to help him hook up with his friends sister. But the only way to do it is to hook Samantha up with his friend. Samantha just got dumped by Branden and is not really, in her lovey dovey mood. So Logan made a bet with her, which stated that Samantha cannot insult anyone for 2 weeks.

During that 2 weeks, Samantha realized how mean she'd been to other people. And also, she decided to run for school president but worries that people might not like her to vote for her. She came across some catfights, conflicts and love thingabobs. But then, she came back to her senses and realize who was really important to her, and who are those who weren't.

This book made me realize how insulting people sometimes can really hurt someone eventhough it might seems like a joke to you. I sometimes call people names, i dont really mean it, but maybe to them it meant something, and that something might be BIG.

I will try my best to be nicer. But overall this book is great.

[Michaela Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is hilarious--comedy and a bit of reality for teens. This does not attempt to take on world issues, abuse, divorce, or anything terribly serious--just every day problems at school. Samantha is a cheerleader in high school and has bombed her SAT tests. In addition, her boyfriend dumps her right before prom. She decides to run for class president. She makes a bet with a co-worker Logan that she can go two weeks without saying anything bad about anyone.

None of these are serious issues and the book never takes itself too seriously either. I appreciated that. At times, some of the teen lit I read recently is heavily focused on angst--and I do understand why, but it was nice to read something that I understood (I was a cheerleader), had enough reality, and that made me laugh. Samantha doesn't always behave kindly or honestly and she feels both hurt and stupid when gossip and jealousy strike. I guess it made me remember high school, when even good days, could feel hard and the future could seem scary. The moral is a bit about learning how destructive gossip can be. No drugs, no sex, very clean, very funny. It has a happy ending, where she ends up with a good guy, but I liked the challenge about not saying anything negative. It made me stop and think if I could do this.

[Teya Teya · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a hard time trying to rate this book. It was annoying, frustrating, and stop high school ish, however, the end was so sweet and romantic it boosted the points up. I also wanted to read the third book but realized this one was the second book and I better read it in order just in case.

[Nicole Renee Denston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has changed the way i look at bullying. All's Fair in Love, War, and High School is one of my favorite books. It is very inspirational and i would recommend this book to young girls in middle school or high school. It helped me realize how hurtful insults can be and I have changed because of it. I hope it will help you change and let you know what a difference it can make to be nice to some one.

Samantha Taylor is a 16 year old girl who just found out she failed her SATs. She is captain of the cheerleaders, has a lot of friends, and can get any guy she wants. She figures she can't get into college unless she runs for student body president. One problem, though, is that she bet her classmate Logan that she wouldn't insult anyone for two weeks. Her boyfirend just dumped her three weeks before prom and now it will be harder than ever to stay away from insults. Especially with Logan breathing down her back and watching her every move. Sam is willing to do anything to get a date to prom, win student body president, and win her bet with Logan.

[Kathryn Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed on Clean Teen Fiction

I really loved Blue Eyes and Other Teenage Hazards (book 1) and had no idea there was another book in the series. I'd heard of All's Fair in Love, War, and High School but didn't know it had some of the characters from BEOTH.

The MC Samantha was actually the girl you might not like in book 1. It was really fun to see inside her head and watch her change. I love that Logan bet her that she couldn't keep from insulting people for two weeks. Hah! It was so funny to be inside her head and hear what she was keeping herself from saying.

Laugh out loud funny with a great story All's Fair in Love, War, and High School is a great book for anyone to read.

Content Ratings:
sexual: very mild
language: none
violence: none

[Eloise · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot is quite cute. Cheerleader heroine, smart and funny hero and how they constantly quarrel with each other. It's great to read a typical teenage romantic comedy novel without all the dramatic pasts and troubles of the protagonists.
I like the book because of the fast moving story line and the quirky incidents in Samantha's life. Logan is just too cute and really lights up the story. I would have loved to have more of their interactions throughout the book.
However, I didn't like her character as having introduced to her in a negative way in 'Blue Eyes and Other Teenage Hazards'. The fact that she is still hung up on Josh was a spoiler. Josh and Cassidy are obviously meant to be together and their story was one of the best ones I ever read. The fact that they had broken up was a turn- off. Do they get back together?

[Cassie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a wonderful combination of drama, politics, comedy, and romance. Somehow, it played everyone one of those characteristics just right. None of them were overwelming. Samantha is a conceided cheerleader who learns just how important her future is. With the mixture of the presidential campaign, prom night coming up, and a bet she made with a friend she finds completely annoying, everything is spinning a little to fast for her. With nothing left to do, she faces it head on. However, in the end she experiences a change of heart and realizes her most annoying friend ever, might just be her perfect match. All and all it was a great storie. It taught me never to judge a book by its cover.

[Kathy * Bookworm Nation · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was another fun high school story. Samantha really goes through a nice transformation in the book. She starts out as your stereotypical cheerleader, over critical of people and transforms into a nice caring girl. I thought the bet between her and Logan was fun, and how he decided he needed to spend a lot of extra time around her to make sure she didn’t slip up. Another fun Rallison novel, she has a knack for writing believable teenagers and their high school experiences.

[Mary Tambascio · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing of this book is okay. The story of this book predictable and cliche but that is not a bad thing. It is simple, kinda cute, and entertaining. This book does have a good moral and portrays it very well. The characters are very relatable. This is book to be read when you need something to occupy yourself for a short time.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute, clean read.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute story.

Content: clean. No language or sex.

[Laurie D'ghent · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun, light-hearted. No swearing, sex, drug use, etc.

[Mary Duda · Rating 1 out of 5]

Main character was terrible and unlikable. Love interest had zero personality. I feel like there wasn't much point to this book.

[Claudia · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good. Made me laugh.

[6thbreed]

Age Range: 16 and up.
Physical content: Samantha has had quite a few boyfriends. Her friends ogle guys from the balcony at her school. One of them jokes about a cat being a better kisser than a guy and one of her friend's asks, "What guys have you been kissing?" There's a class clown that ran through a basketball game with a sign questioning the highschool girls' shaving habits. There's a mention of thong underwear. One terrible guy comes into the library and wants to check out a book that has hot babes on it. Samantha describes the woman as having shorts on that would have been tight on Thumbelina. They have a whole conversation about girls on cars/how calendars are only useful if you pay attention to the calendar portion of the calendar. Samantha notices hard shoulder muscles on a boy when she dances with him. She hold hands with a guy, and also gets into a fight where she starts throwing grass in close proximity. One boy asks if there is any guy she hasn't flirted with. Samantha and a boy lean close to each other when talking. She notices that one boy is attractive and another boy has a nice smile. One undetailed kiss.
Swearing: One of Samantha's boyfriends was said to have said something exasperatedly, and she says it started with an F.
Personal Opinion: Janette Rallison writes the spoiled cheerleader type in first person so well! Samantha was a royal shrew, but had a great character arc. I would have liked to see her live her life a little longer after she realized how horrible she had been, but I still enjoyed it. This book was hilarious though!! Sometimes the humor caught me off guard and made me laugh out loud! The concept of not insulting someone for two weeks was so unique. It had great food for thought regarding how our words can affect other people and their perception of us. Overall, I would recommend if you're looking for a light, funny read that has a good moral! I think Janette Rallison is quickly becoming an author I'm going to seek out if I need a good laugh.

[Dina Orban · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I've read a book by Janette Rallison, without laughing until I cryed or my stomach hurt. I don't know why I expected differently. What can I say? The woman is a genius.
Samantha Taylor.Head cheerleader, great friend, great personality. Right? Wrong!
Logan Hansen, ex-boyfriend, annoying, grease dirty handed... His opinion of Samantha is very different from what she thinks of herself.
After getting low grades on her SAT, Samantha is depressed enough to tell Logan her problems. He offers her the solution she wouldn't have thought at. Become president of the school's student body. The only problem, from Logan's pov is Samantha's habit of insulting and criticizing everyone. After yet another love story gone wrong, and a disaster involving Brad, his car and her cat, Samantha makes a bet with Logan. If she wins, he'll take her to the most expensive restaurant in town. If he wins she'll go on a date with Doug so that Logan can get his cousin Veronica's phone number.
How hard can it be not to say anything mean or insulting to anyone, when that's what you did trough all high school? Samantha's about to find out.
Trough betrayals (or not?), sabotage, posters, tears, little sisters, enormous Goliaths, neighborhood fairs and disapproving best friends, Samantha will find her true self. And a new love interest. Just not the one she expected.
Read it. It's worth the time. 😊

[Juniper Shore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Janette Rallison reliably turns out YA books that are funny and squeaky clean, and this one is no exception. The usual formula runs something like "girl with minor character flaw needs to conceal said flaw for some ridiculous reason, and in the process learns a valuable life lesson." None of these books offer much depth, but they're superbly written, lighthearted and quick to read.

In the beginning of All's Fair, Samantha is a stereotypical mean girl: glamorous and admired, but not particularly loved. One of her coworkers, with whom she has a love/hate relationship, bets her that she can't be nice to everyone for two straight weeks. Coupled with her campaign for class president, this makes a tough challenge.

Sam's narrative voice is great, with plenty of witty observations about the situations she finds herself in. A few scenes had me laughing out loud. It's hard to picture Sam as a genuine mean girl--she's too self-aware and genuinely pleasant to seem believable--but that's a flaw I can overlook.

The only significant fly in the ointment is the plot, which is entirely predictable. No matter. Read this book for a fun pick-me-up, not for profound insights.

[Vibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars - positively negative subtraction

Book 2 of the Pullman High series shifts Josh and Cassidy to secondary characters, and Samantha, the shallow and self-centered cheerleader, becomes the heroine of this one. Logan is her co-worker at the local bookstore and the ex boyfriend who loves to give her a hard time.

Dialogue is always the best aspect of Rallison's books & the exchanges between them are entertaining.

Admittedly, Samantha's not an easy protagonist to root for - she's spent so much time running everyone & everything down that she's negative nearly all the time - but it's worth hanging in there as she finally begins to figure things out. The denouement & conclusion are very satisfying as the characters experience significant growth as well as a sweet happily-ever-after - without the dishonesty of a pat solution to Samantha's original problem. I'd have no problem letting my teen read this!

*Romance level: sweet kisses nothing graphic

[Rachel Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really like Janette Ralliston books. The first one I read was Deep Blue Eyes and other Lies, which I gather has been edited and republished as Deep Blue Eyes and Other Teenage Hazards. This is the sequel. I picked it up at a second hand book store because it was Janette Ralliston, and I’d noticed it and it’s sequel (which I also found) on lists of books by the author.

Little did I know it was a sequel to that other novel, which I had read many, many years ago. Part way in, the characters started to sound too familiar, so I checked. It was perfectly wonderful to dive back into the story. A few things changed in the edit, but it was easy to catch up. I really enjoyed that this book is from the perspective of an antagonist from the first book. Also I really liked the approach to the main character.

[Viktoria Van der bilt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ah, what a cute book. Definitely an improvement from the first one.

Although both were written with substance and humor, this one was more engaging for me because it had the romance element more prominently that the first book. (Yes, I’m hopeless like that.)

However, I will have to admit that my favorite thing about this one is the character’s development, that is, Samantha’s growth. I think I will have to try that two-week being-critical detox, too, when I go back to work.

PS: I think Josh is an asshole after all.