The Queen of Everything

Rating:
Summary: Loudest teenage voice I've heard since Jessica Darling
Review: Deb Caletti's debut introduces protagonist Jordan MacKenzie, a typical high school junior girl with a seemingly typical high school junior's life. Through wonderful teenage narration sparkling with authentic voice, we come to know Jordan and come to see how the man she once knew as her father turned crazy, all in the name of so-called love.

Yes, crazy. All over Gayle D'Angelo, a married woman.

The narration and voice make up for a semi-slow moving story, though it mostly builds up plot and suspense-wise, keeping you on the edge of your seat. All characters are easy to like, with the exception of Jordan's new boyfriend, Kale, who just wants to get in Jordan's pants and kills bunnies with a shotgun for fun. We at first see her as rather self-confident and witty but as the story progresses, her confidence rises and plummets according to the situations she faces. I found her revenge on her "boyfriend," Kale, to be quite amusing. Kale is hell-bent on getting Jordan's attention and she instantly regrets sleeping with him, especially when he's got his tongue down some other girl's throat 10 minutes later. After crazy Mr. MacKenzie is taken to the sheriff's, Jordan uses Kale for a ride. She needs to get away from her home and her family. Come morning at a skeezy motel, Kale and Jordan genuinely have become the modern-day Bonnie and Clyde. Kale has stolen some poor soul's car and Jordan isn't about to let him get away with it, especially after what he's put her through. So she alerts a gas station man and takes off running, saying to him she refuses to ride in the stolen car any longer. That's just one of the humorous incidents - the characters are amusing as well.

Take Claire, Jordan's hippie mother who unabashedly breast feeds Jordan's baby half-brother in public. And Melissa, Jordan's very best friend, who at first thinks Kale, neighborhoodwide-known as a thug, is good for Jordan. Prior, Jordan's experience had been limited to two unmemorable boyfriends.

Mr. MacKenzie's craziness over his affair with beautiful southerner Gayle takes a turn for the absolute worst, and I never even saw it coming! We slowly see Jordan and Mr. MacKenzie's father-daughter relationship deteroriating all thanks to the toll of lust, love, or infatuation - whatever has caused Mr. MacKenzie to switch gears and become a total stranger who Jordan really doesn't even know anymore. I couldn't help but feel sorry for her, especially since she seemed as real as my heroine, Jessica Lynn Darling. And Jordan isn't terribly close with her mother, who remarried and now runs a bed and breakfast with her artsy-fartsy husband, Nathan. Caletti's striking first effort, despite a few slow downhillers, is worthwhile. I'm looking forward to her follow-up, HONEY, BABY, SWEETHEART.

Rating:
Summary: Tremendously Terrific Tale of a Troubled Teenager
Review: Exciting, humorous, and dramatic , "The Queen of Everything" by Deb Caletti beautifully tells the story about a teenaged girl, Jordan Mackenzie, whose father commits a startling murder. I enjoyed reading this novel because of how it illustrated the girl's emotions in a way I could relate to. I mainly enjoyed three aspects of this story: the storyline, the suspense, and the emotion. The storyline is very interesting and unique. You do not usually find a murder mystery involving a fifteen-year-old girl, and I found it incredible how Deb Caletti was able to tell the story through a teenager's eyes. Each chapter ended with a suspensful cliffhanger, which always made me want to continue reading. The terror and fear felt by Jordan as her father dated a married woman kept me on the edge of my seat until the last page was read. Emotion is painted beautifully through actions and words. Panic, sadness, and desire are emotions most commonly exemplified as the young girl travels through a frightening period of her life. If I was to rate this novel out of 10, I would rate it a 9 1/2. "The Queen of Everything" entertained me and has made me more interested in reading mystery thrillers.

Rating:
Summary: Long Live the Queen
Review: I loved this book! I initially bought the book as a gift for my niece, but when I read the first page I found myself hooked and could not put it down. The characters are so believable and Caletti makes you want more of them when the book ends. The main character, Jordan, is an empowered young woman, wise beyond her years, with a wonderful sense of humor. I laughed out loud and cried at times. Jordan's family is wonderfully wacky. Caletti writes with wisdom mixed with humor. I would recommend this book highly to adults as well as young adults, male and female. I hope that Caletti will have another book out soon.

Rating:
Summary: Awesome book
Review: i started reading this book and i found it very....SLOW!!! it doesn't really get to the point but talks about all this other nonsense. I feel this book was not good and I feel teenagers would not enjoy it. I agree with other reviews i have read it and it doesn't grab you at all.

Rating:
Summary: The Queen of Everything!!!
Review: I think that Deb Caletti did a great job on this book. It had romance, a crazy family, and excitment. I think she set a well-rounded setting and plot. Jordan has to go through something (that most of us don't have to go through) and handled it with grace. She was funny, and meet many funny people also. She is a great charcter to read about.

I totally recamend this book to anyone that wants a laugh, or loves Deb Caletti's work. Its a great book!

~*Jessica*~

Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I was drawn to more writing by Caletti after reading 'Honey, Baby, Sweetheart' and this book did not disappoint. As I read about Jordan's struggles with her own moral compass and insecurities, I kept wondering about the title. Is it a misnomer or is it simply a result of reaching the end of your rope and finding that it's been graciously and indefinitely extended by the love others have for you? Perhaps that is what makes one queenly.

Rating:
Summary: A slow moving book, but still very full of powerful emotion.
Review: In The Queen of Everything, high school junior Jordan MacKenzie has many problems including her dysfunctional family, her strange school life, and an annoying boy named Kale who just keeps following her. This book starts out a little slow, but after a little while, it becomes hard to put down. The plot line is amazing and very well thought out, and the characters are very realistic and true to life. This book has very true emotions and it will have the reader laughing and crying right along with Jordan as she discovers life's lessons.

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Summary: Brittany's Review
Review: This book is about a girl, Jordan McKenzie. She is a typical teenager that has a normal life (a family with too many problems to count, a job she hates, and a boyfriend that she doesn't even like), well until Gayle D'Angelo came along. Jordan's father is the town optometrist, who seems like a respectable guy, until Jordan finds out he is dating a married woman, this is where Gayle comes in. Jordan can she her father changing right before her eyes and doesn't know how to stop it. How far will Jordan's father go for love? And, How far is too far? How will she handle the whirl-wind her life is about to enter?

This book really related to me and some of the things I am going through as a teenager. I also felt that it was a good read, but I found the book got long-winded. I would recommend this book to a person who enjoys reading.

Rating:
Summary: very good book
Review: this book was a very good book in my oppinion. i finnished it in two in a half days.i would have finnished early however but at the beginning of the book it gets started REAL slow ,i mean it gets started slow but then it starts to take it's flow after a while. but as it does so it also puts alot of details that in my oppinion i dont think was needed...lets just say caletti goes all out.
but besides the slowness at the beginning it was a very good book it was about a girl named jordan who kinda has family problems and then matters get worse with her dad... and mostly the book in its own way is revolved around that matter. i do hope that deb makes a sequel to this book and talks about the blooming romance between jordan ''someone else''...i dont want to give it away.
i think this book needs to be mainly for teens 14 and over.