Rating: 
Summary: mad little rich boys
Review: 200 page read went by so fast, funny, and facinating. Although Gossip Girl isn't my cup of tea, I liked this refreshing pov from Jonathan Minter. The characters are typical: the sensitive leader Jonathan, shy athletic David, hot Arno, taken rebel Mickey (Pardo, Parks more like), and the other guy Patch. The social task of keeping these mad rich boys together is an enjoyable story with a beautiful insider's look into NY.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining enough
Review: At first, I was a little disapointed because I thought the Insiders would be more funny and Gossip Girl-like, but it was still very good.
The Insiders tells the story of a group of 5 guys who are supposed to be best friends, but find themselves drifting apart and fighting over girls. The main character, Jonathan, seems to be the only one trying to keep them together. They call him the "glue" that holds the group together. Mickey Pardo, the son of a rich art-seller, is the weird and romantic type. His girlfriend's dad doesn't want them to be together-- very Romeo and Juiliet. Arno is the man-slut of the group; he steals David's girl away, and then falls for Jonathan's cousin. David is the sensitive, emo guy. And Patch is the cute, dreamy one who often disapears for days at a time. Over the course of the book, the guys have to bind together to look for Patch, who seems to be away on one of his wanderings longer than usual.
My only complaint about this book is that the characters are pretty flat and somewhat stereotypical. The author only gives the characters the specific traits that make them "the Jock" or "the player". I think the Insiders would be significantly better if the writer tried to round out the characters a little more.
All in all, an entertaining, fun book. I recommend checking it out at the library.
Rating: 
Summary: Advice from a Style Guru
Review: Cecily Von Ziegesar has given this book an enthusiastic thumbs up and it sis said that there will be a sequel called, PASS IT ON. I didn't think that there would be enough interest in a sequel but i'm glad to hear I was wrong. Maybe the author, J Minter, will explain the attraction between David and Jonathan, whose names are taken from the story of the Bible's most famous and homoerotic friendship. Or we might hear more about Flan Flood and her zany family of oddly named, but beautiful strangers. I think that J Minter should tone down the way Jonathan has a shoe fetish. It is something that sits well on Carrie from SEX IN THE CITY, but when it happens to a guy, it just sounds like he's a nitwit. However, it may be that Minter is tapping into a deep;y felt nerve and that a lot of guys and girls want to find out about a boy who has so much money he gets another pair of shoes every Friday as a sort of ritual.
Maybe in the sequel the British painter who made hearts a-flutter in book One will return from England with a new exhibition of paintings, and himself. He is kind of like Damien Hirst, but cuter and younger. Maybe the sequel will be even more of a rip off of Catcher in the Rye crossed with Gossip Girl crossed with Less than Zero, that would be hard to do but if anyone could do it, it might be J Minter, who speaks to young people like a style guru.
Rating: 
Summary: Finally, A Guy's Point of View...
Review: I am a 21 yr old male who has always loved reading serial teen novels (SVH, Animorphs, etc) to stand alone teen novels(Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys) because it keeps me coming back for more and I look at them more as TV Shows in book form. But that was back in high school. After reading an article about Gossip Girl, I decided to give it a try, but it was kinda hard to put faces on all those differnt girls and stuff so I then read about The Insiders and I was like..."Finally, a guy's point of view." So I picked it up and fell in love with this book. I like that it was written by a male, because I am an aspiring writer and I didn't know if people wanted to read serial books that featured guys who did more than play sports and wasn't sci-fi related or something. Secondly, I loved the characters and how they interacted. It was a well thought out novel and I enjoyed the hell out of it. To be accurate, the article that lead me to this series was about it being turned into a TV show for FOX...I can imagine Jonathan Taylor Thomas as...well, Jonathan and I hope that this show will be picked up because it has the full potential to be a weekly series and is likely to stir up controversey the way Dawson's Creek did when it premiered. All in all, a great book and I can't wait to buy the next one. Kudos, to Mr. J. Minter for representing us guys and on a job well done doing it.
Rating:
Summary: good, but not as good as the a-list
Review: i thought that this book was pretty good. there were some suspensful moments in the story. but, after reading the A-List, nothing seems as good. but over all, this was a must read book.
Rating:
Summary: good, but not as good as the a-list
Review: I thought this book was good, but after reading the A-list nothing seems as good. There were some pretty good moments in the story and it kept you reading. It was hard to put down towards the end, over it was pretty good.
Rating:
Summary: Different in a good way
Review: I've never read any of the Gossip Girl books, but I do plan to, so I can compare. I thought this was totally different from anything I had ever read. I like the way it goes from First person to third person. That was really different. It was a little confusing at first but it really turned out to be good.
Rating:
Summary: Different in a good way
Review: I've never read any of the Gossip Girl books, but I do plan to, so I can compare. I thought this was totally different from anything I had ever read. I like the way it goes from First person to third person. That was really different. It was a little confusing at first but it really turned out to be good.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmm...
Review: J. Minter's first novel about overprivileged New York rich boys is reminiscent of Von Ziegesar's popular Gossip Girl series. Still, it lacks the zest and spunk of her creations. Whereas I yearn for Gossip Girl's sixth venture into the knowns and unknowns of easy-breezy life, I'm not so psyched for Minter's followup to this debut. The novel chronicles the life of a group of five high school boys. The most recent addition to the quintet is Patch. The so-called "glue" of the group, Jonathan, is falling for Patch's thirteen year-old sister, Flan, while his seemingly innocent cousin, Kelli, quickly switches gears and ends up having the time of her life. We never really get to know Patch, or really who the other characters are - insight into their minds is mediocre, though we do become the most understanding of Jonathan, being he does narrate chapters frequently. Though these gorgeous socialates seem far less scuzzy than GG's Chuck Bass, their adventures and misadventures are what will compel you to read on. From heartbreak to break ups and make ups, cheating and partying, these guys have just as much fun as Blair and her girls. Perhaps this is what makes the book a bit more enjoyable than it would be with such bland characters who wouldn't know the true differentiations of love and lust if it kicked them in the ass. There isn't much loyalty between them, either - I pondered over how Jonathan, Mickey, Arno, Patch, and David stayed friends for this long. I'll be on the look out for book number two, but I'm definitely not pre-ordering.
Rating: 
Summary: Starts out quick and slows down to a lackluster debut
Review: Minter, a Columbia U grad, debuts with a piece of teenage fluff semi-reminiscent of Cecily Von Ziegesar's light and frothy Gossip Girl series. Still, this is not up to par with Von Ziegesar's line, which chronicles lives of wealthy Mahattanites. With Minter's story, the attention is all on rich, overprivileged, goregous New York boys who could practically be Blair Waldorf's neighbors. Jonathon is the so-called "glue" of the group, what holds all the "friends" together. Backstabbing, lies, and partying ensue. Kelly, Jonathon's seemingly innocent cousin who resembles actress Brittany Murphy, is anything but what she first seems. She catches the attention of everybody, including Arno, Jonathon's slutty friend who could practically be another Chuck Bass - he is the epitome of a male slut. Although parallels can be drawn between the GG series and this, GG has a far more appealing plot and more likeable characters. The characters here are shallower than a wading pool and the weak insight just made me dislike this book even more. The boys' thoughts and feelings are trivial, this story is unreal, and you'll be bored to death - plus these guys fall in "love" quicker than Arno can drop his pants. By the end, all is well. The fact that Arno cheated with his buddy's girlfriend is forgotten and Jonathon has a new girl - some chic named Fernanda who he knew for all of 15 minutes. The Insiders is the ideal bedtime remedy - you'll be asleep in a matter of minutes. Blair may be bitchy but she's far deeper than any of these naive teenage lads - amazing they stayed "friends" for this long. Keep away from this light read, whether you be in the YA section at your local library or browsing through your bookstore.
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