Doormat

Rating:
Summary: Fast-paced, realistic, and satisfying
Review: "Can you help me?" These are the four little words that Jaime's best friend Melissa uses to her sum up Jaime's role in their relationship. Jaime lives in "nowhere, California," where she and Melissa have been best friends forever --- which means that Jaime has been doing Melissa's bidding forever. Now is no different, except that Melissa's predicament is a total disaster: she believes she's pregnant.

Guess who hails a taxi and heads for Walgreen's to brave the (male, middle-aged) clerk while purchasing a pregnancy test? Certainly not Melissa. Jaime offers her friend advice when Melissa insists upon it. Yet, the next thing you know, Melissa is angry with Jaime and giving her the silent treatment. Jaime simply does not know what to do.

Even when Jaime's crush asks her to pair up with him for a drama class callback audition, Jaime can't work up any joy; she feels lonely and miserable. She offers to help Melissa, but how? Melissa continues to either ignore all of Jaime's advice or be infuriated by it. In the meantime, Jaime is so distracted by Melissa's plight that she forgets to be self-conscious at the audition and scores a starring role.

Complications ensue when a male classmate discovers Melissa's condition and insists on lending a hand. Will the third person of the team be a help or a hindrance? And will Jaime ever find out who the father of Melissa's baby is? Time goes by without Melissa being able to make any decision. Jaime feels more and more panicked. Why did she say that she'd save her best friend? Will she always be a doormat? And, speaking of indecision, why can't Jaime figure out what she wants to do with her life?

DOORMAT is a quick read, partly due to the short, fast-moving chapters, but mostly because it's one of those "don't disturb me NOW, I've got to find out what happens" books. The conclusion of DOORMAT is realistic yet satisfying. The author's note says that fifteen-year-old Kelly McWilliams is working on her next novel. I can hardly wait!

--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon ([e-mail])

Rating:
Summary: Doormat it is
Review: I was very disappointed in this book. As a librarian I look for realistic reads for the teens. It has some realistic elements, but wraps up way to quickly to be real. I found it very choppy and hard to follow in some areas. Time spent better elsewhere.

Rating:
Summary: Predictable
Review: This book contributes to the reason I usually stay clear of "young adult" novels. The book is too predictable and the story has been written one hundred times before, and much better. Although, the author is a teenager and still needs time to grow and develop her writing skills. In the future, she just might come out with something original and worthwhile but right now, if I were you, I'd skip.