Book Review: Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood by Eileen Cook

Review: Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood
Author: Eileen Cook
No of Pages: 261
Release Date: 5 January 2010

In the final weeks of eighth grade, Lauren Wood made a choice. She betrayed her best friend, Helen, in a manner so publicly humiliating that Helen had to move to a new town just to save face. Ditching Helen was worth it, though, because Lauren started high school as one of the It Girls--and now, at the start of her senior year, she's the cheerleading captain, the quarterback's girlfriend, and the undisputed queen bee. Lauren has everything she's ever wanted, and she has forgotten all about her ex-best friend.

But Helen could never forget Lauren. After three years of obsessing, she's moving back to her old town. She has a new name and a new look, but she hasn't dropped her old grudges. She has a detailed plan to bring down her former BFF by taking away everything that's ever been important to Lauren—starting with her boyfriend.

Watch out, Lauren Wood. Things are about to get bitchy.


My Thoughts:

Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood is like Mean Girls, in book form.

Lauren Wood was Helen’s best friend, until she betrayed and humiliated her in front of the entire school forcing Helen to leave the state and start life fresh. Helen was a quiet girl when she left content with her old black and white movies and not really realising that she was being used by her best friend. But when she returns to her small home town and the high school that hated her before she left, she is a completely different person.

Now Helen is back under the name of Claire, and she’s out to destroy Lauren’s life just like hers was destroyed. She needs to steal her boyfriend, make her friends hate her, get her kicked off the cheerleading team and somehow make the whole school laugh at her.

Easy Peasy.

Helen is a funny character, albeit a little obsessed and a touch crazy, she is really likeable. She is completely focused on getting Lauren though, which makes her a bit annoying, but that is the whole point of the story.

I loved the fact that the love interest wasn’t your typical love interest for this general kind of book; he was the mysterious film-maker that no one really took notice of but everyone seemed to be talking about. Instead of the star quarter back that seemed to be the cliché interest at the start of the book.

Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood was a very feel good tale, and it was written in a way that doesn’t make you hate Helen for her revenge plan but understand her and also feel a little sorry for her in the process. It teaches us that not all friends are worth it and although sometimes revenge can go too far, a bit of cheese in a vent and a couple of missing buttons off a shirt isn’t all that dangerous.

I devoured Getting Revenge on Lauren Wood and anyone who did like Mean Girls like I did, will find this book laugh out loud funny.