Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Published: August 2, 2011 by HarperTeen
Received: from the author for review, thanks Claire!

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

• As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

• As the daughter of the new principal, new-girl-on-campus Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long. Fans of Susane Colasanti (When It Happens), Polly Shulman (Enthusiasm), and, of course, Jane Austen will love finding out if Elise’s love life will be an epic win or an epic fail. {taken from goodreads.com}

A long time ago, before I fell in love with YA and the desire to write reviews, I read an adult book by author Claire LaZebnik titled The Smart One and the Pretty One.  I remember it being a book that captured my attention and made me want to read more.  So when I saw that Claire was writing a YA book, some time later, I jumped at the chance to read it.  Surprisingly Claire sent me an advanced copy waaaaaay in advance, along with a very sweet note & tons of swag.  If you aren't aware of this author, check her out.  She is so humble and so talented!  I really enjoyed getting in touch with her and have appreciated her taking the time to talk to us book bloggers :-)

Epic Fail is the story about what it feels like to be the "new kid" at a school of nothing but "beautiful kids".  The setting for this particular book is in southern California, where it is crawling with celebrities and their offspring.  Elise hardly regards her looks, if at all.  She's one of many siblings in a middle-class family, who concentrates more on their family values than what the tabloids have to say.  She attempts to hide her uneasiness of fitting in at a new place until her sister starts to date the best friend of the hottest boy in school.  Immediately she looks down on Derek as the boy who has everything with rich and famous parents.  She assumes her sister's new boyfriend is exactly like Derek, shallow and dull.  But her own judgments is what lands her in hot water.  What she assumed of Derek may not necessarily be the truth.

Though this story is told from a very light, fluffy voice; I found the meaning behind it to be a bit deeper.  This book brought me back to high school and the stereotypes that go a long with it.  Just because someone sits high on the popularity scale does not always mean they live the most glamorous life.  We all have problems, just some of us hide it better than others.  If you're looking for a quick, fun, lighthearted read, then I suggest picking up Claire LaZebnik's Epic Fail.  It is anything, but an epic fail in my eyes.  I hope Claire chooses to write more YA, I'll definitely be requesting more review copies if so!

*Huge thanks to the following bloggers for being a part of my book tour for Epic Fail & helping me to promote this book! You ladies are fantastic & I look forward to doing more book tours with you in the future.

• Missy at Two Readers Reviews
• Shannon at Stalking the Bookshelves
• Jacinda at The Reading Housewives
• Cyndi at Dog-Eared & Bookmarked
• Jess at Gone with the Words