Top 8 by Katie Finn

Top 8 by Katie Finn
"Madison MacDonald is seriously freaking out

Madison MacDonald
16
Putnam, CT

Status: Single?

About Me:
Everything in my life was working out. I had my three best friends, a brand-new boyfriend, and the lead in the school play. Aside from that history paper I hadn't started, things felt perfect.

Then I returned from spring break to find my Friendverse profile hacked. Someone clearly out to ruin me had spilled the most damaging secrets - AND posted the worst photos of me ever taken - online.

Now my boyfriend and I are broken up, half the school hates me, and I'm in deep trouble.

Goals:

Get my boyfriend back, figure out who could have done this, and clear my name!

Also, pass history."- summary from back of book

I had seen this book around in bookstores way back in late 2008 when it came out and thought it sounded interesting. I love books that play with format and utilize social networking sites like Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter as well as texts. Reasons for this are a)because it's just plain fun and b)because it really rings true to teens these days who spend their time on Facebook and Twitter (and, ok, the adults who use them a lot too, lol).

Finn's style is very breezy and easy to read, and Madison is a wonderfully flawed character. You can see her character changing throughout the book and since the book is in first person (for the most part; there's also the Myspace/Facebook profiles and wall comments from other characters), we see Madison's inner conflicts about telling secrets in the past she was supposed to be keeping when they're posted all over the world to see on her profile when it's hacked. At the end of the story, Madison has learned her lesson and changed her ways.

What I loved most about the story was Madison's interactions with her friends. Finn has a way with teen dialogue that just flowed and made sense and didn't seem forced at all. It felt, to me at least, like you were right there with them and included in their social circle.

The main plot point though is the mystery surrounding Madison's hacking and it had me guessing throughout the whole novel, though (and I was proud of myself for this because it never happens) I figured out who was part of it before Madison did. It wasn't too far ahead of the reveal because I'm not that good and because Finn did a great job of pointing the finger at many different characters.

Overall, a very fun read and one that can be enjoyed anywhere, but it's definitely a beach read, so take it with you in these last few weeks of summer!

On Thursday, I'll be posting my review of the sequel What's Your Status? so be sure to check that out. And if you entered the contest (linked below) for the Top 8 prize pack, you can get an extra entry for commenting here on this review!

FTC: Received from Chelsy at Big Honcho Media in correlation with the contest I'm running for a Top 8 prize pack!

Also, this has nothing to do with this book, but if you're interested in GLBT fiction, go here to the fabulous blog Naughty Book Kitties to win some signed GLBT books! Go now and enter!