Title: Don’t Judge a Book by its Cover
Series: Most Popular Guy in the School, #1
Author: Robbie Michaels
Genre: Young Adult
Length: Novel (178 Pages)
Publisher: Harmony Ink Press (July 15th, 2012)
Heat Level: Low
Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥3.5Hearts
Blurb: High school can be some of the best years of life-and some of the toughest. Mark Mitchell’s strategy for surviving is to emulate the mighty turtle: pull back inside his protective shell and keep a low profile to avoid trouble. And it works-nobody bothers him. Of course, nobody really knows him, either, even in a town so small it seems like everybody must know everyone else.
Mark certainly knows Bill Cromwell, whom he meets officially when his father volunteers him for manual labor at the school. Bill is his polar opposite: outgoing, gregarious, athletic. But when a massive snowstorm traps the two boys together for three days, Mark learns that being popular doesn’t mean you can’t be bullied or abused-or gay-and that bullying doesn’t stop at the school doors.
Mark isn’t naive. He’s seen the news reports of gay teen suicides, and he’s determined not to become a statistic. But it’s not himself he’s worried about.
Product Link: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3731
Reviewer: John
Review: I loved the plot of this novel, but there were a few things that did not sit well with me. The story stars Mark Mitchell and Bill Cromwell. Mark is an outcast in his high school since he pulls back and tries to fly under the radar and that actually works for him. No one knows who he is or if he even exists. Bill Cromwell is the opposite of Mark. He’s popular, outgoing, athletic, and handsome. What do they have in common? They are both gay teens with unique families. When the two meet one day, there is an instant connection between them. Soon, they become good friends and then lovers.
Mark was a really amazing character just like Bill. The story is solid and there are few twists that I liked. For example, Bill is the one being abused at home by his alcoholic father. The only thing that blew me off was the way the story was written. There were a few times when Mark sounded like a teenager and in others were he sounded like a forty-year-old man. There wasn’t a constant narrative voice throughout the novel. There were a few scenarios that sounded unreal, but this is YA Fiction so that is fine by me. Besides that, I really loved the plot and characters.
I recommend this novel to anyone who loves YA novels with special little twists that will keep you wanting more.