Gretch-a-sketch (old)

Airhead, by Meg Cabot, $11.55 from Amazon

I know plenty of people that will dismiss chick lit and YA literature as a waste of time, useless shelf space, mindless drabble, and so on. They might say that fluffy romances have a place in libraries, but only for for readers who aren't serious about literature. One of the more amusing/infuriating terms I've heard to describe Jane Austen is "emotional porn." Regardless of such dissenters, there's a huge market and community for this genre. I consider myself to be an intelligent reader and I love these kind of books. Here's why.

I believe in looking at things with a realistic perspective--light-hearted lit doesn't try to be profound or revolutionary. What I like about these books is that they’re the literary equivalent of a pint of Ben & Jerry’s. It’s of a higher quality than your usual ice cream and tastes really good going down, but it’s not something you can eat for dinner every single night. Anyone who has tried a steady diet of strictly Sophie Kinsella or Cherry Garcia knows this. But sometimes, a rainy Friday night comes around where both are necessitated. Most follow a simple formula, but it’s the kind that hooks you every time. They’re fun and make you think back to the days when you’d stay up all night at sleepovers and giggle so hard your tummy would hurt. (Of course, the stomach-ache could also be due to the rapid consumption of brownies, Swedish Fish, and popcorn.)

The female leads all have their quirks, but they’re basic enough that every single woman can relate to them. The romantic interest has minor flaws, but otherwise is reminiscent of Adonis. And you know what? It’s okay to like them. I’ve called these books my “guilty pleasures” in the past, but it’s time to stop feeling guilty about it.

And now for the review…

Meg Cabot has been writing her whole life, but wasn’t published until age thirty. In the past eleven years, she's become the queen of the YA universe. This fact would make her extremely happy, as she was born to be a queen. She would not be where she's at today if it weren't for the success of the movie adaptation of the Princess Diaries, but even without the help of Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews, she'd still be freaking prolific. She writes for pre-teens (Alli Finkle) and women (Boy Meets Girl) and mystery lovers (Size 12 is Not Fat) and those of us who fit somewhere in between.

Airhead plays off her penchant for the paranormal. Emerson Watts is an awesome leading lady because she’s total geek material. Em is into video games and computers and tries to stay away from all the high school drama. She’s dealing with a little sister who’s turning into one of the popular kids (a.k.a. the “walking dead”) and a crush on her best friend. At the Stark Megastore opening, there’s a horrible accident. When she wakes up, she’s no longer Em Watts with the mousy brown hair and lack of fashion sense—she’s Nikki Howard, international supermodel. Nikki’s all legs and blackened tuna from Nobu is her favorite meal. There are, like, three guys seriously pursuing her and her new best friend Lulu is a little whack, but well-meaning.

It takes some significant suspension of disbelief, but Meg still puts all the bizarre puzzle pieces right where they belong. Parts of it are grating, but overall, it’s a fresh spin on the Freaky Friday twist. Pop culture references abound and the characters are endearing, especially Christopher (the best friend), her one regret about not being able to live her previous life. There’s an obvious mystery with the company she models for and the usual teen hijinks.

It ends quite abruptly, as Meg is currently at work on the sequel, but at least some sort of resolution would have been nice. Teen girls of both the cheerleading and gaming folds will get a kick out of it. 3.5/5