“I’m making a documentary; how to destroy your reputation in six months or less.”
“Just once I saw something I wanted and took it without thinking.”
Hello & welcome to my stop on The Accidental Bad Girl Blog Tour!
The Accidental Bad Girl
By: Maxine Kaplan
Grade: B
After getting caught hooking up with her best friend’s ex on the last day of junior year, Kendall starts senior year friendless and ostracized. She plans to keep her head down until she graduates. But after discovering her online identity has been hacked and she’s being framed for stealing from a dealer, Kendall is drawn into a tense partnership with the mastermind of a drug ring lurking in the shadows of her Brooklyn private school. If she wants to repair her tattered reputation and save her neck, she’ll have to decide who she really is- and own it. The longer she plays the role of “bad girl,” the more she becomes her new reputation. Friends and enemies, detectives and drug dealers- no one is who they appear to be. Least of all Kendall.
Check it out here:
“I was trapped in the girl in the photograph.”
I must admit Kendall and I did not get off to the best start. Maybe it’s an age thing? But the book begins with her hooking up with her best friend’s ex. At school. In the gym (or off the gym) and caught by everyone because… it’s graduation day! Plus the ex just oozes slim so my first thought with this girl is not the best judgement.
Which everybody screws up okay but if you’re going to do something like that at a place and time like that there are ways to do it without stripping down. Bad idea. Bad idea.
The strange thing is the blackmail that gets her involved in the drug dealing is really separate from that whole mess. So it was an unnecessary opening in my opinion.
I do appreciate Maxine Kaplan’s message about slut-shaming but it’s also told in a much more powerful way in another story in the book
“Beware of techies bearing gifts.”
The book also makes a strong point of being aware of what’s going on with your social media accounts and who has access to them which is always something that makes me paranoid. (Which is something they drilled into our heads at my previous retailer job.) Don’t just walk away from a computer and leave it open access because you’re only going to be gone for a couple of minutes and you think its safe. (Also something that came up in Love, Simon.)
Anyway Kendall does make a comeback and we see some of the brains, strength and even loyalty to friends. There was one surprise I didn’t see coming involving the drugs and I was a little worried about where the “romance” was going to go though happy with how Kendall resolved that one in the end.
Recommend: Yes.ย
There’s a Giveawayย for a signed edition of the book & some swag!
And you can follow the Blog Tour here:
June 26th
June 27th
June 28th
June 29th
June 30th
July 1st
July 2nd
About the Author:
Maxine Kaplan was born in Washington, DC. She and her twin sister spent their early childhoods trotting behind their journalist parents as they traveled around the world, eventually settling in Brooklyn, NY. Maxine graduated from Oberlin College in 2007. Following a long stint in the world of publishing, she has worked as a private investigator since 2009. She lives in her adopted hometown of Brooklyn, NY, with her lovely husband and complex cat. The Accidental Bad Girl is her debut novel. Follow her on Twitter @MaxineGKaplan.
Sounds fun! Love that cover. And yeah Kendall sounds like she gets off to a bad start. In the gym? Not cool, Kendall, not cool. Plus the friend’s ex obviously. Still teens do dumb things so what can ya say? Anyway glad this one mostly worked!
All I could think was maybe as you get older you learn you can have fun without taking all the clothes off! Anyway, it was a fun read ๐
I do enjoy books that explore social media and that have a bit of a philosophical undertone.
Sounds like a fun summer read. ๐๐
I would say its a pretty great summer pick!
Awesome review and you made me interested!
I’m glad i didn’t have social media when i was in high school ๐ Probably would have ended up in all kinda trouble…
Oh I’m glad I didn’t have that either. Part of me feels really bad for kids today to. ๐
Love that cover ๐๐
It is a great cover!
Sounds fun! Excellent review!โค
Thanks!