Plastic Angel

by Nerissa Nields

Book Overview

A moving, funny first novel by an acclaimed singer-songwriter about friendship, music, and being true to who you are--even if it means disappointing your parents and everyone around you. That was... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• ISBN: 0439519969
• ISBN13: 9780439519960
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: Scholastic
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.

Customer Reviews

~ *A *~* Must *~* Read *~* Book* ~

Have your parents ever forced you to do something you didn't want to do. Well in Plastic Angels, written by Nerisa Nields, Mrs. Riddle is forcing Angela to do modeling. Most people would be shocked that she didn't want to do modeling. Gellie (Angela) always loved modeling until Randi became her friend. Randi and Gellie have always known eachother because they live across the street from eachother. Mrs. Randkin (Randi's Mom) is an Acupuncturist. She turned Randi's Dad's studio into her office. She has on a regular basis. Mom has a steady job; the people come to her. But Dad on the other hand, he goes on the people. He travels the country with his band and the family comes along sometimes. Every year this happens; he's home for a day, he's gone for two weeks. Mom has always felt he wasn't spending time with Randi, but this year her thoughts are against his traveling all together. Then comes Randi, she has always been on 'The List'. Every year Shawna, Essie and the rest of the popular crowd would go over the list to see who should be popular this year, and whos not. Gellie is quiet, shy, beautiful, smart, and was never on 'The List' but this year she wants that to change. Gellie has two sisters Barbara and Meggie. Mrs. Riddle used to be on Broadway and blames Gellie for no being on it anymore. Mrs. Riddle thinks that she has the best idea for making Gellie a st*r. But it turns out Plastic Angel does. Before Gellie and Randi started hanging out, Gellie loved to model. But after every get- together Randi would put ideas into Gellies's mind making her believe she didn't want to model. At first I thought that Randi was jealous, until I got to the middle of the book when my feelings changed. Something very wierd went on between those two houses that summer. I loved this book. I thought Nerisa Nields was a good fictional writer because she put alot of emotion into the characters. She also didn't make the characters in Plastic Angels like the characters in a regular old teen book. I recommend this book to anyone who has a passion for music and makes a big deal about friendship. Sometimes what your friends think is better then what your parents think. Music was the test of their friendship!! ~xoStefer159ox~

Any Teen Would Love This!!!

Hi, I'm a thirteen-year-old girl who's nearly turning fourteen, and let me say three words: YOU'LL LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!! Trust me, if you're an adult you might not see what's so entertaining about the book, but if you're a teen, it's guaranteed that you'll find this book fascinating. Angela (Gellie) Riddle and Randi Rankins are two BFFs that practically do everything together. It's amazing how they can bond so well because Gellie is a model, while Randi is just your ordinary everyday-girl who loves to play the guitar, like her dad, who is a singer. But the two discover that they both love making songs and music on the guitar, so they form a band. But Gellie's mom wants Gellie to have nothing else but her modeling career in her head. Soon, Gellie realizes that being a model was actually her mother's dream and not her's. And it isn't long until the band gets noticed. This book is overall a collection of factors that make up the life of a teen - finding and chasing your dreams, having crushes, rapid changes, having your friendships challenged, and most of all, discovering who you really are. Just read the book, and you'll see what I mean!!! Enjoy!

Plastic Angel

The main characters of this book Randi and Gellie are not the stereotypical teen girls usually found in teen novels. The characters are given much more depth and different hobbies than the average teen. One is interested in music, the other is a model. The book follows the two friends as they develop from girlhood to being teenagers, and explores the impact your choices and the choices of others can make on your life. I enjoyed this book because it featured teenagers that did not spend their entire lives obsessing over that Hot Guy, hanging at the mall or battling their way through popularity wars. Plastic Angel focuses more on the realistic and important challenges of finding and accepting your identity, and how to find yourself when your life is being run by someone else. Plastic Angel is more upbeat and focuses on the goals of the girls not so much on the negative schemes of wanting to be popular and accepted. Plastic Angel deals with real, but defiantly not average teenage girls. I would recommend this book for more "girly" teenage girls and adults that can enjoy a fluffy teen novel.

a wonderful story of teenagers figuring out what matters

Randi and Gellie are 13-year-old best friends, and while Randi almost qualifies as "cool," Gellie, despite being a successful model, definitely does not. When Randi decides she's sick of trying to fit in and Gellie decides she's sick of doing everything her mother wants to be a famous model, the two girls turn to each other and form a band, writing songs together and practicing on the sly. Each girl is a compelling, complex character, trying to figure out what she wants and how hard to push to get it, and I loved them both. Their dialogue is always just right, and the girls have the same worries and problems that many teenagers do -- but that many young-adult books gloss over. This isn't a book about girls in relentless pursuit of the right boys; it's about girls with crushes and girls who want to be kissed, but girls who know they're happiest when they're singing. And the scenes when the girls are singing, writing songs, or practicing guitar are what separate this book from any other young-adult book I've read. Every element of the learning curve of writing songs and playing the guitar is spot-on, given that Nerissa Nields is a singer-songwriter herself. The details about sore fingers and lyrics that still need tweaking are just right. The book is filled with references to the music world and to Nields's own music, which will delight readers who are also Nields fans (see how many Nields songs you can spot!). Don't be distracted by the cover -- this book is not chick lit, and Randi and Gellie demand to be taken seriously.

Here's to being moved.

The book Plastic Angel written by Nerissa Nields is truly a magnificent piece of work! I had become aquainted with the accompanying sound track This Town is Wrong (recommended but not necessary) prior to having read Plastic Angel, so had the experience while reading of how the song's lyrics fit with the plot. This made both pieces of work all the more meaningful. I paused after having read chapter 18 (20 total) because I couldn't bear the thought of this story coming to a end! The main characters, Randi and Gellie, had become my close companions for 3 days, bringing me back to my early teens and sparking a range of emotion. Amidst a flood of memories of how awkward and lonely as well as joyful and adventerous adolescence can be, I was laughing histarically one moment, and tearing up the next! I savored the last two chapers and upon completing the book, noticed that along with grief over it's ending came the realization that I have been changed...that these characters will remain a part of me forever. If I enjoyed Plastic Angel this much, I can't imagine what young adults will think!