Slumming

by Kristen D. Randle

Book Overview

Everybody has two eyes and a nose and a mouth. What makes some people beautiful and some people not?Nikki never imagined that this offhand thought would change the course of her senior year forever.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060010223
• ISBN13: 9780060010225
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Harper Teen
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

An interesting book, one of my favorites

'Slumming' is actually three different stories in one book, all connected in some ways. The three main characters (Sam, Nikki, and Alicia) all tell their stories, which each deal with a new, life-changing experiment they decided to try.Prom is coming up, and Nikki comes up with an idea - why not find a person that is socially 'below' her and her friends and invite him/her to the prom? Seems foolproof, right? Wrong. Sam chooses Tia, this girl that most people are afraid of. She has a rough home life, a brother with Down syndrome, and a bad attitude. Sam doesn't give up though - he keeps following her around, talking to her, etc. He starts to build up a great friendship with Tia, and generally feels this project is doing him good.Nikki decides to ask out the school's stereotypical nerd...Brian. He's a bit of a jerk, and treats her like she's the stupidest person on the planet. She keeps talking to him, and eventually, they also become friends.Alicia chooses Morgan Weiss - the school's token 'bad boy.' Though Sam and Nikki don't approve of her choice, she goes along and tries anyway. What happens to her though, is a lot worse than she expected.I highly recommed this book to everyone, because it's funny, sad, heartwarming, and easy to relate to...all in one book.

It's always nice to read before you review...

I just love it when it's obvious that a review is slamming something he hasn't even read. Like the guy that gave this book one star. Stereotypes. Sure there are stereotypes - and if you read past the third chapter,it's obvious that the "stereotypes" are there because Randle intends to knock them to pieces. This book is about how stupid stereotypes are, and it's about how our own lives are often full of more holes than the lives of the people we're judging. There are sub-plots because this is about all kinds of people, not just one kind. Maybe the one star guy needs to stick with middle-grade readers - fewer characters to confuse, less demanding in terms of analytical thinking.

Real, thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining

Kristen Randle has done it again: given her readers something substantial to chew on in a literary world that is fast approaching the nutritional value of a package of Twinkies.Slumming ais a gritty yet sensitive look at three very real teenagers and the problems they create for themselves in their exurberance and over-abundance of goodwill. A philisophical piece that explores perception, family relationships and deep-seated human needs, Slumming is a must-read for anyone who wishes to be entertained and intellectually challenged at the same time.

Excellent book!

WOW! this was a very good book about three high school seniors who decide to help a few fellow students with "untapped potential". What they don't realize is that these are real people who have real problems, and real lives and feelings. this book had very insightful ideas and was written almost poetically at times. I enjoyed it very much because the characters seemed so real, and things that happened in the book happen all the time in real life-but are often taken for granted. I would definitely recommend this book!

Emotionally wrenching

I cried.How real these characters seemed. How many people have I seen go through similar struggles--divorce, abuse, pain. It was fascinating to see these things through the eyes of these kids, who were so different than the people that they chose to "befriend".I felt bad for Nikki. She was lucky in a lot of ways. Her experiment worked out. She enjoyed herself. She was not exposed to unlimited amounts of pain and sorrow. However, she had no idea what her two best friends were going through.I thought that the character of Alicia's father was very real and vivid. His situation has to be one that so many families have to deal with. All the characters were very true to life and complex. I couldn't put the book down.This was a fascinating story, filled with real characters and real feelings. Read it, you'll love it.