Book Review: Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter

Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: MTV (July 4, 2006)

Jade Leigh is a nonconformist who values individuality above all else. She has a small group of like-minded Goth friends who wear black, dabble in the dark arts, and thrive outside the norm. They're considered the "freaks" of their high school. But when Jade's smart mouth lands her in trouble -- again -- her principal decides to teach her a lesson she'll never forget.

Taken to a remote location where she is strapped down and sedated, Jade wakes up in an alternate universe where she rules the school. But her best friends won't talk to her, and the people she used to hate are all Goth. Only Clarik, the mysterious new boy in town, operates outside all the cliques. And only Mercedes, the Barbie clone Jade loathes, believes that Jade's stuck in a virtual reality game -- because she's stuck there, too, now living the life of a "freak." Together, they realize they might never get back to reality...and that even if they do, things might never be the same.

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First I have to say has anyone ever watched a show called Night Visions hosted by Henry Rollins? Because I could see this being an episode of that. Very Twilight Zone-like. What I really liked about this book is that instead of just making Jade and Mercedes switch places, the author switched what is popular. Jade is still a goth, but now being goth is the norm and the people who dress preppie are the freaks. Pretty amusing thought. The point of the game is to make them see past the appearance and cliques. So this story has a moral. I think back in high school we were all probably guilty of immediately writing someone off just based on appearance. Maybe I got lucky and my school was more tolerant because although my friends and I were the goth type nobody treated me like a freak or made disparaging remarks about who I was. Gena Showalter is one of my favorite authors and it was interesting to read something she wrote that is not a paranormal romance . It is definitely YA and I would probably rate it PG (only because there are a few cuss words).

4/5