Loser/Queen

Jodi Lynn Anderson

Dec 2010 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

Cammy Hall is what anyone would describe as a loser. She lives with her grandparents and has adopted their way of life… right down to the comfortable shoes and early bedtime. And can she help it that she actually likes to knit?

At school, her skills with knitting needles and some yarn go completely unappreciated: people like Bekka Bell reign while Cammy and her best friend, the fearless Danish exchange student Gerdi, watch from the sidelines. Cammy’s used to being an outsider; after years of humiliating moments, her goal is simply to fly under the radar. Then she suddenly starts receiving mysterious text messages that lead her right to all the embarrassing secrets about the most popular kids in school. Cammy never expected to be able to climb up the high school food chain, and the agenda of the texter may be questionable—but how can she possibly give up the chance to be Queen?

This is the print version of the groundbreaking online interactive serial LOSER/QUEEN that premiered in July 2010 on www.loserqueen.com. Each week, readers voted on major plot twists. The winning choice was then encorporated into the next week's chapters. Now that voting—and the book—are complete, LOSER/QUEEN will be published as a paperback and packed with extras from the author… and readers will have the opportunity to own the book they helped create!

Jodi Lynn Anderson, the national bestselling author of Peaches and The Secrets of Peaches, has lived in Georgia, Costa Rica, and New York, but she currently lives in Washington, D.C.

Brittney Lee is a designer and animator. She lives in Emeryville, CA.

Ratings and reviews

This is a story of a girls journey up the high school food chain. An outkast from the beginning, events lead to opportunities for Cammy to reveal secrets about the cool kids in school so she can win her own popularity. This is a great book for adolescents who are dealing with social pressures like popularity. It also reveals cyber bulling as a serious form of bullying, which can affect the lives and emotions of others.

Cammy immediately grabbed me and I loved watching her bobble between right and wrong with the White Rabbit. I was SO happy. Then…it sank. Not enough for a screeching halt, but it was enough. Was it me or the book? A bit of both. The Good: + Character progression + Epilogue + The Start The Bad & The Ugly: -Everything else. Cammy is a charming “old woman in a young body”. She knits, dresses frumpily, stays home with her grandparents and loves the Golden Girls. <- That’s an automatic win in my book. Her relationship with her grandparents are adorable and I loved them as a family. Her best friend is a Danish exchange student, Geri who loves Cammy’s authentic self. The fixation on Geri’s accent made me uncomfortable at times. At first it seemed natural but Geri’s been here for years and what idioms she didn’t understand seemed convenient. I might be overthinking it and having a hyper-response. I don’t know really, since I don’t have experience in this area. But it definitely gets better with Cammy’s progression at the end. While Cammy’s sympathetic, she’s too chicken shit to help the other outsiders like her. That is until she’s humiliated in front of her whole class in a changing fiasco. This was my first bump in the road, I found the setup and Cammy’s decisions that lead there hard to believe. That’s the only reason it wasn’t so vicariously embarrassing that I didn’t have to skip it or run away. (The fremdschämen is strong in me.) This is what prompts the White Rabbit to assist Cammy with keen observations and strategic planning to rearrange the social pecking order. At first it was ~glorious~. I admired what was done for the most part. It started with a bang that made me worried, but the WR’s plan is more savvy than a prank war. I was fascinated with Cammy’s transformation. But she makes some really dumb decisions that I don’t understand. That whole misunderstanding with Dream Boy and her gramps? Ugh. As the White Rabbit’s mischief escalates, Cammy’s increasing torn between her old and new self. I liked this question of where to draw the line and the cost of being noticed, being a someone. Something has to give, of course. I wasn’t surprised by the hill Cammy decided to die on, but I didn’t understand why WR made the request. At least, not until the very end and even that’s a gut feeling. Or maybe a hopeful wish given WR’s final antics. Guess I’ll never really know. This is when the book really started to decline for me. The careful planning dissolved and my connection with Cammy eroded. Once Cammy’s luck turned, the reaction didn’t seem right. There should’ve been more backlash and outrage. And being that coordinated in her punishment? Nope, don’t buy it. It’s so tame in comparison to everything else. I thought the most disappointing part was how little Cammy did to find out White Rabbit’s identity and how she missed some pretty big clues. Then they were revealed… The red herring was more interesting and less obvious than the true culprit. I wasn’t feeling Loser/Queen anymore but it was almost over and I wanted to see how Cammy turned out. The epilogue is great, showing the different pieces and parts. She did good. There’s character progression all around and I like how it worked out. Yet my early enthusiasm never came back. I don’t regret reading it but after falling in love so quickly, it wound up disappointing. Not a bad contemporary, and has a few characteristics you won’t find elsewhere, but it’s hit or miss in the end. If you don’t love, like, or find its preview intriguing, it’s probably safe to skip it. If you’re looking for a mystery, the White Rabbit’s doesn’t hold up.

This book was ok. Abit pradictable tho.

About the author

Jodi Lynn Anderson is the bestselling author of several critically acclaimed books for young people, including the May Bird trilogy, the Thirteen Witches series, and My Diary from the Edge of the World. She lives with her husband, son, and daughter in Asheville, North Carolina, and holds an MFA in writing and literature from Bennington College.

Brittney Lee is a designer and animator. She lives in Emeryville, CA.