Book 28 of 52: Messy by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

The Fug Girls are back!

Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan are the writers behind Go Fug Yourself, a funny fashion celebrity blog. They’re also YA authors and just published Messy, their second novel.

Messy is a modern day take on Cyrano de Bergerac (or Roxanne. I loved that movie). Much in the same way that Clueless turned Pride & Prejudice into a send up of rich kids living the Beverly Hills lifestyle, Messy is a send up of rich kids living in the shadow of Hollywood.

It’s also a sequel to Spoiledin which we met Brooke Berlin, the daughter of mega action star Brick Berlin. Spoiled had Brooke (and everyone via gossip blogs) learning that she had a half-sister, Molly, who came to live in the Berlin mansion after her mom died. Here, Brooke hires Molly’s green-haird friend Max to ghost write her blog as she tries to start her own acting and “it girl” career.

They’re an unlikely pair. Brooke is queen bee at Colby-Randall Prepatory School (acronym: CRAPS), and Max is the headmistress’ daughter who’s working minimum wage jobs to help pay her way to a summer NYU writing program. That’s the only reason Max took the job. The money was too good to pass up, especially to pay for something she previously thought was out of reach.

As you can imagine, things go awry. The blog takes off, and people expect that Brooke really is the person writing the blog. When Brooke falls for a smart, cute guy in part because of the blog, she expects Max to help out – never mind that Max has a crush on him too.

Messy is good, fun YA. The characters aren’t complete, cardboard stereotypes. Sure, there’s the quarterback jock – but he asks Max out on a date. Brooke is that uber popular blond rich girl, but Cocks and Morgan show us that she has a very insecure side that drives a lot of what she does. Max could have been the typical loner-who-needs-a-makeover.

I know I’m probably out of the target audience for this book, but I know a lot of adults read YA every now and again. Look at what happened with Twilight. This would make a fun beach read for you and the young women in your life.

And, to take you into the weekend, the “nose jokes” scene from Roxanne: