Review: The Julian Game by Adele Griffin

From Inside Jacket: It starts by accident, when Raye creates a joke Facebook page for mysterious vixen "Elizabeth." Then Julian friends her, and the real games begin. What Raye hadn't counted on was falling so hard for Julian - and igniting Ella's rage. Now with the real-life Julian interested in her, Raye has to reconcile the temptress he fell for with her real-life self. Meanwhile, she's learning just how vicious Ella can be and how easily her reputation can be shattered. Suddenly notorious, Raye has to find out if she has what it takes to break all the rules. 

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: The Julian Game by Adele Griffin is a novel that realistically portrays just how easy it is for bullying to occur in schools today. With the popularity of social networking sites, the truth can be manipulated without any difficulty and the effects can be widespread. Griffin also does a good job with Raye’s reaction because although she hates reading the vicious things said about her, she can’t seem to stop herself from seeing what other people are saying. The ending too was appropriate, and I liked the way Raye chose to respond to Ella.

What I wasn’t as fond of were the characters because they seemed stereotypical. Sure, Ella isn’t Queen Bee at home and has OCD, but she’s also the rich and pretty mean girl whereas Raye is the smart, new girl on scholarship who will do anything to join the popular girls. I also didn’t see what Raye saw in Julian. Even without the blatant warnings to Raye that he was a player, it was so obvious that Julian was a jerk that was simply using Raye. Sadly, the two characters that I did like, Natalya and Henry Henry, weren’t featured as much as I wanted them to be. 

The Julian Game was released in August 2010 by Putnam Juvenile. 

Comments About the Cover: I actually checked out The Julian Game from the library based on its cover, which I really like. The pose of the model seems a little menacing, and when combined with the blue wig and the bright green gloves that stand out and the fact that the girl’s eyes are covered by the title, it really symbolizes that cyberbullying can be conducted anonymously. As well, the checkered pattern in the background reminds me of a chessboard, and makes me think that the model is just one of many players in a game, waiting for others to make a move before making one of her own. This goes very well with the title and the slogan "Play or get played."