Books like Beyond Clueless usually leave me wary as soon as I read their descriptions – simply because they’re over the top, the characters have the worst blow outs over the smallest things and everything is just over dramatised. Do you get what I mean? Even though everything about Beyond Clueless sounded exactly like one of those novels, I knew I had to read it anyway.
Marty is starting high school is an all-girls school, away from her best friend and soul sister, Jimmy. High schools’ supposed to be either the best or the worst years of your life, right? Well, she’s sure they’re about to be the worst anyone could possibly have- especially when Jimmy makes a whole bunch of new friends, and gets his first boyfriend. It’s basically a complete disaster.
The only thing Marty’s actually looking forward to is the school’s production of Into The Woods, with all of its super cute boys and music and props. To make things better, and to spend more time with him and his new friends, she invites Jimmy and the gang to audition for the play too. Then Felix comes along. He’s gorgeous, popular, and all the straight girls want him but it’s Marty he’s interested in. After all of this time of things going bad, things couldn’t be going better!
Except the thing with Golden Guys like Felix are that they’re usually not what they seem and nice guys like Oliver shouldn’t be taken for granted. The thing about growing up is that you learn some of the harshest lessons in the hardest ways and along this path of supposed enlightenment, you get to find the people that care enough to support you through it. If you just look past that glamour, Marty Sullivan is on this path.
Looking back, I can only say that it was the homosexual aspect of the book that really got me and that really made me want to read it. While it was always present in the background, it wasn’t actually given that much importance, which was a big minus. Also, while there was a concrete storyline, there was nothing actually moving about the whole book or something in particular worth remembering. So with a story that could have been so much more, it’s pretty disappointing.
What I did like, however, was the fact that the play was Into the Woods- a movie I’d just recently seen and it made me warm up to the whole idea of the play. I also liked Oliver, personality and everything that Linas Alsenas did with him. It was pretty sweet.
At the end of the day, Beyond Clueless wasn’t all I thought it could have been, and for that, I can’t recommend it too strongly. If you, however, are looking for a fun, no-brainer read, this should probably be your next one.
- Buy this book at the Guardian Bookshop
