21 Proms by 21 Authors

21 Proms 

by David Levithan, John Green, E. Lockhart & more!

Released: March 1, 2007
Publisher: Scholastic Point
Page Amount: 289, US Paperback
POV: Varies 
Buy it here: Barnes & Noble•Amazon

OVERALL:

Plot-11/20
Characters-8/20

Creativity-7/20

Writing-10/20

Pace-4/10

Ending-5/10

=45/100 F

★/5

SUMMARY:

Prom. It's a near-universal high school experience. And here at least 21 of today's bestselling and up-and-coming YA authors riff on it. -Goodreads.com

REViEW:
Disclaimer: I did not hate this book. This book was difficult for me to rate because it is not one cohesive story, but rather it is 21 separate short stories, each by a different author with a different plot. That being said, a lot of my ratings for conventions of this book are extremely low. But I did not hate this book.

This book was what I expected it to be, however I had a little bit higher expectations for it seeing that many award-winning authors had included their stories. To be honest I feel like the publisher purposefully stuck John Green's and Melissa de la Cruz's stories towards the end of the book to make people read the other stories. Honestly, I disliked 85% of the stories in this book. Most were unrealistic and cliche and just plain stupid. I mean, come on, bringing an real ape to prom? I thought that this book would have more emotion behind the stories seeing as though I know many of these authors are more talented than they showed. I wish they focused more on relationships between characters instead of trying to squeeze in a mediocre plotline. The stories I did love in this book really delivered the emotion. Melissa de la Cruz portrayed her real life prom story, which I loved to pieces. It was real and raw and emotional, just what I wanted. Plus, I met Cruz and love her as an author so it was great to be able to partake in a slice of her life. Additionally, I loved The Apology, which was written as a one act play. In The Apology, two boys struggle with their sexuality as prom approaches. The reason why I loved that play was because of the characters and the emotion. It was like watching an episode of The Fosters. It was so good. Lastly, I also loved John Green's The Great American Morp. John Green is a pro at creating real characters with hearts and souls. I greatly admire that. Even though I only was able to read about this new cast of characters for a few short pages, I still loved them and wanted to know more about them. 

However, I was surprised that there was barely any romance in this book. I expected at least a little bit. I wanted some stories to sweep me off my feet with their cuteness, but they just didn't. I can't believe barely any authors touched upon relationships forming at prom or even a dedicated couple's experiences at prom. I feel like this book took a lot of the charm away from prom. I know that prom isn't all rainbows and gumdrops, trust me I know. But I still would've liked at least one magical story included in this collection. Prom is what you make of it. It can be wonderful or it can be devastating. I just wish, as a reader, I was able to experience both ends of that spectrum.

All in all, I would say give this book a try if you want a lighthearted read. The stories towards the end are amazing. I am glad that I read it, even though I didn't love it. Personally, I love prom and have had very special experiences at prom. That probably made me expect to read about some magical experiences instead of just a book of cliches. I just expected more from some of these authors. I know what they're capable of and some of these stories weren't their best work. Some were still immensely enjoyable though. This book brought me some laughter and smiles, so it wasn't all bad. If you're hyped about prom like I am, give it a read because it is fun. 

My Favorite Story: The Great American Morp


ALL iN ALL:
Do I recommend this book? I mean sure. It's a fun, quick read. You know what to expect when you pick this book up. 


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Review by Macy ♥