The List

The best book I read in 2014 was definitely "The List" by Siobhan Vivian.  I decided to write about this book because it really gives you a message as to how things affect people in different ways.  This book is about 'The List' that comes out the Monday of homecoming week every year. The list is posted everywhere; on every bulletin board in every bathroom/locker room.  Nobody goes the day without seeing it.  The list consists of two girls from each grade, one labeled the prettiest... and the other labeled the ugliest.  The book is divided into sections of which each focuses on a different person mentioned on 'The List'.  Some are thrilled to be named the prettiest while others wonder why and if it was a joke.  Others are wondering why they were labeled to ugliest.   Is it because of their looks or because of them as a person.  Under one of the names on the list it says "Beauty isn't just skin deep, btw".  This comment was made to one of the girls ,Candace, who was labeled the ugliest of the Sophomore class.  Although, everybody knows she would have won prettiest if it was based on her look, this really shows what other people think of her as a person.  Candace, instead of maybe thinking about her actions and how they affect people decides to get revenge on the new girl who was labeled prettiest instead of her.   This is just a section of the book, but this is what spoke to me the most.  People need to think a lot more about how they react and what they are really doing before they do it because in the end Candace was the one doing the wrong doing and not the girl who was simply labeled the prettiest.  She did nothing wrong.  Although, this is not the only part that  I will remember about this book.  This book also showed how some of the girls who truly were labeled the ugliest for there looks over come this and make it look like its no big deal.  I was really inspired by the character Danielle.  Her boyfriend was suggesting a bunch of ideas on how to retaliate and plans on how to figure out who wrote it, but she just decided to show no emotion.  Because that's what they all wanted didn't they? To get a reaction from her.  The way the author set up this book was really great because you had a change to see what the girls were like before and after they were labeled and you see how labels can really change people, some for the better and some for the worse.  \