This week YOLO, the fourth book in Lauren Myracle's beloved Internet Girls series, is coming out, and to celebrate, I'm spotlighting some of my fave Myracle books all week. Today I'm reviewing the updated versions of books 1-3 in the Internet Girls series...
It’s time for a new generation of readers to discover the phenomenally bestselling and beloved series, told entirely in messages and texts. With a fresh look and updated cultural references, the notorious list-topping series is ready for the iPhone generation.
First published in 2004 (holy moly!), ttyl and its sequels follow the ups and downs of high school for the winsome threesome, three very different but very close friends: wild Maddie (mad maddie), bubbly Angela (SnowAngel), and reserved Zoe (zoegirl). Through teacher crushes, cross-country moves, bossy Queen Bees, incriminating party pics, and other bumps along the way, author Lauren Myracle explores the many potholes of teenagedom with the unflinching honesty and pitch-perfect humor that made this series a staple of young adult literature.
First published in 2004 (holy moly!), ttyl and its sequels follow the ups and downs of high school for the winsome threesome, three very different but very close friends: wild Maddie (mad maddie), bubbly Angela (SnowAngel), and reserved Zoe (zoegirl). Through teacher crushes, cross-country moves, bossy Queen Bees, incriminating party pics, and other bumps along the way, author Lauren Myracle explores the many potholes of teenagedom with the unflinching honesty and pitch-perfect humor that made this series a staple of young adult literature.
10th Anniversary Paperback editions
published 2/18/14 by Amulet Books
Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / Indiebound
I first starting reading Lauren Myracle’s Internet Girls Series when they came out ten years ago, back when I actually was a teen! Ten years ago Myracle introduced YA readers to a whole new kind of reading experience with this series. Originally written through the use of IM’s and emails, these books were the epitome of hip and now. This year, Myracle rewrote these books, updating them for today’s young readers. With fresh new slang, pop culture references, and the incorporation of many of today’s hot topics, this series feel awesomely new, yet still captures the same literary magic it did ten years ago.
Told through text and messages, these updated and reissued books once again follow three BFFs- Maddie, Angela, and Zoe- from sophomore to senior year. I recently gobbled up these three updated versions and was not surprised by how much I still love them, how much I missed these characters, and how much Lauren Myracle still wow’s me! There is a reason Myracle has long been a Teen Read Queen, she simply gets teens and brilliantly brings their world to life through her characters. I’ve read pretty much every Lauren Myracle book and have to come expect nothing less than laugh-out-loud humor, gorgeous heart, unforgettable characters, and fabby fab writing...and the Internet Girls Series is stuffed full with all of it.
Myracle does a fantastic job of updating and refreshing this series! A whole new generation of readers will love the modern lingo, references, and relevant topics explored. Through the use of texts and messages, Myracle ingeniously captures that very immediate and right now world most teens live in. And Maddie, Angela, and Zoe’s world is crack-you-up-yet-totally-thought-provoking entertaining! From nasty mean girls, infuriating parents, confusing boys, embarrassing viral pictures, big fights, cross country moves, sex, and everything in between, these girls go through it all, and Myracle explores it all with unflinching honesty, surprising and startling heart, superb humor, and a pitch-perfect voice. Myracle never relies on trite cliches, easy outs, or soft blows, she approaches every moment of these characters’ lives (the heartaches, the first times, the triumphs, the crushing failures, etc) realistically, unabashedly, and enthusiastically!
What has stayed with me for the past ten years, and will continue to stay with me, are Maddie, Angela, and Zoe- wild-child Maddie, bubbly Angela, and responsible Zoe...I adore this adorkable trio so much! These girls are the heart and soul (and sometimes the ass and boobs and brains) of this series and they couldn’t be any more engaging, lovable, complex, funny, and real if they tried. Myracle infuses each girl with such spirit, personality, and awesomeness. I love these girls for everything they are and everything they aren’t, I love them even when they do something that makes me want to slap them! And so much of who each girl is shines through in the way they express themselves through their texts and message: Zoe’s proper spelling, Maddie’s silly quiz links, and Angela’s emoticons and the way she *stares wide eyed at friend* or *clutches hand to bosom*.
I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these girls and their stories again whilst reading the updated books. These books have once again shown me why Lauren Myracle is such a superb YA author and why I crazy-fangirl love her!
My Final Thoughts: This series still remains one of my absolute YA faves and for good reason! Lauren Myracle knows her audience, she gets her audience, and time and time again, she wow’s and amazes her audience. If you’ve read the Internet Girls books before, you’ll love these updated versions as well, and if you’re new to the series. then you’re in for such a splendiferous treat!
MY RATING
Lauren Myracle is the author of many books for teens and young people, including theNew York Times bestselling Internet Girls series, Shine, Rhymes with Witches, Bliss, The Infinite Moment of Us, and the Flower Power series. She lives with her family in Fort Collins, Colorado. Visit her online at laurenmyracle.com.
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