Read My Lips | 
 enlarge | Author: Teri Brown
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Category: Book
List Price: $8.99
Buy New: $3.86
You Save: $5.13 (57%)
New (34) Used (17) from $3.86
Avg. Customer Rating:  10 reviews
Sales Rank: 140726
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Young Adult
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8
ISBN: 1416958681
EAN: 9781416958680
ASIN: 1416958681
Publication Date: June 3, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Condition: New/New; Perfect Unread Condition, No Marks, Tears or Creases. I Ship CDs by First Class Mail.
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Product Description
Popularity is as easy as a good secret.Serena just wants to fly under the radar at her new school. But Serena is deaf, and she can read lips really well-even across the busy cafeteria. So when the popular girls discover her talent, there's no turning back. From skater chick to cookie-cutter prep, Serena's identity has done a 180...almost. She still wants to date Miller, the school rebel, and she's not ready to trade her hoodies for pink tees just yet. But she is rising through the ranks in the school's most exclusive clique. With each new secret she uncovers, Serena feels pressure to find out more. Reading lips has always been her greatest talent, but now Serena just feels like a gigantic snoop...
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| Customer Reviews: Read 5 more reviews...
 Courtesy of Teens Read Too August 18, 2008
For Serena Nelson, fitting in has never been easy, but it was possible.
A punk skater at heart, she had her own niche of like-minded friends who didn't mind that she was deaf. Serena's talents for lip reading are excellent, and allow her to live a pretty normal life.
When she moves to a small town, the preps in her new school see her talent as something to profit off of, and use Serena to get the juiciest gossip, enticing her with a membership into a secret sorority and the promise of fitting in.
But will her so-called friends go too far?
READ MY LIPS is an attention-grabbing page-turner. Serena is a smart and edgy narrator, who is quite normal despite her condition, and doesn't seek attention because of it. Her desire to fit in is something that we can all empathize with, and the lengths that she goes to do so are relatable. But it's how she fights back and overcomes those that belittle her that makes READ MY LIPS such a compelling and quick read.
The story is a delightful mix of complex characters, biting wit, and the angst that comes with making new friends.
Reviewed by: The Compulsive Reader
Liv's Book Reviews August 15, 2008
This book was decent. I hadn't read very many reviews prior to reading it so I wasn't sure what to expect. And I was pleasantly surprised. The faults in the book, I think were that the character development wasn't great, the plot was predictable, and the whole concept of the sorority seemed rather random and thrown together for me. But don't worry, there were other parts of the book that were good too. I like that the author tackled the new subject of being deaf. I've never ever read a book about anything along that line and it was very cool to read something from the point of view of someone who had to deal with the challenges of being deaf every day. It really put that in perspective for me. I also liked the character of Miller a lot. While he was moody and hormonal, which got a little annoying, he was mysterious and captivating. I can totally imagine falling for a guy like him. *sighs* Don't you just hate it when you read about some perfect guy in a book and then realize that they aren't real and you're going to have to find some less than perfect guy to fill the gaping whole that this character left in your chest (slight exaggeration there)? I mean, Edward, Cabel, Owen, Jace, Dimitri, Jacob (can't believe I just wrote that), and now Miller. Ugh! Why can't authors write about detestable icky guys for once so that us fan girls can leave our hearts open for realistic and might I say, slightly disappointing guys. :D /rant. Ha. Anywho, when all is said and done, Read My Lips was a pretty decent book. Nothing spectacular or mind blowing but it was a nice and fluffy summer read nonetheless, and one that I'd recommend if you want to read something quick and light.
 I'm sick of all this YA crap being the same July 5, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I recieved this book free because I'm a Simon Says reviewer, and I'm glad I didn't buy this crap. The book was sterotypical and just like several books out there- stupid girl who's apparently all "punk" and crap, who still wants to get all popular. When will people learn that young adult readers want more than this? I'm pretty much given up on the young adult reading scene and moved on to adult books, because these books are some of the most unorginal, sterotypical trash I've ever read.
 Cute in a way...but overly stereotypical. June 24, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'm gonna be honest here...I'm really not a huge fan of Young Adult books. I was pretty biased when I started reading this, and the story pretty much delivered all the cliches and annoyances I was expecting. However, it wasn't bad enough for me to give it one star, due to the fact that I was interested in seeing how the story played out. Although the main character had the potential to be interesting and unique, the author failed to explore her many possibilities.
The protagonist, Serena, is a deaf "skate punk", who, surprise surprise, moves to a new town and must adjust to her new high school. (This story line is seriously getting old.) She's very talented at reading lips, and her new "popular" friends exploit this by using her to get all the juicy gossip around school.
What bothered me about Serena was how much she emphasized how "punk rock" she was. Apparently, all you have to do to be punk is wear dark clothes, black nail polish, and have an eyebrow piercing. Forget ideals, forget music taste! Your appearance is what matters the most. She was also extremely judgmental. She sees everyone around her as "preps", and laments the fact that there aren't any other "skate punks" in her new school. The worst part is that the girls she saw as preps turned out to fit the stereotype completely, making them shallow and one-dimensional.
Also, there was the obnoxious love storyline that seems to run rampant throughout all YA books. Serena meets a sexy, sullen rebel with a dark and mysterious past. Serena falls for him immediately, although she really doesn't know much about him. That's not important though, cuz he's HOT!
Finally, the ending was the dumbest, unrealistic piece of crap I've ever read. I'm not gonna give it away, but I will say that EVERYTHING works out too perfectly, and the resolution between Serena and Miller is about the corniest thing in the whole book.
All in all, it's nothing special. Although I liked the overall moral of the book, and the part with the yelling secretary at the school's office made me chuckle, I probably wouldn't read this again. It's just too predictable, and plays off of dumb stereotypes way too often.
 A Cute (If Gossipy) Novel June 24, 2008
All Serena really wants at her new school is to fit in, but when you're deaf, that's not so easy. When some A-listers discover Serena's talent for reading lips, they offer her the chance to get in with them. But acceptance come with a price - the popular girls have enlisted her to spy and uncover any and every secret that's of use to them. But is getting into the in-crown really what a skater chick like Serena really wants, or is this new job of snooping showing her true colors as a conforming prep?
I had mixed reactions about Read My Lips. I'll start with main character Serena. While it was stated several times that she used to be a skater chick, I never really felt that it was rooted into her personality; it seemed to me that it was only an explanation to why Serena didn't feel completely comfortable hanging out with the popular girls. Despite that, I really liked Serena as the protagonist, because while she is insecure and sometimes dishonest, she eventually comes to her senses and does the right thing; her flaws make her more realistic. As for other characters, I really like how Serena's popular friends actually had good hearts. Miller is a different story; you never really learn much about him except for what Serena sees: that he is hot and that he loves her. I would've liked to know more about him. The plot wasn't terrible exciting at all times, and I found it odd that at Serena's new school everyone was a "cookie-cutter prep." However, there were some catfights, and I guess that small-town schools aren't as diverse as those in big cities.
I believe that the good aspects of this novel definitely outweighed the bad, and I enjoyed reading Read My Lips. It's definitely like Gossip Girl, but with much more integrity. Read My Lips is a guilty-pleasure read with meaning.
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