“C’mon, Riley. It’s not like we’ll end up in jail over prom.”
Famous last words. That’s exactly what happens! Prom-Wrecked begins with a bunch of the kids who attended prom (affectionately called ‘morp’ in this book) in a jail cell. What follows is an account of the two disastrous months leading up to morp, told by two of the main characters, Evil Skater Girl and Morp Queen. This book is essentially Murphy’s Law: Prom Edition.
Morp Queen and House of Lock have been the ‘it’ couple at school for the past three and a half years. Morp Queen used to be best friends with Evil Skater Girl but they don’t speak anymore. Evil Skater Girl has had a secret crush on House of Lock for about a decade but because he’s dating her ex-best friend, they mostly only talk online while they’re slaying aliens together.
When their school cancels this year’s senior prom it’s up to the students to organise one themselves. Evil Skater Girl is happy to help out but wants to palm off the leadership role to someone else. Unfortunately there are no takers so Evil Skater Girl finds herself in charge of the committee. She’s overwhelmed by the task ahead of her but it helps that she’ll be spending plenty of time with House of Lock.
Then things start to go wrong. They lose their deposits. They lose their venue. Evil Skater Girl doesn’t have a date. It’s one thing after another. Their prom may not go to plan but it will certainly be a night they’ll never forget, even if they want to.
My expectations were probably too high going into this book. I thought the blurb would only mention a small percentage of the calamities that befall our senior class so I was looking forward to finding out what amusing and increasingly bizarre hurdles weren’t already mentioned. Learning the reasons why so many people wound up in a jail cell was fun, but I would have preferred if the blurb didn’t give so many clues to the preceding disasters away.
I had trouble getting into the story. I’d hoped for a lot of humour because of the Murphy’s Law prom concept but I found the initial planning phase quite tedious at times. However, it is difficult to transform committee meetings into something fascinating to read about.
I thought the perfect location for Morp would be where they have all of their parties. They would have had all the space and privacy they could have wanted, plus it already had good memories attached to it. All they would have had to do is decorate, cater and organise some music, and they’d be set. While I didn’t expect this to be the final location, I did think it would be tossed around as an option.
I didn’t find either of the girls’ voices that distinctive; at times I only knew who was narrating if I picked the book up mid-chapter by what they were talking about, not how they spoke. The resolution between Evil Skater Girl and Morp Queen felt too easy and although I tried to fall in love with him, House of Lock fell flat for me. I kept trying to tell all of the main characters to just communicate instead of lying, avoiding or running away from their problems and feelings, but my way would have taken a lot of the drama out of the book.
I really liked Desmond and would have liked to spend more time with him. I also enjoyed hanging out with both Hunter and Jordon (and even Jordon’s car, Sarah). I did wonder if this class’ prom curse would’ve been solved if someone uninvited Carrie. I can’t see ‘Carrie’ and ‘prom’ in the same sentence without thinking the worst. 😜
Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Teen, an imprint of Entangled Publishing, LLC, for the opportunity to read this book.
P.S. For those who want to know the characters’ actual names, Morp Queen is Catherine, Evil Skater Girl is Riley and House of Lock is Owen.
Once Upon a Blurb
Their prom night ended in a jail cell with forty of their closest friends. But that’s hardly the worst thing that happened to them …
When the principal announces prom is cancelled this year, senior Riley Hart is determined to save it. Armed with little more than her own enthusiasm, she ends up working closely with Owen Locklear, who is more than completely off-limits. Because he’s the boyfriend of her ex-BFF, Catherine Reed. Still, Owen knows Riley better than almost anyone, and his charming ideas for turning the prom upside-down and backward win Riley over.
Then they lose their deposit. Twice. And book a band full of octogenarians. And don’t even get her started on the act of God that takes down their venue …
Riley will have an unforgettable teenage experience, damn it, if it’s the last thing she does …
Schizanthus Nerd 