Synopsis
When Elle Woods, a sophomore in high school, falls for Hunter Perry, the star basketball player who advocates for school spirit, Elle decides to transform the cheerleaders, the basketball team, and herself.
Reviews
Grade 5-9 This prequel to the two Legally Blonde feature films will enjoy popularity among young fans of the movies and those who like nondemanding formulaic fiction. Elle Woods is a frumpy sophomore when something no, someone catches her eye during a basketball rally at the well-heeled Beverly Hills High School. It's handsome Hunter Perry, star of the school's basketball team, and as he pleads for student support for it, Elle's heart swells and she determines to win his affections by helping their losing team become better. Never mind that she previously had no interest whatsoever in basketball or cheerleading, for that matter. But Elle notices that the cheerleaders are constantly with Hunter, even though their half-hearted, pathetic attempts at creating school spirit fall on deaf ears. What's a girl to do? Well, determined Elle has plans. She kisses goodbye to her frumpy image by getting her braces removed, orders contact lenses and a whole new wardrobe, and gets lots of blonde highlights. Suddenly, people start noticing her. Then, with the help of her manicurist, she choreographs new routines for the cheerleaders and designs sharp new uniforms for them. Elle's butler, conveniently a former basketball star, teaches the team to work together. It appears that Elle's plan is succeeding, but Hunter still doesn't seem to notice. How can she win his heart? The happy ending proves that Elle's not only beautiful on the outside, but on the inside as well. Susan Riley, Mount Kisco Public Library, NY
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Gr. 5-8. This candy-pink paperback debuts the Elle Woods series, a spin-off of the 2001 film Legally Blonde, which was based on the novel by Amanda Brown. Mousy, bespectacled Elle, 16, may not look like the deceptively ditzy character played by actress Reese Witherspoon, but there are glimmers of an inner go-getter in Elle's plan to restore glory to her school's lame basketball team, a gambit to impress its sexy captain. Inspiration for budding feminists is in short supply here, as Elle's achievement of her goals is inextricably tied to her gussied-up physical appearances (including blonde highlights, "an expression of [her] true spirit"), and fans of the movie may emerge newly aware of how much Witherspoon's charismatic presence contributed to its success. Even so, many readers--even those unfamiliar with the Elle Woods character--will be entertained by the smart, likable girl's transformation from "Planet Schlub" to "Planet Glam." Notwithstanding its high-school setting, the book's large type and air of sanitized innocence will play best to middle-graders. Jennifer Mattson
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