Product Description

Top Ten Reasons Samantha Madison is in Deep Trouble

10. Her big sister is the most popular girl in school

9. Her little sister is a certified genius

8. She's in love with her big sister's boyfriend

7. She got caught selling celebrity portraits in school

6. And now she's being forced to take art classes

5. She's just saved the president of the United States from an assassination attempt

4. So the whole world thinks she is a hero

3. Even though Sam knows she is far, far from being a hero

2. And now she's been appointed teen ambassador to the UN And the number-one reason Sam's life is over? 1. The president's son just might be in love with her

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #366381 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-01
• Released on: 2003-07-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 416 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Cabot (The Princess Diaries) presents another teen-pleasing novel and another likable heroine in this story set in Washington, D.C. Feisty, red-haired Samantha, a self-described "urban rebel" who has dyed all of her clothes black, is a 15-year-old middle child, uncomfortably wedged between her popular, cheerleader older sister, Lucy, and her brainy 11-year-old sister, Rebecca. And she has a major crush on Jack, Lucy's nonconformistartist boyfriend, whom she feels is far better suited to her than to her rather vacuous sister. The entertainingly opinionated narrator's wry top-10 lists add considerably to the tale's charm and speedy pacing, among them, the "top ten reasons why I can't stand my sister Lucy" and the "top ten signs that Jack loves me and not my sister Lucy and just hasn't realized it yet." Sam's life suddenly changes dramatically when, while standing on the sidewalk one afternoon, she foils an attempt to assassinate the President. She becomes a national hero overnight, is named teen ambassador to the United Nations and eventually lands the president's son as her beau. Despite these rather unlikely plot twists (in a comic coincidence, the president's son also happens to be a fellow student in her art class whom she finds attractive), Sam's spunky and intermittently affecting narrative, as well as the true-to-life voices of the supporting cast of characters, make this a convincing and diverting tale. As Sam learns important truths about herself, Cabot interjects a worthy message into her comedic caper. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 5-10-While waiting for her ride home from an after-school art class, Samantha Madison, a sophomore at John Adams Preparatory School in Washington, DC, inadvertently saves the President's life by jumping on the back of a would-be assassin. Suddenly, she is a celebrity, invited to the White House for dinner, named the teen ambassador to the U.N., and revered by her fellow classmates. Yet, even her new star status doesn't allow her to get what she really wants-a date with her sister's boyfriend, Jack. Hoping to make him jealous, she asks out the President's son. The plan backfires, but Samantha discovers who she really is in the process. Cabot uses vision as a metaphor for how a budding artist grows to "see" herself and others more clearly. The first-person narrative contains Samantha's top-10 lists between chapters, adding to the hilarious plot. The setting is used to interject a few historical facts about the White House and its former residents without intruding on the entertaining story. Readers will enjoy Samantha's interactions with the other delightful characters, especially her sisters. Cabot fully understands teens, their language, and their world. There are at least 10 reasons why libraries will want to own this book, but the most important one is that it simply will not stay on the shelves.
Linda L. Plevak, Saint Mary's Hall, San Antonio, TX
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 9-12. Cabot, author of the best-selling Princess Diaries series, offers another hilarious, page-turning fantasy about an outsider who is thrown into the glamorous spotlight. Unlike her older sister Lucy, high-school sophomore Samantha lurks on the edges of her school's social scene. Her passions are art and, unfortunately, Lucy's boyfriend Jack, a rebellious teen artist who lives in the same toney Washington, D.C., suburb. When Samantha inadvertently saves the president from an attempted assassination, her life drastically alters: she not only becomes a national hero and the "it" girl at her school but also ends up dating the president's cute son. Absurdly far-fetched? Absolutely, but like Cabot's previous books, that's exactly why this is so much fun. Cabot throws in plenty of obstacles and well-paced social angst to keep up the suspense, making Sam's romantic happy ending hard earned. There's also surprising depth in the characters and plenty of authenticity in the cultural details and the teenage voices--particularly in Sam's poignant, laugh-out-loud narration. Expect this to fly off the shelves. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Excellent
Samantha Madison is what you would call an outcast. She's somewhat of a goth/artist. Her best friend, Catherine, wears clothes from like the 1800's, she's in love with her older sister Lucy's boyfriend, and her younger sister is a certified genius.

When Lucy tells their parents that Samantha is charging people to have their picture drawn with their favorite celebrity her parents enroll her in art class, where she meets David, and is humiliated on her first day, which causes her to ditch her next art lesson, and end up being in the right place at the right time to save the president's life. Which immediatley throws Samantha into a whirlwind of popularity and press conferences. Not to mention that the president's son may be falling in love with her. How could someone's life go from so normal to so crazy?

Meg Cabot has another hit with "All American Girl." Obviously she can write on any topic, and this one was original and refreshing compared to the other teen/young adult books out right now. This is a must read for all fans of "The Princess Diaries." A lot of teenage girls will be able to relate completely to Samantha.

From good to bad, great to worse, then horrible to wonderful
All-American Girl is absolutely a Must-Read! However, in this book 5'2, sophomore, teenage, and artistic girl Samantha Madsion goes through MANY changes! Like when she ditches her second art class at the Susan Boone Gallery (because of drawing in her German notebook and her mom putting her on probation to take a class of art), she actually sees the president of the United States!
The president was walking in this Cookie store with his "security guard-men", so this Billy Joel fan guy near Sam takes this gun out of his coat and then...KABLAM!!! Technically, the "Kablam!" wasn't what happened at all. Instead, Sam saves the president by making the Billy Joel fan assasssinator shoot his gun in a different direction!
Since the guy was heavy, he landed on top of Sam and she injuries her wrist. So these people come and take her to the hospital. And then Miss Samantha's life changes forever! By becoming a hero, totally popular and famous, becomes US Teen Ambassador, gets invited by her enemy's party, and even the president's son David falls in love with her!
There are some big surprises and laughs and dramatic moments in this American book too! Sam's life goes good to bad then so on.... But, I had also liked when Meg Cabot dedicated this novel to the heroes of the September 11th attack!
I was impressed, all right! So All-American Girl is one of the best Young Adult Books to get at the library or at the bookstore. It might have been really different than Cabot's Princess Diaries series, but this book was better, to be honest. I mean, she put some good things in it. Like things about art. The "listening and hearing" and the "seeing and imagining" parts was pretty creative, in fact. If you like books about love, semi-drama, laughs, surprises, and especially about America, then you'll this book.

A must read for every American girl!
"All-American Girl" is the brand new book written by Meg Cabot, also the author of the famous series for teen girls, "The Princess Diaries".

PLOT SUMMARY: 15-year-old Samantha Madison lives in Washington DC with her mother, father, and two sisters (she's the middle child). Sam describes herself as total redheaded outcast--always dressing in black, listening to punk/rock music, etc. Her older sister, Lucy, is the most popular girl (cheerleader, nonetheless) at her high school and is dating the guy of Sam's dreams, high school rebel, Jack Ryder. Sam's younger sister, Rebecca, is a genius who attends a special school for gifted children. Sam's life abruptly changes when she saves the president of the United States from an assassination...while cutting her art lessons. Not only does Sam receive a broken arm, but she also becomes famous when the president himself announces that she is teen ambassador to the UN. Things couldn't get worse, right? Wrong! Because now she thinks the president's own son, David, may be in love with her and all she wants is for Jack to love her!

OVERALL THOUGHTS: I'm a little old for Meg Cabot's teen books but I must say that I am always amazed by her well-written/described characters and witty sense of humor. This book is well-written, and should be enjoyed by all teenage girls. If you like romantic-comedy novels with a little bit of fantasy twisted into it, then you should definitely read "All-American Girl". The plots are always simple, straight-forward, and a little bit predictable but it doesn't matter because these books are too good not to read.

I highly recommend "All-American Girl" by Meg Cabot.

Score:
98/100
A+