Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire

I haven't read a decent book in a while (except for reference books for academic purposes) and I can't recall the last time I sat down and relaxed with a book in hand. 

Before going home yesterday, I decided to drop by the Moonleaf Tea Shop in Maginhawa to buy my favorite milk tea concoction, Wintermelon Milk Tea with pearls. At 85php, you are sure to get your money's worth. Anyway, since I was in no hurry to go home yet since it's a bit early and I can't stand walking under the intense heat of the sun, i sat down in one of the tables outside the tea shop and took out my current reading: Meg Cabot's Pants on Fire.

Summary of the book

Katie Ellison, the book's heroine, is caught in a web of her own lies. She knows it's not right to make out with the drama club hottie behind her football player boyfriend's back but since she can't keep her tongue off both guys, she decides to keep the two guys for herself, even if it means making more complicated lies to keep herself off trouble. She says she likes Quahogs, the name of the state team everyone worships and the local clam the town is known for. But the truth is, she doesn't like neither the rubbery-taste bivalve clams that everyone loves, nor the egotistic football team that seems to get away with everything. However, she's running  for the Quahog Princess Title (because she was after the prize money to pay for the Leica camera she's always wanted), she can't admit these things to anybody else. Everything sails smoothly until her former bestfriend, Tommy Sullivan, comes back to town. 

She's convinced that the guy who ran out of town four years ago came back to get his revenge for what she did.This made Katie Ellison hang on to her perfect (although quite dishonest) existence, even if it made her tell more lies than ever. 

To cut the story short, she was forced to admit her distaste distaste for Quahogs (both the team and the bivalve clams), break up with the drama club hottie, stand up for her former bestfriend (which she realized she was in love with in the end), and break up with Seth, her football player boyfriend. 

Anyway, as all books by Meg Cabot, the story ended with a happy note. Katie got the camera she's always wanted without having to pay for it (although she had to work for the local newspaper) and at the same time, go out with the guy she's in love with. 

What I think

Pants on Fire is perfect for teenagers but since i don't belong in the said age group anymore, I didn't find it quite interesting. In fact, the first part was quite dragging and it lacks the elements in writing that I was looking for. The book just isn't the same as Meg Cabot's 'Princess Diaries Series', or her 'All American Girl' (which btw I both love). Although the story was somewhat predictable, I didn't expect Tommy Sullivan to be inlove with Katie, even after four years of moving out of town. 

I must say that although reading the book made my imagination wander, Katie is a boring heroine (compared to Mia Thermopolis and Samantha Madison), and the plot is somewhat flat. Anyway, it's a good read for a dull afternoon, but don't expect that it'll be as good as the other books written by Meg Cabot.