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Check for Availabilityout of stock. Click on the button below to search for this title in other formats.  How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got a Life: A Novelby Kaavya Viswanathan
Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:Opal Mehta is a young woman with a laser focus: getting into Harvard. Since her birth, Amal and Meena Mehta have raised their only daughter with Harvard emblazoned on her pajamas, her walls, and her brain. Everything she does is meant to add up to only one thing: the perfect Harvard application. There have been flowcharts, diagrams, and endless checklists. At seventeen, Opal is valedictorian, president of three honor societies, and founder of the Science Bowl team. She even took welding classes to appear well-rounded. With SAT and AP scores to die for, getting in looks like a sure thing.
Then, at her interview with Harvard's Dean of Admissions, he sets aside her résumé and asks her the single question she never prepped for: "What do you like to do for fun?" For once, Opal is at a loss. The interview screeches to a nightmarish halt. The Dean says she still has a chance — but only if she can show that she is more than just another 4.0 GPA. And so the Mehtas turn their ingenuity and determination to a whole new plan: getting Opal a life. Dating, partying, and popularity are the new subjects of late-night cramming, and Opal's study guides are now MTV and the WB, Vogue and InStyle. The girl who wore high-water cords and hung out with her cat for fun is now rocking Manolos, cutting class to shop with the Queen Bees, and winning the attention of her longtime lust object. When Opal finally faces the Dean again — this time in a Diane von Furstenberg blouse and Theory pants — she is more confused than ever. Does lip gloss actually matter? Does life have to have a crimson theme? What — and who — does she really love? For anyone who's ever sweated a crisis, How Opal Mehta Got Wild, Got Kissed, and Got a Life is a hilarious and painfully real novel about family, love, and daring to push your life to the limit. Review:"It's Legally Blond in reverse — a super-serious straight-A student turns popular girl to get into Harvard — courtesy of real-life Harvard sophomore Viswanathan, making her much-touted debut. At her Harvard early admissions interview, Opal Mehta, an NRI (or 'Non-Resident Indian') from suburban Woodcliff, N.J., is told that Harvard is looking for 'young people who want to live and experience life.' Opal, in turn, tells her extremely involved, hilariously drawn parents Amal and Meena, who come up with a plan complete with acronym: HOWGAL — How Opal Will Get a Life. It includes getting a Frederic Fekkai haircut, amassing a designer wardrobe and cracking the Haute Bitchez clique — with the complete O.C. on DVD as prep. While Opal's first steps falter, she is soon trading clothes and lip gloss with the trendy elite. But disaster follows success: not only does Opal end up kissing Sean, the object of another of the Haute Bitchez' affections, but her Treo falls into the wrong hands, la Harriet the Spy. It's all very chick lit — girl gets problem, gets Prada, gets over it — but it's a lot of fun, and Viswanathan's eye-rolling intelligence shines through on every page. (Apr.) " Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"Viswanathan's writing shows promise, and some of the satirical moments with Opal's parents are priceless. But the plot is far-fetched, predictable and often seems plucked from a teen movie." Kirkus Reviews Review:"[A] hysterically funny train wreck of a story....I'll bet you a copy of Laguna Beach: The Complete First Season and a gold lamé Miu Miu bag that you won't read a sweeter, funnier, more charming book this year." USA Today Review:"While some of Viswanathan's prose is unimaginative...the book's fresh and witty premise rescues it from getting mired in typical nerd-to-cool-girl cliches....[A] strong start on what promises to be a long and brilliant career." Chicago Sun-Times Review:"Young adults, indeed all readers, deserve better. The novel's manufactured quality is disturbing; its total lack of individuality, of any genuine emotion, thought or reflection is discouraging..." Los Angeles Times Synopsis:In this outrageously funny debut novel, an overachieving teenage girl discovers that, in order to get into the college of her dreams, she needs to have more fun. A movie is currently in development with Dreamworks.
About the AuthorKaavya Viswanathan entered her sophomore year at Harvard University in September. Born in India, Kaavya grew up in the United States. She lives with her parents in New Jersey. What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!
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