All American Girl

All American Girl by Meg Cabot

Samantha Madison is a fifteen year old girl, attending a prep school in D.C. She is an all black wearing, art loving, one friended, Gwen Stefani obsessing, popularity hater. Despite all of that she is quite likable. When her German grades drop and her parents find out it is because she spends her time drawing pictures of famous guys and selling them to popular girls, they enroll her in art classes. They feel like she needs a creative outlet, but Sam feels like it is a punishment.
Sam's sister Lucy is a cheerleader at the same prep school. Her boyfriend Jack is a trench coat wearing artsy guy. Sam is secretly in love with Jack. Jack cautions Sam not to let the art classes strip her of her creativity.

Sam attends her first art class. She meets David. David seems oddly familiar, but Sam can't place him. She draws her first picture, which she is sure is better than everyon else in the class. When the instructor critiques at the end of class, Sam is upset to learn that she did not follow the directions given, which were to draw what she saw. Sam drew what she knew instead and she can't figure out the difference. Taking Jack's advice and feeling angry and embarrassed, Sam decides to further buck the system and skip the next class. She ends up in a music store for the entire time. As she leaves to catch her ride home, Sam notices a weird man from the music store. Just then, a presidential motorcade arrives. The president steps out and heads for a nearby bakery. The weird guy from the music store whips out a gun and fires. Sam jumps on his back and takes him down. He breaks her arm in the fall. Sam has saved the president's life.

As Samantha recovers from her injury, she meets the president and his family. David from art class is the president's son. Lucy takes the opportunity she has been waiting for and gives Sam a makeover for her press conference. Sam instantly becomes popular. She and her sole friend Catherine are invited to a party given by Sam's former friend and recent enemy. Catherine is desperate to go and invite a 'boy'. She has been seriously sheltered by her parents and teased for the clothes they make her wear. Catherine begs Sam to give her the chance to fit in. Sam agrees purely for Catherine's sake. Sam decides to invite David to the party. She wants to be friends, but she is also using David to wake Jack up to what he is missing.

David and Jack get in a fight about art. It becomes clear to David that Sam likes Jack. Despite Sam being a teen ambassador to the U.N. and attending a dinner with the president's family, Sam and David can't overcome their opposite feelings.

Sam is put in charge of an art competition for the U.N. The pictures are to depict what the artist sees out of their window. Jack feels like he is a shoe in with Sam as the judge. Sam finds another picture that she loves, but the president and press secretary feel is controversial. Sam begins to understand what her art instructor meant when she said draw what you see and not what you know.

Sam attends more art lessons in hopes of befriending David again. While there her art improves greatly and she learns to really 'see'. She finds that Jack might not know what he is talking about.

Finally Sam realizes that she loves David, not Jack. She gives a news interview about the art contest and her feelings about whom the real winner should be. At the end she professes her feelings for David. Soon they are together. Sam begins to realize there are more important ways to make a statement about life than by dying all of your clothes black.

Fun, clean story! I liked watching Sam evolve. She also really changes her relationship with her sister. Lucy sticks up for her by breaking up with Jack when Sam and Jack fight over the winner of the art contest. I loved seeing the importance of family relationships brought out. I also really liked that even though there were differing backgrounds and social groups, they were played down and we were able to see that they don't matter as much as we give them credit for.

Rating. 3.75. Fun book, entertaining.
Rating PG attempted murder, injury, clean romance.