By: Niki Burnham Publisher: Simon Pulse Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Simon Pulse Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 208 Publication Date: May 31, 2005 Reading Level: Young Adult
Product Description: Valerie's life is pretty good. While she's not the most popular girl in school, she does have decent grades, great friends, and a potential boyfriend. All a girl could want.
Then her mother announces that (1) she's gay, and (2) she's leaving Valerie's dad for her girlfriend. Just when Valerie is getting over this bombshell, her father tells her he's got a new job working for the royal family of some obscure European country.
Valerie's world has come unglued. She can either stay in Virginia with her mom and her über-organized, veggie-burger-eating girlfriend, or go with her dad, leaving everything she knows for some place she's never heard of. Valerie opts to go, and quickly discovers that it was a mistake -- until she meets the prince, and all bets are off!
Courtesy of Teens Read Too Valerie Winslow, like any other girl, thought that she had it all: the perfect friends, the perfect family, and the perfect crush. But her world turns upside down and soon Valerie begins to question her whole life. Her mother decides to tell the family, at the dinner table, that she cannot continue in her marriage because she is gay and is going to move out and live with the new love of her life, who happens to be a woman.
Unfortunately, her mother's news not only effects Valerie, but also her father, who breaks the news that the very conservative politician that he works for doesn't believe that he should have an employee who married someone who is gay. But instead of losing his job, the politician finds Valerie's dad another one, just until after the re-election, all the way in Schwerinborg, some European country.
So now Valerie has to make a decision. She can either stay with her mother and her girlfriend in their new apartment, go to an entirely different school, and possibly have a chance with her longtime crush, David Anderson, who is finally showing some interest in her. Or she can go all the way around the world and stay with her dad, who is helping the royal family.
Valerie decides that it's best to go with her dad, maybe so she doesn't have to tell her friends the real reason why her parents got divorced. When she arrives at her new, yet very ugly apartment, Valerie discovers a surprise, a very cute one. Turns out the royal family has a son who is just one year older than Valerie, and isn't too shabby to look at. Maybe moving to Schwerinborg wasn't such a bad idea after all.
ROYALLY JACKED is both unique and hilarious in so many ways. Niki Burnham creates a story that is so unusual and so very cute that it leaves a smile on your face. The relationship with Valerie and her dad and the one with Georg, the son of the royal family, all make ROYALLY JACKED worth the read.
Be sure to watch for the other books in this series, Spin Control (Simon Romantic Comedies) and Do-Over (Simon Romantic Comedies).
Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen
fun read Valerie Winslow's life has been turned upside-down. First, her mother announces that she's gay and is moving in with her girlfriend. Then, her father announces that he's being transferred from helping the President in Washington, D.C. to helping the royal family in Schwerinborg (or Smorgasbord, as most of Valerie's classmates call it), a tiny European country somewhere around Germany. Not wanting to face facts about her mother, Valerie moves to Schwerinborg. At first Schwerinborg seems kind of gray and dull, but then Valerie meets Georg, and things are looking up. But when she finds out that, in fact, he's Prince Georg, she isn't sure if it will go anywhere. She tries to find out if he's interested, while also trying to learn German so she can understand what everyone is saying, and she's in for some surprises. Another great book from Simon Romantic Comedies.
He is so HOTT!!!!!! This book is a story about a girl named Valerie. Her life is turned in the direction of weird when her mom anouccnces that she wants a divorce because she has found a new love. With another woman!! With this scary detail in mind Valerie's dad has been called on business to a small unknow country in Europe to be a royal chef. One good thing does happen to her though. When in the library trying to figure out her new school test she mets the Prince. Prince Greog. To find out more read Royally Jacked. And remember even if the begining is boring keep going cuz the book does get better and continues to do so. So enjoy:)
A cute love story Royally Jacked was a cute, fluffy story about a teenage girl, Valerie, who has to choose between staying with her gay mother or opting for a life in a foreign country after her parent's divorce. She chooses to leave her friends and crush behind to follow her father to his new job in Europe. At first she regrets her decision, but then she meets Prince Georg and things aren't as bad as they seem. It was a short, easy-read novel with a cliffhanger ending that kept me reading the entire time. The "gay parent" plot wasn't necessary in my opinion and didn't really fit in with the plot of the story. On the contrary, the slightly predictable love story was an enjoyable read. Otherwise, I think Niki Burnham put together an appealing novel the many teenage girls would enjoy.
Royally Good We thought that this book was pretty good. It reminded us of the Princess Diaries series. We could relate to Royally Jacked better than other books because of the first-hand prospective of Valerie. We would recommend this book for children ages 13-16. Even though it wasn't perfect, it still rated high in our minds. If you like reading teen-girl books and are in for a good read, read Royally Jacked.
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