Thursday 11 December 2014

Review: Top Ten Clues you're Clueless by Liz Czukas

Top Ten Clues you're Clueless by Liz Czukas
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publication date: 9th December 2014
My rating: 3 stars

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20646933-top-ten-clues-you-re-clueless?ac=1
Top Five Things That Are Ruining Chloe’s Day 5) Working the 6:30 a.m. shift at GoodFoods Market 4) Crashing a cart into a customer’s car right in front of her snarky coworker Sammi 3) Trying to rock the “drowned rat” look after being caught in a snowstorm 2) Making zero progress with her crush, Tyson (see #3) 1) Being accused—along with her fellow teenage employees—of stealing upwards of $10,000 Chloe would rather be anywhere than locked in work jail (aka the break room) with five of her coworkers . . . even if one of them is Tyson. But if they can band together to clear their names, what looks like a total disaster might just make Chloe’s list of Top Ten Best Moments.


I loved Czukas debut novel Ask Again Later earlier this year. It was funny, fresh and it was exactly what I was in the mood for at the time. When I devoured her book in a few days I made the decision there and then that I would read all of her future books. So when I heard about Top Ten Clues you’re Clueless, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a copy. Unfortunately this story ended up falling flat for me in a few places.

Chloe was a great character, I liked how she had this obsession with compiling lists (it reminded me of myself a lot of times, but I’m one of those that never used to get hardly anything completed from my lists) and how she would notice a lot of things around her that a lot of people missed out on. Czukas was also once again able to bring in a wonderful set of characters just like in Ask Again Later; they were all unique in their own way, bringing a lot of variety and fun to the story.
I think my biggest downfall from this book was that I was expecting more from the mystery and the romance. The mystery in the story ended up being that someone had stolen most of the Christmas fund from the store. However instead of interviewing all the store staff individually, the manager decides from a tip off that only select few of the staff members can be responsible. So he ends up keeping them in the store after closing hours on Christmas Eve until the police get there and start questioning them. At first I didn’t get how he could come up with the conclusion that these youngsters could be the ones responsible, through their individual questioning, they had all denied it and none of the evidence suggested that they could have done it. Although being locked in store together sort of did bring these characters much closer together. In the past they had been quick to make assumptions of each other’s characters without having said a few words to one another. So it was great that they were able to break these judgements they had made of one another and actually form some sort of friendships. But the whole waiting around for the police to arrive sort of ended up kind of boring for me, yes it was great that they could all start over, but I sort of wanted more from this part. What was the point of keeping everyone behind without any real evidence? Also I was kind of able to guess who the real culprit was kind of early on, it kind of bugged me that not everyone else was able to realise this.

Then there was the romance, we were told very early on who Chloe had been crushing on for some time, I think because of this I was expecting to see more from it over the course of the book, however we kind of got it all in the end instead. I know so far it may seem as if I’ve just been complaining about this book, but this isn’t the case at all. I think I just went into this book with really high expectations after thoroughly enjoying Ask Again Later. However despite the irks I did have, Czukas once again was able to give us a super cute read, despite knowing who the culprit was I still found myself invested in reading until the very last page. Although this book wasn’t for me, I’m sure it will be for many other readers who are the lookout for a cute read full with many quirky characters.



14 comments:

Emma said...

I quite enjoyed this book. I really enjoyed the style with the lists and everything. It was something I've never really come across in a book before. For me the romance and the mystery was a bit meh for me. I think the plotline could've been executed better. I found the time frame of the book to be my downfall. It didn't really flow properly for me if I'm honest. Great review Jasprit!

Aneeqah said...

I haven't read anything by this author yet, but I've been meaning to read this book for a while (along with her debut!). However, I'm sorry you didn't totally love this one, Jasprit. I hate going into a book with high expectations and then being disappointed. It seems like Chloe and the other characters were pretty well developed, though, which is always awesome to see. Chloe seems so easy to relate to! The plot seems pretty lacking though: that mystery seems so bleh.

Thanks for the lovely review as always! I'm thinking that this might be one I skip.

Glass said...

I'm sorry you haven't enjoyed this more, Jasprit. I had same issue with Huntley Fitzpatrick - I adored her first novel, but I was so disappointed with the second one. :(

Keertana said...

With these kind of cute reads I always need a little something more from the romance. I'm glad you enjoyed it, Jasprit, but I'm not quite sure this is completely for me. Still, I've been curious about this one and am so glad you read and reviewed it, dear. Gorgeous, as always. :)

Michelle said...

I love books w/ lists!! I hear you on the story thing though... I kind of hate when there's not enough going on. I can't wait to try this one and see how I like it. Great review :)

Anonymous said...

I had very high expectations for this book too, but unfortunately it simply did not live up. :( I was so disappointed with the mystery and the romance as well. I feel like this had the potential to be amazing if those two were well-written because the characters were fantastic. Oh well! I read When Joss Met Matt and it was definitely a better read than this one. I hope you'll like it! :)
Lovely review, Jasprit!

Heidi@Rainy Day Ramblings said...

Everyone is saying the same thing this is cute but immature and not exactly what they were hoping for. I requested this after everyone loved the first, and I think I am going to skip it.

Eileen said...

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy this one more :( I really want to give it a try and see if I'll enjoy it though. I love lists hahaha :)

Eileen @ BookCatPin

Carina Olsen said...

Amazing review Jasprit. <3 I'm sorry you had some issues with this book :( It doesn't sound like anything for me, hih. And aw. No romance really until the end of the book? That is DEPRESSING. That would bother me a whole lot. Sigh. I need cute romance, hih :) But I'm glad you still liked this book. <3 thank you for sharing sweetie :)

BookOwl93 said...

I think "Top Ten Clues You're Clueless" has gotten many mixed reviews. Some readers really enjoy the story and some don't. This is probably the first review I've read where it's in the middle and I'm just glad I got to read why exactly this story isn't super great, but not terrible either. I'm not sure I'll read it, but if I do, at least I know to go in knowing what I might expect. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Jasprit! :D

Joy said...

You know, much has been said about the tiniest pinch of romance in this book, and I'm sorry to say that I'll probably won't enjoy this one as much due to that very reason. Sorry it didn't work out so well for you, but at least you found some good things to enjoy about it. :)

Melanie said...

Yeah, I was expecting more romance in this one as well, especially because THERE WAS SO MUCH FLUFF ROMANCE IN ASK AGAIN LATER. I was slightly disappointed about that too, Jasprit. Glad that I am not alone :D

Unknown said...

I had very similar thoughts, J. Ask Again Later is one of my favorite reads this year, so I was expecting the same thing with Top Ten Clues. I definitely wanted more romance - like you said, it was hardly there until the end, but I was expecting a lot more swoon. I thought it was a fun plot with great characters, but it was missing that extra something. :/ Great review!

Lauren @ Love is not a triangle said...

Hmm. I'm not sure this one is for me. Romance is key and second would be the big mystery plot, and the way you've outlined them has me disappointed already. But I'm glad you found some moments to love about this as well.

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