Aces Up |  | Author: Lauren Barnholdt
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $9.99
Buy New: $5.77
as of 9/8/2010 07:01 CDT details
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Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 62,094
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 288
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 0385738749
EAN: 9780385738743
ASIN: 0385738749
Publication Date: August 10, 2010 (New: Last 30 Days)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Seventeen-year-old high school senior Shannon Card needs money. And lots of it. She's been admitted to Wellesley, but her dad just lost his job, and somehow she has to come up with a year of tuition herself. But Shannon's dream of making big bucks waitressing at the local casino, the Collosio, disappears faster than a gambler's lucky streak. Her boss is a tyrant, her coworker is nuts, and her chances of balancing a tray full of drinks while wearing high-heeled shoes are slim to none. Worse, time is running out, and Shannon hasn't made even half the money she'd hoped.
When Shannon receives a mysterious invitation to join Aces Up, a secret network of highly talented college poker players, at first she thinks No way. She has enough to worry about: keeping her job, winning the coveted math scholarship at school, and tutoring her secret crush, Max. But when Shannon musters up the nerve to kiss Max and he doesn't react at all, the allure of Aces Up and its sexy eighteen-year-old leader, Cole, is suddenly too powerful to ignore.
Soon Shannon's caught up in a web of lies and deceit that makes worrying about tuition money or a high school crush seem like kid stuff. Still, when the money's this good, is the fear of getting caught reason enough to fold?
This fun, sexy, recession-proof story is a bubbly summer read with surprising depth—great for fans of Sarah Mlynowski.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Aces Up September 3, 2010
princess bookie (IL, USA)
My Thoughts: First off, I know nothing about poker. I mean, nothing at all. I'm not a card player. My family used to sit around the table and play cards and I would run into the other room, not my thing.Second, it didn't look interesting, didn't seem like something I would want to do. After reading this book, I need to go to the nearest casino and play. Ok, so maybe it had something to do with how fun this book made poker look, or maybe it could be the cute guys in the book? HAHA.
We are introduced to Shannon. Her family is undergoing some financial difficulties and she's having trouble comprehending she may not get to go to the college she wants too because of finances. So, instead of working at the diner she gets a job at a casino as a cocktail waitress. She still doesn't make that much money so when Cole offers her a chance into a secret poker society, she hesitates but than decides to take him up on the offer. I wasn't sure what to think of Cole. At first he seemed sincere enough but I just started to get the creep vibe off him. Enter Max, Shannon's oldest friend and the guy she had liked a long time. Max and Shannon had a disagreement so they weren't really on talking terms. Even at first, I wasn't too sure about Max either. I just couldn't see Shannon with him either. She just seemed to good for both of them. Max had started dating another girl within a few weeks of Shannon and Max's disagreement. So, anyways, Shannon gets sucked into the world of gambling and Max asks her to tutor him. Than they start to talk again and stuff hits the fan, and Max ends up breaking up with his girlfriend and Shannon still isn't talking to him really. Cole ends up wanting Shannon to fix a poker tournament. I honestly didn't see the ending coming at all.
For a long time, I didn't know what was going to happen. I didn't know who Shannon was going to end up with. Half of me wanted her to end up with Cole, the other half with Max. This book was really awesome, I liked the poker, I liked the characters, Max, Cole, Shannon, Shannon's friends and family. Everyone.
If you want to know what happens to Shannon, poker, Max and Cole, read the book to find out! In the meantime, I'm heading out to play poker (just kidding).
Overall: Loved it! Big fan of Barnholdt! If you haven't read Two Way Street be sure to check that one out too!
Cover: I really like the cover. It definitely is cute and really makes you want to read the book.
What I'd Give It: 5/5 Cupcakes
Taken from Princess Bookie
(softcover edition)
 Fast paced and relateable August 17, 2010
Sara (Kalamazoo, MI)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
ACES UP was my introduction to Lauren Barnholdt and her writing, and I must say, it was a great first impression.
Despite the fact that I know nearly nothing about poker and the colorful world of gambling, I found it remarkably easy to identify with Shannon. It wasn't so much the fast, faintly sinister world she found herself in that I found intriguing, but the reason she felt she needed to venture there.
Shannon's family has fallen on hard economic times and they've had to give up many extraneous expenses. The one thing Shannon refuses to give up is her dream to attend her Wellesley after she completes her senior year. Shannon must decide is the money and the guarantee of being able to afford Wellesley worth the risk. And the risk is huge.
It isn't hard to put myself in Shannon's shoes... I think the majority of college and college bound students will empathize with her fear and stress. It's insanely difficult to pay for school today. Students are often told that if they work hard, get good grades, etc, etc, everything will be fine. Shannon's story is very true to life: sometimes, everything isn't fine.
The novel primarily focuses on Shannon, but she also has a sister who is also struggling to pay for college as well. The difference between the two, is that her sister doesn't attempt any get rich quick schemes, illegal or otherwise, but instead, continues to work hard and remains positive. I liked that the reader was able to compare the vastly different paths each sister chose.
The one element of the novel that I wasn't completely sold on was the romantic bits. I felt more of a connection to the boy Shannon wasn't supposed to fall for than the one she did, which made for a lackluster response.
The story's resolution may have been idealized. Shannon does, of course, learn her lesson and the story ends, more or less, happily. But many are or will be facing a similar situation and I think that ACES UP will guide them. Yes, we are all free to make our own decisions, but there is comfort in picking up a novel where the main character is in a similar situation. Even if the reader's situation isn't identical to Shannon's, it still serves as a reminder that no matter how good that "bad" choice may seem, it's in one's best interest to veer toward the "good."
Grade: B+
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