Post Grad

by Emily Cassel

Book Overview

What happens when your life doesn't go according to plan? Ryden Malby had a plan. Step One: do well in high school, thereby achieving Step Two: get a kick-butt college scholarship. Step Three - limit... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 031259626X
• ISBN13: 9780312596262
• Release Date: June 2009
• Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Cute Read!

Post Grad opens up on the eve before Ryden Malby's college graduation, where Ryden and her best friend, Adam, are playing a typical game of "Who would you rather be?" Ryden is anything but nervous about her upcoming graduation, since she has an amazing, if she must say so herself, plan for the future. First, do a great job in high school. Then, get a fantastic scholarship so she doesn't bankrupt her parents. Next, don't do anything appalling to lose said scholarship. Finally, graduate and get a sweet job at a publishing house in Los Angeles; Happerman & Browning, to be exact. As the weeks go on, Ryden still doesn't have a job at Happerman & Browning, well, make that at any publishing house. She loses her chance at having a cute little apartment. And last but not least, she has to move back in with her parents. They are crazy people and she's always tried to distance herself from them. Ryden wonders if life will ever be the way she wants it to be. To be truthful, I wasn't expecting a whole lot from this novel. A sweet quick novel, yes, but not the addicting read that it turned out to be. It had me constantly flipping the pages, laughing at Malby's quirks and wondering what would happen next. The whole Malby family and Adam, of course, were a great set of well rounded characters. I especially liked Ryden because we are both similar in our overachieving ways. Though, the plot was predictable at times, it threw a few twists that I didn't see coming. Overall, Post Grad is a great read for the summer. I look forward to seeing the movie adaption of this, which comes out this summer, as well as reading more by Ms. Cassel. Grade: B+

THE BEST LAID PLANS OF.....

We all know what can happen to "best laid plans", and that surely happened to the carefully structured goals of Ryden Malby. It's not that she didn't deserve for those plans to work out - they just didn't. She worked so very hard in high school, keeping her eye on the prize - a generous college scholarship. That she got. She also towed the line in college (well, pretty much), and graduated Now, is the great reward, what she's been working toward - finding a nice apartment and geting the job she's always wanted, editorial assistant at a top publishing house. Whoa, lucky streak just ran out despite her efforts. The job goes to a college rival who also happens to be good looking, and smart. What to do? No choice but to move back home. And, while home may have been where the heart was, it's different now that she's a young adult and sharing space with a really eccentric family which includes a penny pinching Mom, a strange younger brother and a grandmother who makes us laugh but embarrasses Ryden. There is good friend, Adam, and a really cute next door neighbor. Thank goodness for those distractions as her stack of job application rejections is mounting. This is a story obviously geared for young adults, and delightfully read by Llyana Kadushin. The film version starring Alexis Bledel with Carol Burnett and Michael Keaton is due out on August 21, 2009. Enjoy! - Gail Cooke

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Ryden Malby has just graduated from college. She has her whole life ahead of her, and she also has it completely planned out. Her English degree is going to help her land a fancy job at Happerman & Browning, a publishing house in L.A. Of course, nothing seems to be working out according to plan. Ryden's arch-nemesis, Jessica, steals her job right out from under her, she is forced to move back in with her wacky family, and she doesn't know how to deal with her extremely attractive neighbor, David, who is twelve years her senior. Through all of this, Ryden finds solace with her best friend, Adam. Adam is also facing some tough decisions; go to Columbia University and become a lawyer, or follow his dream of making music. Adam is also coming to terms with his feelings for Ryden, and she is unsure of how to move forward with their relationship. Emily Cassel has written a fresh and funny novel about making it in the real world. Ryden and Adam are lovable characters, while Ryden's dysfunctional, yet supportive family members are laugh-out-loud funny. Since Cassel's protagonist is a little older, high school students may not be able to relate to the problems she is facing. I think that seniors and college grads will love this novel. They will be able to identify and appreciate Ryden's struggle to make it on her own. Also, be on the lookout for the movie version of POST GRAD. I'm sure it won't disappoint! Reviewed by: LadyJay

sweet enjoyable character study

Ryden Malby has so far seen her life strategic plan work perfectly. She gradated high school with grades that enabled her to go to college on a full scholarship. She limited her social activities and focused on her schooling so now she is about to graduate from college. The final objective in her plan is to obtain her dream job at Happerman & Browning, a top Los Angeles based publishing firm. However, objective four fails to happen when another recent grad prettier, smarter, and aggressive Jessica Bard scores the position Ryden craved. Instead of L.A. Ryden is back in the Valley living and moping in her family home being driven crazy by her parents, grandma, brother and employment rejections. Only her best friend Adam Davies is there for her but she fails him so he reconsiders Columbia Law School. Although much of the plot is as straight as the Bonneville Salt Flats Speedway, young adult readers will enjoy this sweet enjoyable character study of a recent college grad. Ryden is a wonderful lead who holds the story line together with her struggles over rejection, the eccentricity of her family, and choosing between her long time BF and the hunk next door. POST GRAD is at its best when Ryden goes job hunting as that hits home how difficult it is to score the positions you want coming out of college. Emily Cassel provides a delightful look at the plight of a POST GRAD that can be summed up by Adam who explains the ironies of screwy society that in Ohio it is against the law to hunt whales. Harriet Klausner