Horn Book (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

In this sequel, Ella (of the vagina self-portrait that got her into so much trouble in Audacious) is juggling the affections of Samir--whose devout Muslim upbringing forbids him from openly dating her--and straight-arrow(ish) David. She's also trying to protect her little sister, who, in Ella's opinion, is growing up too fast. Flawed heroine Ella's whip-smart observations add immediacy to this verse novel.

School Library Journal (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

Gr 10 Up-Sixteen-year-old Ella says she is not like other girls. She is a rebel: she lies, has sex, and takes naked pictures of herself. Still reeling from the fallout of her provocative art project, arrest, and acquittal of pornography chargesin Audacious (Orca 2013)Ella is adrift. She is sleeping with Samir and leading him to believe that she is just friends with David, though that is not exactly true. "Isn't that the point?/To Frankenstein/Two boys together/Making a perfect boyfriend?" she asks. But a boyfriend will not fix Ella's desire for identity and acceptance, and things fall apart in a predictable way. This novel in verse is a quick read, thanks to the format and the dramatic plot. Prendergast varies the style of the narrative, seamlessly integrating rhymed couplets, acrostics, and more. The narrative feels inflated at times, as Samir deals with his estranged gay brother, David copes with his brother's drug addiction, and Ella navigates myriad thorny relationships. The secondary characters are largely reduced to two-dimensional traits (the Muslim boy, the asthmatic sister, the wise disabled friend), but Ella stands out as realistic and nuanced. Though Ella's story is one of alienation and discontent, it ends on a hopeful note as she begins to repair her relationships and her own fragile sense of self-worth. Her candid approach to sex, lies, and friendship should attract a wide audience, especially readers who are drawn to deep and sometimes dark issues.— Amanda MacGregor, formerly at Apollo High School Library, St. Cloud, MN

Kirkus Reviews

This verse novel follows a girl juggling two boyfriends and trying to cope with her rival at school. Sixteen-year-old Ella loves two boys. She's sleeping with Samir and cares for him, but she also loves David. She insists David is just her good friend but knows that underneath, it's really a romance, and she may even prefer David to Samir. Meanwhile, she tries to avoid Genie, a girl at her high school who hates her because of her own crush on Samir. Things with Genie come to a head when circumstances force her to agree to participate in a bikini carwash. Samir strongly disapproves, but Ella shows up in a vintage 1950s two-piece bathing suit that allows her to attract more attention than anyone else while showing far less skin. To retaliate, Genie and her clique take Ella's clothes, leaving her stranded in the bikini behind a gas station for hours into the night. Eventually Ella must come to terms with her relationships with both boys and with the girls. Prendergast's unrhymed verse not only tells the tale, but varies form and line length, the clipped rhythms capturing Ella's emotional turmoil. The story touches on different religions with nuance: Samir is a devout Muslim; David is a Jew; Ella and her family are Catholic; Ella's sister is dating a Mormon. Sensitive and compelling. (Verse fiction. 12-18)

Voice of Youth Advocates

Capricious is the sequel to Audacious (Orca, 2013/VOYA December 2013), Prendergast's debut young adult novel. The series, which follows the life of artist Raphaelle, is told entirely in verse. Despite being labeled a juvenile delinquent, Raphaelle, now Ella, wades through the scorn of her classmates to return to school. Ella also maintains her friendships with Samir and David. The cover hints at misery for all, with three broken hearts.Capricious struggles as a stand-alone novel, and it is challenging to settle into the plot without having read the first book. The relationships formed in Audacious set the stage for Capricious, and book two relies heavily on the reader being familiar with past events. In general, the emotions of the book are muted, possibly by the confusing plot. Often key events go unnoticed, meriting a re-read of passages for clarification. The novel is populated with flat and uninspired characters. Prendergast hints at some intriguing backstory with younger sister Kayli, but this family history is never expanded. Ella's family is considered dysfunctional, but they just seem boring. Perhaps the verse medium was not the best choice for the story. While Capricious covers a wide variety of issues, a focus on feminist concerns may have made the story bolder.Laura Perenic.

ALA Booklist (Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2014)

In this follow-up to Audacious (2013), Ella is now simultaneously stringing along two boyfriends: fellow art student Samir and longtime friend David. Still feeling new to her school and dangerously bullied by mean girls, Ella openly reflects on her aptitude for navigating the lies and betrayals necessary for her romantic duplicity. As Prendergast chronicles Ella's self-inquiry through verse, one essential question relentlessly demands attention: how can a girl who can be so genuinely caring to her sickly younger sister, Kayli, care so little for her own sense of self? Ella's one true relationship with asthma-ridden Kayli, and her growing understanding of Samir's ex-girlfriend and bully ringleader Genie offer some hope that her self-destruction might one day become too complicated to carry off, even for Ella.