Review of Tagged by Mara Purnhagen

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Can Kate Morgan stand up for herself--without being labeled a snitch?

Kate is just as confused as her best friend, Lan, when she arrives at Cleary High to find the building's been "tagged" with a life-size graffiti mural. Could the culprit be one of their friends or classmates? And is the kind-of-amazing creation really vandalism, or a work of art? She's tempted to stay out of it--mostly because, as the police chief's daughter, she's worried about being labeled a snitch. But when the same mysterious graffiti starts appearing throughout the state, putting more pressure on the authorities to catch the vandal, her investigative instincts kick in.

Now Eli, Kate's favorite coworker at the local coffee shop, is MIA. With Lan preoccupied with her own boy troubles, Kate needs to figure out some things on her own. Like why she can't stop thinking about Eli. And what she will do when all the clues about the graffiti point to someone she's close to...

Tagged by Mara Purnhagen isn’t a book I’ve seen around the blogosphere too much, but I think it’s just as deserving of attention as the plethora of contemporary high-school based novels I’ve seen. Tagged was a quick, and by quick I mean 3 hours non-stop, read. Kate Morgan is basically your average jane-high-school, except, well, her dad’s the police chief, and she does what she can to blend in. Kate’s boring life changes though when she shows up and someone has painted gorillas on the school wall. The gorillas create a buzz, and Kate is left to decide if they are art or vandalism.

I definitely found myself rooting for Kate. She’s quite a vanilla character, but there’s something about her that I couldn’t help but cheer for. Perhaps it is that she is hard-working, and I admire that. Or maybe it’s that she’s a fabulous friend. Or perhaps it is that she decides what is best for herself, not some guy. She’s very understated, she’s not an in your face main-character, but like I said, there’s something altogether admirable about her.Also, she has an awesome best friend. Lan, her BFF, is Vietnamese-American, she’s got an opinion and isn’t afraid to express it. Oh yah and she’s an Asian girl with an attitude, even though she is good at science, but not so good at history. Still, I loved how Lan was such a good listener, and how she was always trying to get Kate to try new food. Lan is awesome. If anything read this book to meet Lan. As far as male leads go, the main boy of Tagged by Mara Purnhagen is interesting, if only because there’s mystery and who doesn’t love a little bit of intrigue. Of course there has to be some romance elements to this book, it is put out by Harlequin Teen after all!

Of course, the pacing of Tagged was fast. There wasn’t a dull moment where I was pondering what to read next, as I so often do during boring books. I loved all of the questions asked about art within Tagged by Mara Purnhagen, although I really do know nothing about art. I also loved how much time the characters spent in their history classroom debating things, but I am a bit biased towards that. Plus there’s bits about finding one’s passion, which I think teens should start exploring in high school, and never really stop exploring. Also, I enjoyed reading about Kate’s job at Something’s Brewing, a local coffee shop owned by an elderly lady. Sassy elderly ladies are the best.

I wish I could have delved more into the characters, but I will take Tagged by Mara Purnhagen to be nothing more than what it is, a contemporary novel about high schoolers, doing high school things, dealing with a bit of wackiness every now and then. I definitely recommend this book to you if you’ve got three hours out of your day to spare, or want something light to read. Really, Tagged is at heart something perfect for it’s line, a fast-paced read guaranteed to absorb you if only for a little bit.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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