Assessment:
Plot/Idea: Browne creates a metaphor for the unique way adolescents navigate social settings in this entertaining novel, following 16-year-old Starbucks, branded from birth in the name of financial assistance, and his group of similarly-branded friends—Kellogg's, PepsiCo, and Subway. YA readers will revel in the story's subtle humor and unspoken social rules.
Prose: Browne has a flair for understanding adolescent angst—the importance of a reputation, the feelings behind being excluded, and the joy of acceptance from peers. Readers will relate to the characters' travails, and the witty prose makes this all the more enjoyable.
Originality: Cleverly executed, Branded will help YA readers recognize and understand adolescent cliques—and mirrors their presence in adult society as well.
Character/Execution: Branded is built on a variety of characters, and Browne makes their brands a metaphor, in many ways, for their individual personalities. Starbucks is a lively, engaging teenager—at turns sarcastic, at others thoughtful—who plays the role of accepting others for who they truly are, instead of who their brand tells them to be.
Date Submitted: August 26, 2024
Quarter Finalist
Assessment:
Plot/Idea: Sixteen-year-old Starbucks, a junior at Dunkin’ Donuts High school, is plagued by all the normal teenage problems: he’s got a crush on Kellogg’s, but she’s already dating Subway; despite his corporate sponsor (and namesake) Starbucks, he’s not allowed to drink coffee; and he’s struggling to go along with the social bullying that’s supposed to be an accepted part of his world.
Prose: The prose is witty and entertaining, full of sociocultural references and contemporary slang that will resonate with young adult readers.
Originality: Browne has constructed an immersive world where kids are named after their corporate sponsor and spend the better part of their childhood promoting that sponsor’s products—and judging their peers’ sponsorships at the same time.
Character/Execution: The author crafts believable characters, particularly the first-person narrator, Starbucks, who plays a perfect sarcastic, relatable teenager struggling to navigate his way through typical high school problems—romantic affairs, friendship hassles, and the internal anxiety that comes from existing in a world that’s based on an unrelenting pressure to fit in.
Date Submitted: August 09, 2023
