In this follow up to Golden, the evil math teacher is gone, so Lissy, Lexie, and Lilah have gone back to their "normal" lives at Emory High School. While Lilah is trying to get used to the idea that her mother is engaged to Lissy's and Lexie's father, she also discovers that she suddenly has "The Sight" that the women in Lissy's and Lexie's family have all had. Scenes from the past continue to interfere with Lilah's daily life, and she is being stalked by a mysterious, good-looking ghost named Cade. In the mean time, Lilah is also trying to maintain her status as Queen Bee of the junior class and protect her relationship with her long-time boyfriend, Brock.
Platinum is told from Lilah's perspective instead of Lissy's as it was in Golden. Lilah takes pride in her social status in school, having worked hard for it since she was nine years old. For that reason, she should be unlikable, but she is not. Her machinations not only develop her character but are funny at times, adding depth and understanding to the reality of being "popular" in school. Overall a good YA read, but it would have been better if the book was a little longer. ( )

This novel continues the story Golden, except told through Lilah’s point of view rather than Lissy. I’m not sure what I was expecting from this sequel, but Platinum definitely surprised me. Lilah isn’t incredibly likeable in the first novel, so I’m glad that we’re able to see her perspective in this one and get some insight as to why she acts so mean in order to stay on top of the social ladder.

Platinum starts off by Lilah hanging out with her friends. She’s feeling weird after her supernatural encounter from the last book and is starting to see things that aren’t there and have weird flashbacks whenever she touches someone or something. She blames Lissy for the psychic powers rubbing off on her and is worried about losing her Queen Bee status if anyone figures out that she’s becoming a “freak” like her future stepsister. As I said before, I liked seeing that Lilah is vulnerable and an actual person rather than the frosty ice queen she was in the first book. In that sense, Platinum really rounds out the overall story by giving the cast of characters more complexity.

As for the plot itself, it’s intriguing. It turns out that Lilah’s high school is haunted, and it’s up to her to keep her boyfriend from dying from a weird ghost loop that happens every 10 years or so. It’s a quick read and fairly entertaining. While I think the overall psychic powers stuff could have been fleshed out, it is a fun ghost story. I love how genuine the stupid high school drama games seem, and I was surprised quite a few times by the developments of what exactly is happening with the haunting.

Overall, a good sequel to Golden. You should probably read Golden first, but I definitely recommend it for people who’ve read it. It nicely resolves everything hanging over from the first book, and Barnes does a great job in developing characters that were rather flat the first time through.

Also posted on Purple People Readers. ( )

Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com

PLATINUM picks up weeks after GOLDEN left off.

Lilah's not sure exactly what's happening to her. She's seeing people that no one else can see, but she's not sure if it's the past or the future. All she knows is that someone wants to kill her boyfriend and she's got to figure out why. In looking at old yearbooks, she discovers that Brock's not the first boy who could end up dying.

Not only does she have to deal with her new visions, but also her social life, which could be falling apart. Her best friend makes a play for her boyfriend. Even though she's now having lukewarm feelings for him, it's against the girl code. She's taking down her best friend if that's the last thing she does. Lilah hasn't gotten to the top without hiccups, but she's determined to have Lissy help her with the visions and remain the Queen Bee.

Jennifer Lynn Barnes takes a normal high school drama of best friends vs. boys and adds a paranormal twist. Give this one to fans of vampire books looking for something similar. ( )

In the sequel to Golden, we hear the story of Lilah Covington, the Platinum queen of the Goldens. She doesn’t like Lissy, but can’t seem to help, well, helping her. But Lilah is in for a big surprise. Her life is turned upside down when she finds out Lissy isn’t the only freak in town. Because Lilah can see into the past and it is about to bring her perfect life crashing down around her.

Submitted by Hagar...
I found that the book was a page turner and kept me interested in the story line. I liked that it gave clues to the mystery along the plot line and that you had to wait until the end of the book to discover what the book was truly about and what is really happening.

The book started with what seemed like an artificial story line (typical teen reading), but what later revealed to have a more substantial content. The book talks about a girl that is the "hottest of the hot". Although she has a power which is retrovision -visions from the past. The book has almost a mystery to it which you, as the reader, and Leila (the girl) have to solve. This book is full of suspense. I really enjoyed this book.