So Yesterday

So Yesterday by Scott Westerfeld is a young adult novel. From the back cover.~

Ever wonder who was the first kid to keep a wallet on a big chunky chain, or wear way-too-big pants on purpose? What about the mythical first guy who wore his baseball cap backwards? These are the Innovators, the people at the peak of the cool pyramid.

Seventeen-year-old Hunter Braque is a Trendsetter, on the second level of the pyramid. His job: find the newest, coolest thing for the retail market. His MO: observe, don't get involved.

But he has to get involved when he and his crush, Jen, discover his boss's cell phone in an abandoned building-and his boss missing. Hunter and Jen are soon snared in a web of brand-name intrigue: a missing cargo of the coolest shoes they've ever seen, ads for products that don't exist, and a shadowy group dedicated to the downfall of consumerism as we know it.

So Yesterday was the first book by Scott Westerfeld I've read. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading more books by Westerfeld. So Yesterday is a fast-paced story about trends and how they come to be popular. There was really no products mentioned by name, but many were described well enough to know who made the products.

Hunter and Jen meet when he snaps a picture of her shoelaces to send to his boss. Hunter even gets Jen an invite to a focus group with a group of other Trendsetters. The adventure for Hunter and Jen begins when they are asked to meet his boss, Mandy, and only find her cell phone. While looking for Mandy, they find the coolest shoes ever made, go to a magazine launch party, are chased repeatedly by an unknown group, and seek the advise of other Trendsetter friends of Hunter.

I love the humor and the action in So Yesterday, and look forward to giving more books by Westerfeld a try.