Find Another Book

Book details

The blonde of the joke

Bennett Madison - Author

The story centres on an unlikely friendship that draws Val into risk-taking and shoplifting, with love, lies and secrets complicating the girls’ partnership.

More about this book

Two teenage girls--a blonde and a brunette--become unlikely friends when they team up to shoplift expensive items from upscale stores in their local mall. ier as they shoplift expensive items from stores in their local mall. pricey items mes from from attempt to steal everything from the local mall. A mousey brunette who goes unnoticed at her high school discovers that she has a sneaky, wild side when she teams up with a flashy blonde classmate to shoplift from upscale stores in the local mall. from every store in the local mall.

Add to Compare Explore

Book Analysis

At a Glance

Discover

Friendship· ExplainedShoplifting· ExplainedRisk-taking· Explained

Consider

Relationships and intimacyRomance

Personalised Fit

Beyond the Cover

friendshipshopliftingrisk-taking

Fiction

Themes in Context

A friendship shaped by risk

Val and Francie become friends and partners in shoplifting; their risks increase as their partnership grows more complicated.Exploratory / explanatory

How the book presents it: The plot follows the girls’ partnership as their shoplifting risks increase and their relationship becomes more complicated.

Talk about: How does the growing risk affect what the girls expect from their friendship?

Why It May Be Worth Reading

The growing stakes give the friendship a suspenseful edge, while the contrast between the girls’ personalities offers a way into questions about confidence and influence.

What Deserves Attention

Shoplifting is central to the plot, and the girls’ crimes become riskier. Their choices and any consequences are worth considering together.

A Conversation Worth Having

What do you think Val sees in Francie, and how might their friendship affect the choices each girl makes?

Reading Approach

Invite your reader to notice how the girls’ partnership changes as the stakes rise, and to distinguish feeling drawn to a character from agreeing with her actions.

Confidence & Basis

Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.

What remains unconfirmed

A friendship shaped by risk: The story’s judgement of their actions and the consequences they face are not established.

The Blonde of the Joke - Bennett Madison - Google Books

Limited information

Checked: 1 October 2026.

Relevant to: A friendship shaped by risk

The blonde of the joke by Bennett Madison | Open Library