IDENTIFYING #: ISBN 081297235X
CLASSIFICATION: FICTION
GENRE: REALISTIC FICTION
CALL #: FIC SITTENFELD
RECOMMENDED AGE/INTEREST LEVEL: ADULT
RATING: 3
Annotation: High school student Lee Fiora gets a scholarship to attend an exclusive boarding school in Massachusetts where she desperately wants to be liked but doesn't want anyone to know how desperate she is.
Summary: Lee leaves her midwestern home, Indiana, to attend a Massachusetts "college prepatory" school. Lee's family isn't rich, but she wins a scholarship which substantially reduces her tuition. Although the cost is comparitively low, the monthly payment Lee's father makes is, for him, a large amount. When Lee arrives at the school, she feels awkward and is painfully aware of not belonging to the same social class as most of her peers. Continually self-conscious, Lee doesn't want to single herself out by trying too hard to fit in. As a result, many of her peers see her as aloof and unfriendly, further contributing to her social awkwardness. The story follows Lee through her 4 years at this school, while she struggles with classic teen difficulties surrounding a few but significant friendships, her embarassment of her parents, her difficulty with math, and a four-year long obsession with a boy who shows an off and on interest in her. Sittenfeld's wit and ability to hone in on the adolescent psyche kept me interested enough to continue this book, but I was not enthusiastic, and it felt long. The odd detachment Lee showed made her hard to care about, and while that is definitely one of Lee's issues, it was annoying to sympathize more with minor characters than with the narrator of the story.
Notes:
I think this book appeals to a very narrow audience. Many West Coast teenagers will have difficulty conceiving of life in either the midwest OR back east, and when they think "boarding school", Hogwarts will probably be the only example they can call to mind. The book opens with 4 or 5 pages of quotes from reviewers who loved the book, which made me feel I SHOULD like it, but the whole time, I just kept thinking, "this book is never going to get checked out". So, if you're a student reading this, and you DO check it out, and by some miracle, you DO like it, let me know!
