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Book Review #8
Feb. 21st, 2009 01:18 pmI am reading so slowly. I desperately need to pick up the pace.
Book: Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
Genre: Fiction
Length: 403 pp.
Progress (pages): 2514/15000 (16.8%)
Grade: A
Amazon Summary: A self-conscious outsider navigates the choppy waters of adolescence and a posh boarding school's social politics in Sittenfeld's A-grade coming-of-age debut. The strong narrative voice belongs to Lee Fiora, who leaves South Bend, Ind., for Boston's prestigious Ault School and finds her sense of identity supremely challenged. Now, at 24, she recounts her years learning "everything I needed to know about attracting and alienating people." Sittenfeld neither indulges nor mocks teen angst, but hits it spot on: "I was terrified of unwittingly leaving behind a piece of scrap paper on which were written all my private desires and humiliations. The fact that no such scrap of paper existed... never decreased my fear." Lee sees herself as "one of the mild, boring, peripheral girls" among her privileged classmates, especially the über-popular Aspeth Montgomery, "the kind of girl about whom rock songs were written," and Cross Sugarman, the boy who can devastate with one look ("my life since then has been spent in pursuit of that look"). Her reminiscences, still youthful but more wise, allow her to validate her feelings of loneliness and misery while forgiving herself for her lack of experience and knowledge. The book meanders on its way, light on plot but saturated with heartbreaking humor and written in clean prose. Sittenfeld, who won Seventeen's fiction contest at 16, proves herself a natural in this poignant, truthful book.
My Thoughts: Considered a modern-day The Catcher in the Rye, people seem to either love or hate this book. They either find the main character, Lee Fiora, annoying and whiny, or they consider her rather relateable in her own way.
Personally, I loved this book. I read it all in one day, with practically no breaks, and found Fiora's shy and self-conscious nature to nearly mirror mine. She feels like an outsider in a world full of people who all seem to know exactly what they are doing, she doesn't really know how to act, and she judges pretty much every single move she does before she does it. This is what I do all the time, in school, at home, walking down the street.
I could relate to her in this book, and I think that's why I liked it so much. Sure, Lee Fiora is an annoying little selfish brat who needs a good strong dose of reality, but I could relate to her. She is not a perfect character. She doesn't know how to act and often does things that you can't stand. She doesn't take the chances you want her to take, she mentions things and never brings them up again, she obsesses over a guy for almost the entire book, and is just a teenager. She acts like a teenager, talks like a teenager, and captures the teenage angst in a powerful and, again, highly relateable way.
The way Curtis Sittenfeld captured this character was one of my favorite aspects of the book. She is not a likeable character, per se, but she is a relateable character; I feel we can all find a bit of our own self-consciousness in Fiora's actions.
The story, as well, struck me as realistic. She doesn't end up with the guy she "dated." She doesn't keep the same friends throughout the entire story. She doesn't get along with everyone, people don't suddenly notice her, there are things that happen that never really come up again, there are opportunities for change that she doesn't take.
Admittedly, there was something in me that yearned for the happy ending, but it would've felt out of place. At the end of high school, you don't get your happy ending. You often don't remain friends with the people you were friends with in school. So I loved the "unhappy ending" aspect as well.
I just liked the book, really. Highly recommended!
Book: Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld
Genre: Fiction
Length: 403 pp.
Progress (pages): 2514/15000 (16.8%)
Grade: A
Amazon Summary: A self-conscious outsider navigates the choppy waters of adolescence and a posh boarding school's social politics in Sittenfeld's A-grade coming-of-age debut. The strong narrative voice belongs to Lee Fiora, who leaves South Bend, Ind., for Boston's prestigious Ault School and finds her sense of identity supremely challenged. Now, at 24, she recounts her years learning "everything I needed to know about attracting and alienating people." Sittenfeld neither indulges nor mocks teen angst, but hits it spot on: "I was terrified of unwittingly leaving behind a piece of scrap paper on which were written all my private desires and humiliations. The fact that no such scrap of paper existed... never decreased my fear." Lee sees herself as "one of the mild, boring, peripheral girls" among her privileged classmates, especially the über-popular Aspeth Montgomery, "the kind of girl about whom rock songs were written," and Cross Sugarman, the boy who can devastate with one look ("my life since then has been spent in pursuit of that look"). Her reminiscences, still youthful but more wise, allow her to validate her feelings of loneliness and misery while forgiving herself for her lack of experience and knowledge. The book meanders on its way, light on plot but saturated with heartbreaking humor and written in clean prose. Sittenfeld, who won Seventeen's fiction contest at 16, proves herself a natural in this poignant, truthful book.
My Thoughts: Considered a modern-day The Catcher in the Rye, people seem to either love or hate this book. They either find the main character, Lee Fiora, annoying and whiny, or they consider her rather relateable in her own way.
Personally, I loved this book. I read it all in one day, with practically no breaks, and found Fiora's shy and self-conscious nature to nearly mirror mine. She feels like an outsider in a world full of people who all seem to know exactly what they are doing, she doesn't really know how to act, and she judges pretty much every single move she does before she does it. This is what I do all the time, in school, at home, walking down the street.
I could relate to her in this book, and I think that's why I liked it so much. Sure, Lee Fiora is an annoying little selfish brat who needs a good strong dose of reality, but I could relate to her. She is not a perfect character. She doesn't know how to act and often does things that you can't stand. She doesn't take the chances you want her to take, she mentions things and never brings them up again, she obsesses over a guy for almost the entire book, and is just a teenager. She acts like a teenager, talks like a teenager, and captures the teenage angst in a powerful and, again, highly relateable way.
The way Curtis Sittenfeld captured this character was one of my favorite aspects of the book. She is not a likeable character, per se, but she is a relateable character; I feel we can all find a bit of our own self-consciousness in Fiora's actions.
The story, as well, struck me as realistic. She doesn't end up with the guy she "dated." She doesn't keep the same friends throughout the entire story. She doesn't get along with everyone, people don't suddenly notice her, there are things that happen that never really come up again, there are opportunities for change that she doesn't take.
Admittedly, there was something in me that yearned for the happy ending, but it would've felt out of place. At the end of high school, you don't get your happy ending. You often don't remain friends with the people you were friends with in school. So I loved the "unhappy ending" aspect as well.
I just liked the book, really. Highly recommended!
