Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales is an eminently relatable novel. (Perhaps I have a bit too much in common with the girls in the book, having attended an all-girls private school in Massachusetts with many similarities to the fictitious Westfield School.) Violet and Katie have the kind of friendship that so many girls experience as teenagers. They can finish each other's sentences, they have that quippy back and forth a la Lorelai and Rory Gilmore-- basically, they don't know where one ends and the other begins. Which makes it all the more startling for Violet, an academic overachiever who holds very high expectations for herself, when Katie starts making decisions that are not in her best interest: dating an older guy who works at the coffee shop (who her parents would NOT approve of, who in fact Violet does not approve of!) and taking risks at school.
This book is very much about friendship, and the way that friends can grow apart as they define themselves in relation to their world, and not just each other. There are so many funny, laugh out loud moments. Violet and Katie are witty and snarky, but most of all, they are pretty honest. I appreciated the way this book deals very frankly with the competitive nature of fancy private high schools. Unlike many other books that use these worlds as their settings (I'm talking to you, Gossip Girl), this one realistically captures what goes on in the classroom. While Mostly Good Girls treads some familiar terrain plot-wise, it is the wit and spark of the writing, and the strong characterizations that will keep readers enthralled.
Review is based on an ARC. Will be hitting bookstores and libraries in October 2010.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar