So today, we're covering an oldie. This book was originally released in 2009, is by a Canadian author (!) and is a first time novel. I bought this one at a church book sale a few months ago for something ridiculously cheap so I'm not sure if it's still available in bookstores.Parker Fadley was once your typical perfect high school girl. She's pretty, got great grades, was captain of the cheerleading squad, and dated the most popular boy at school. She wasn't a 'mean girl' by any means, either; people genuinely liked her, and she was a shoo-in to be valedictorian for her senior class. Recently, though, Parker has completely changed. She won't say why, and nobody knows how it happened, but she is no longer the person she once was. It's even gotten so bad that her parents have gotten involved and have put her on suicide watch. How did a girl like this fall so far? Jake, a nice boy at school who Parker wants nothing to do with, wants to find out. The question is, will Parker let down her guard enough for Jake to get in?
This book was so well-written. Parker is an anti-hero, and that's one of the things I loved most about this book: she's destructive, she's withdrawn, and she's not somebody that you want to be. She's probably not even someone you'd want to know. But she's incredibly intriguing, and Summers does a great job creating a sense of mystery around her. I had fun trying to figure out what exactly Parker had done to become this way. I was rooting for her, but not in the usual sense. I didn't want her to keep ruining her life - I wanted her to take the help she so desperately needed and turn her life around. She's not a likeable character, but she's not supposed to be. She's a damaged character that I was feeling empathy for by the end of the book.
The supporting characters were equally developed. I enjoyed the character of Jake, and even more so the dog, Bailey. Both of them gave Parker something to lean on when she didn't even realize she needed it herself. Jake had problems of his own and wasn't around as simply the 'perfect' love interest. There was a bit of a love triangle, but it wasn't overdone or too cliche. In fact, the whole book avoided the general cliches that I find in a lot of books. While some cliches are obviously present, they were written into the narrative in a way that made it feel like they belonged there. It's high school, and high school is full of cliches.
Overall, I thought the book was good. Sure, the ending could have been handled a bit better (the last few chapters of novels often seem a bit rushed to me) but I'm happy with the way it turned out. The ending is hopeful, but flawed. Not completely a happy ending, but gives enough closure. Things in real life aren't suddenly resolved with sunshine and rainbows, and Summers stayed true to real life.
It's not often I read a teen novel set in contemporary America with no paranormal aspects; they all seem very similar to me. Summers' novel is absolutely worth reading, though, and didn't feel like a rehashing of all the other high school centric novels I've read before. Recommended, especially for readers who like their characters to be interesting but flawed.
SCORE: 7/10
IF YOU LIKE: Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson), Some Girls Are (Courtney Summers)
No comments:
Post a Comment