by Rosalind Wiseman
ages: 13+
First sentence: “Here’s the deal.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the publisher.

Sure, this book was written by the author whose book inspired Mean Girls. Sure, it’s got a quote from Tina Fey (whom I find to be incredibly funny) on the cover. Sure, it’s got a fun title.

But…. Meh.

Charlotte (otherwise known as Charley) Healey is excited to start a new High School, getting away from her mean girl frenemies of 8th grade. It’s a fresh start, away from all the crap of middle school. Of course, high school isn’t that easy: of course she makes new friends (who are “true friends”, of course), puts some of her past to rest, but also deals with some crap with the guys.

What really bothered me was that it felt so… preachy. And goody-goody. It felt like Wiseman was trying too hard to hit all the “issues” that “teens face” — from back-biting friends, to trust, to teen drinking, to hazing on sports teams — and as a result didn’t do any of them justice. The characters were cardboard, the dialogue stilted. And while it wasn’t bad enough for me to toss across the room, it wasn’t great either. There are better teen issue books out there. Ones where you connect with the character and don’t feel like the author is trying really hard to get across a message to those poor, disturbed, confused teens.

*sigh*