I seriously feel like I just relived high school. “Prep” follows Lee’s four years on scholarship at prestigious prep school Ault. She feels weird and observes her classmates from afar, too afraid to participate in their socializing. The book charts her baby steps toward happiness, which she never quite grasps as she’s too self-conscious to let herself be in the moment, let a boy like her or open up to potential friends.
THE LOWDOWN
Published: 2005, 406 pp.
Obtained via: Library
Date started: 12.14.06
Date finished: 12.18.06
What I liked: The exact portrayal of what it’s like to be 15 and a fish out of water. How the book skips ahead to the next semester to keep up the action without losing its pacing.
What I didn’t like: Lee’s infuriating self-consciousness!
What I learned: All the things not to do in any social situation. How to make high school more bearable. (Could have used that 10 years ago, right?)
Unresolved question: The last chapters makes some mention of Lee’s college career and later life, but did she ever really grow out of being an observer on the sidelines? I bet she became a journalist.
beautiful, come visit mine!