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3.42 AVERAGE
3.42 AVERAGE
There are parts where the profound insight of this girl surprises me. The description of awkward high school years is right on and made me cringe.
I finished it. Probably because I had nothing else to read. But I didn't hate it, so that's something.
First thoughts after finishing this book: I'm glad that's over and I really wish I wasn't one of those readers who can't stand to not finish a book.
Once again I am claimed victim of false expectations. I went into this book expecting a much different boarding school story. The reason I picked it up in the first place was because I wanted a quick, light read after finishing Game of Thrones. Also, I was craving a boarding school story because ever since I was in middle school I harbored some not-so-secret longings to attend a boarding school myself (thanks, Harry Potter). But this book me much longer to read than I expected and, being someone who generally goes through novels at a fairly quick clip, the slow reading pace could only be chalked up to one thing- I was really not enjoying picking this one up.
The main reason I was not enjoying it was because the main character, Lee, was such an abominable person to experience anything through. I felt I was being robbed of my fictional boarding school vacation because she was spoiling everything. She had an absolutely terrible attitude about every little possible thing. I wanted to go out and explore the school and its many fascinating inhabitants, and all she wanted to do was stay in her dorm room wallowing in self-doubt/hatred. At the beginning of the book I thought, oh, she's a little nervous and is trying to find her footing, but I'm sure soon enough she'll figure this all out and we'll be off experiencing what Ault School has to offer. But no. From freshman year till her graduation day, Lee continued a pathetic existence that she practically created all by herself. It would have been easier to like her even if she was just so socially anxious that I felt sorry for her. Unfortunately, she was a jerk a lot of times too, and I didn't blame the people who didn't want to be around her. I didn't want to be around her either.
I think this book shouldn't be labeled simply a "boarding school book" but instead, a book about being really super ridiculously insecure about every detail of your life. If it would've had that tag, I would've known what to expect before spending money on it (used, at least). I can see why some people might see this as a book to relate to about how it feels to be an awkward teenager, but it was just too much for me. I didn't feel like her situation ever had a light at the end of the angsty tunnel. I felt like Lee only changed once she left Ault, which is hinted at in an "off-stage" sort of way. I enjoy reading books because I like to live in other people's shoes and see how they solve problems or brave tough circumstances. The shoes of Lee Fiora were torturous to try and I'm happy to return them to their owner.
Once again I am claimed victim of false expectations. I went into this book expecting a much different boarding school story. The reason I picked it up in the first place was because I wanted a quick, light read after finishing Game of Thrones. Also, I was craving a boarding school story because ever since I was in middle school I harbored some not-so-secret longings to attend a boarding school myself (thanks, Harry Potter). But this book me much longer to read than I expected and, being someone who generally goes through novels at a fairly quick clip, the slow reading pace could only be chalked up to one thing- I was really not enjoying picking this one up.
The main reason I was not enjoying it was because the main character, Lee, was such an abominable person to experience anything through. I felt I was being robbed of my fictional boarding school vacation because she was spoiling everything. She had an absolutely terrible attitude about every little possible thing. I wanted to go out and explore the school and its many fascinating inhabitants, and all she wanted to do was stay in her dorm room wallowing in self-doubt/hatred. At the beginning of the book I thought, oh, she's a little nervous and is trying to find her footing, but I'm sure soon enough she'll figure this all out and we'll be off experiencing what Ault School has to offer. But no. From freshman year till her graduation day, Lee continued a pathetic existence that she practically created all by herself. It would have been easier to like her even if she was just so socially anxious that I felt sorry for her. Unfortunately, she was a jerk a lot of times too, and I didn't blame the people who didn't want to be around her. I didn't want to be around her either.
I think this book shouldn't be labeled simply a "boarding school book" but instead, a book about being really super ridiculously insecure about every detail of your life. If it would've had that tag, I would've known what to expect before spending money on it (used, at least). I can see why some people might see this as a book to relate to about how it feels to be an awkward teenager, but it was just too much for me. I didn't feel like her situation ever had a light at the end of the angsty tunnel. I felt like Lee only changed once she left Ault, which is hinted at in an "off-stage" sort of way. I enjoy reading books because I like to live in other people's shoes and see how they solve problems or brave tough circumstances. The shoes of Lee Fiora were torturous to try and I'm happy to return them to their owner.
I read this book as a 15 year old, which I think was a great time for me to read it. It is a coming of age story with a slightly self conscious though obviously competent protagonist who is trying to navigate a prep school where she doesn't feel like she quite belongs. There's some sex, some insight and a lot about relationships. I would highly recommend this to a late teen, early twenty something. Anyone older might find it dull, though.
one of the first books i've read abt high schoolers that actually feels abt high schoolers
“But still, no one, Aubrey included, seemed to have realized just how tenuous my grasp on math was. And Precalculus had been the worst year yet—it was not an exaggeration to say that I understood virtually none of what we’d studied since late September.”
can't believe this precal experience is shared
“But still, no one, Aubrey included, seemed to have realized just how tenuous my grasp on math was. And Precalculus had been the worst year yet—it was not an exaggeration to say that I understood virtually none of what we’d studied since late September.”
can't believe this precal experience is shared
I am having a hard time deciding if I liked or disliked this book. I found myself making more time to read than usual however I feel like the stroy let me down. This is the first time I have really enjoyed reading a book without completely loving the book in the end.
Prep is a tough book to like, and I didn't like it, really. The narration is cold, stiff, and guarded, much like the narrator herself. This would be a two star review, but the portions of the book about teenage relationships/non-relationships and their power dynamics rang really true to me.
I'm probably going to piss off a lot of people, but I'm going to go ahead and psychoanalyze a bunch of Goodreads reviewers I don't know. People didn't like Prep because it's about an unsympathetic teenager "suffering" through privilege. People don't like books when they don't like the main character, or if the character behaves in ways they wouldn't behave. But isn't that misplaced blame? It's like when you watch a movie and you end up hating the actor who plays the villain, but really you hate him because he played the villain so WELL, not because he's a bad actor. Lee Fiora, the main character in Prep, is not likeable precisely because we know her when she's a freshman-through-senior in high school-- quite possibly the most awkward, difficult years of one's life. Sure, she behaves snobbily; sure, she is selfish and narcissistic; yes, she is irritatingly embarrassed by anything and everything. She's a TEENAGER. (Now maybe I'll get a bunch of Goodreads reviewers saying, "Well I wasn't like that as a teenager." To which I say sarcastically, "Congratulations. You're one in a million.") I think Sittenfeld captures adolescence as purely and truly as any author I've read. I cringed through the novel, not because it was bad but because it was a spot on portrayal of an age that you couldn't pay me a million dollars to return to.