Scan barcode
A review by missprint_
Fly on the Wall: How One Girl Saw Everything by E. Lockhart
4.0
Fly on the Wall is a YA book that came out last year. It is Lockhart's second or third YA book. Basically, the story takes Franz Kafka's plot from The Metamorphosis and brings it into the modern world and into a book that would appeal to teenage girls. And, for that reason, I almost didn't read it. I hated reading The Metamorphosis in high school and, to be honest, I still strongly dislike the book and avoid Kafka at all costs because of it. BUT, I am happy to say that the similarity to Kafka's novel begins and ends with this fact: Gretchen Yee one day wishes she could be a fly on the wall of the boy's locker room at her high school. The next day she wakes up as just that.
Gretchen wakes up stuck to the locker wall and she stays there for most of the novel. A fact that, surprisingly, does not make for a boring story. Gretchen gets to observe the boys as they come and go for each gym class. Lower classmen, acquaintances, friends, and even her crush, are all available to scrutinize. Instead of just learning, as she had expected, about what the boys really think and say behind closed doors--Gretchen also gets a chance to find out how she fits into the school. The book is broken into three parts: Life as an artificial red-head, Life as a vermin, and Life as a superhero.
I like Gretchen a lot as a character. She goes to an art school (like La Guardia for any New York natives reading this) in NYC where everyone tries to be special. In a school with girls wearing unitards or saris and cliques like the Art Rats, Gretchen feels too ordinary to belong. Gretchen is also a comic book fan which almost always makes a character fun to read about. Excuse the pun, but after being a fly, Gretchen's metamorphosis from insecure to empowered girl really starts.
At times Lockhart's language seemed a little . . . unique. You can tell me what you think after reading her segment on "gherkins" *ahem*. I don't know if it's that she's using slang that I find weird and this is therefore only my problem, but it just made me hyper-aware that I was reading a book at certain points in the story.
As for the plot, it's a classic problem-resolution kind of story. Which I like. If you need to pick up something light and fun after a sad book (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian perhaps) I'd recommend this. The writing is straight forward and Gretchen is such a unique character that even if you thought Metamorphosis spin-offs are over done (I'm thinking of all those Fly movies right now), you'll find a lot to call new and novel here (that pun was intended too). Finally, even though you think the book is about a girl turning into a fly which is a fair assumption, it's really about more than that too. Specifically, it's about a girl learning to go after what she wants. Now you may ask, does Gretchen get what she wants? You'll have to pick up a copy yourself to find out.
Gretchen wakes up stuck to the locker wall and she stays there for most of the novel. A fact that, surprisingly, does not make for a boring story. Gretchen gets to observe the boys as they come and go for each gym class. Lower classmen, acquaintances, friends, and even her crush, are all available to scrutinize. Instead of just learning, as she had expected, about what the boys really think and say behind closed doors--Gretchen also gets a chance to find out how she fits into the school. The book is broken into three parts: Life as an artificial red-head, Life as a vermin, and Life as a superhero.
I like Gretchen a lot as a character. She goes to an art school (like La Guardia for any New York natives reading this) in NYC where everyone tries to be special. In a school with girls wearing unitards or saris and cliques like the Art Rats, Gretchen feels too ordinary to belong. Gretchen is also a comic book fan which almost always makes a character fun to read about. Excuse the pun, but after being a fly, Gretchen's metamorphosis from insecure to empowered girl really starts.
At times Lockhart's language seemed a little . . . unique. You can tell me what you think after reading her segment on "gherkins" *ahem*. I don't know if it's that she's using slang that I find weird and this is therefore only my problem, but it just made me hyper-aware that I was reading a book at certain points in the story.
As for the plot, it's a classic problem-resolution kind of story. Which I like. If you need to pick up something light and fun after a sad book (The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian perhaps) I'd recommend this. The writing is straight forward and Gretchen is such a unique character that even if you thought Metamorphosis spin-offs are over done (I'm thinking of all those Fly movies right now), you'll find a lot to call new and novel here (that pun was intended too). Finally, even though you think the book is about a girl turning into a fly which is a fair assumption, it's really about more than that too. Specifically, it's about a girl learning to go after what she wants. Now you may ask, does Gretchen get what she wants? You'll have to pick up a copy yourself to find out.