The List

The List by Siobhan Vivian
4/5 stars
Push, 2012
332 pages
YA Contemporary

Source: Picked up for review from the library.

I think Vivian has done an excellent thoughtful job of examining the life of young woman, the pressures, the feelings, etc. such as in her book Not That Kind of Girl and after seeing several rave reviews of this book, I was excited to give it a read although I was worried about juggling the eight (!) girls it follows.

Those worries were not unwarranted as I didn't feel like we really got enough insight into them. There are eight girls and 332 pages, which means that each girl only gets about forty pages and it didn't even seem like each got the same amount of page-time. Fortunately I was able to keep referring to the front inside cover, which listed the girls as well as their basic conflict upon being placed on the list as either the prettiest or the ugliest grade in their respective grade.

As is my wont, I ended up being most drawn to the stories that featured sister-sister relationships; prettiest freshman Abby and prettiest Bridget find themselves struggling with their role on the list and how it impacts their relationship with their sister who did not make the list. Abby and her older sister Fern definitely had some moments that made me reflect on my relationship with my younger sister.

But I think my favorite storyline was Danielle, who is anointed ugliest freshman and derided as manly. See Danielle swims and has an athletic body with muscles; she's good enough to make varsity. However this body shape makes her feel less than when compared to the typical body shape that seems to be prized in contemporary American society. These feelings are compounded by her insecure boyfriend who can't take the teasing from his stupid friends. But happily Danielle makes more friends with other swimmers and appreciates all that her body can do.

Another interesting plotline was that of seniors Jennifer and Margo (labeled ugliest and prettiest respectively) who are former friends. There were some twists and turns I didn't predict and a few shocking moments. This storyline did not turn out the way I expected and I appreciated the surprises that Vivian was able to pack in here.

Overall: A slightly overstuffed book but still a very appealing one that tackles life as a female in amid the craziness of an American high school.

Cover: I really like the color of the lockers behind the students although I wonder if eight could have fit to represent how many are focused on in the book.

A Little Friendly Advice

A Little Friendly Advice by Siobhan Vivian
Push, 2008
248 pages
YA; Contemporary
3/5 stars

Source: Library

While browsing my library, I came across this book. Having mostly enjoyed Vivian's book Not That Kind of Girl, I eagerly picked this one up, expecting a fun contemporary story about friendship.

The four girls, as represented on the cover, are main character Ruby, her best friend Beth, their friend Maria, and the girl who has recently started hanging out with them, Katharine. Ruby thought she was used to her father's abandonment of her and her mom. But she's not, as she realizes when he suddenly returns on her sixteenth birthday throwing her emotions into a tizzy.

I read mostly YA and I can handle different levels of maturity in that category but wow I thought Ruby was really at the lower level of that scale. I think I tend to prefer precocious or overachieving characters to ones like Ruby. By that I mean, teenage characters who use alcohol as a coping mechanism, who rage at parents when said parents really don't suck, characters who don't seem to possess much common sense. I don't require characters that I can admire but I think it is a preference of mine.

And I did not admire Ruby who does not handle the events in this book well at all. My favorite part about her was the boy she meets named Charlie, who's practically perfect. He's able to deal with his egotistical, bullying father AND Ruby's neuroticism. He's also really charming and, in my imagination, super cute. I found him far more compelling unlike Ruby.

Yes, Ruby does demonstrate some growth. But as a whole, I found the plot and characters all over the place with many receiving only superficial treatment. I wanted more character development and a more cohesive narrative. Still I do enjoy Vivian's writing and will be on the lookout for more of her books.

Cover: Really good-the pictures relate to an actual plotline in the story and I can imagine each as one of the friends.

Not That Kind of Girl

Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian
Push, 2010
322 pages
YA; Contemporary; Romance
4/5 stars

Source: Library

Natalie Sterling is not that kind of girl. She is the kind of girl who's class president, who will go to a fantastic college, who won't be distracted from her goals, not even by a tempting quarterback.  She is not the kind of girl who begs for male attention, the kind of girl who might be labeled a slut.   Until one day Natalie is that kind of girl, the one who people gossip about and who disappoints her favorite teacher.  What's she going to do about it?

I simultaneously identified with and wanted to shake Natalie throughout the book.  She certainly has her good points: ambitious, loyalty, controlled, honest, good daughter, loves classic films.  Additionally I agreed with many of her points warning girls not to take naked pictures of themselves (in general, a very bad idea especially in high school. I've seen multiple news stories about the consequences that can occur and yet nobody seems to learn.)

But she also has a frustrating side: wanting her best friend to have no other friends but her, bossy, wanting to keep a relationship with a good guy quiet and just focus on the physical, an outsize hatred for most if not all high school boys.  I wanted to stop her so many times and tell her what she should do because she was going about the situation in completely the wrong way.

Despite those flaws, she's a very likable character and she seemed very real to me.  I saw a lot of myself in her and I really wanted her to hit rock bottom so that she could pull herself up and out of trouble and continue fighting for what she believes in.

Besides Natalie, there is also a VERY cute boy named Connor; now he's no Will but he's not bad.

For a hilarious review of this book, check out Forever Young Adult's review.

Overall: Cute story with some good scenes between Natalie and Connor-some very good scenes!

Cover: So fun story: The librarian teased me as he checked my book out, not that it ought to matter to him what I read so I have a bit of a hate on for this cover.