I bought Curtis Sittenfeld’s Prep after reading an article in the August fiction issue of The Atlantic about her experiences as a first-time author. It must have really excited my interest because I bought it in hardback ($21.95). I’m annoyed that it is already out in paperback and not only have I not gotten around to reading it until now, I’m finding it sagging mightily — 177 pages into it (not quite half way) and there is no change in the tone nor in the first-person narrator’s attitude. But I have noted two passages:
Life is clearest when guided by ulterior motives . . . .
. . . I had at times believed that if my sadness were intense enough, it would magnetically draw a handsome boy to my room to comfort me, and that had served as an incentive, when alone, to lie around and weep.
Crurtis Sittenfeld’s Prep is a great book for teens to read. It was originally assigned as a Literature paper, but I found myself really enjoying the book. It touches on self-consciousness, sexuality, academics, and how an adolescent’s life is really like nowadays and the trials and tribulations that they go through. It talks about relationships with boys and girls. I think it is a very interesting and knowledgable book and would recommend it to anybody-young or old-and already have. I am looking forward to her next book coming out, The Man of My Dreams, and even more to come.