Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: June 2015
Source: Owned
Source: Owned
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Blurb:
When 15-year-old Carolyn moves from New Jersey to Alabama with her mother, she rattles the status quo of the junior class at Adams High School. A good student and natural athlete, she’s immediately welcomed by the school’s cliques. She’s even nominated to the homecoming court and begins dating a senior, Shane, whose on again/off again girlfriend Brooke becomes Carolyn’s bitter romantic rival. When a video of Carolyn and Shane making out is sent to everyone, Carolyn goes from golden girl to slut, as Brooke and her best friend Gemma try to restore their popularity. Gossip and bullying hound Carolyn, who becomes increasingly private and isolated. When Shane and Brooke—now back together—confront Carolyn in the student parking lot, injuring her, it’s the last attack she can take.
This book has been sitting on my shelf for a super long time, I am pretty sure I got it around the time of its release so basically 5 years! I have been trying to knock off some books on my TBR in quarantine so decided it was finally time to read this.
The book centers on how a small town is rocked by the arrival of a new girl - Carolyn. As the town falls over themselves to first get to know Carolyn because she is the "shiny new toy" then then begin to turn against her just as quickly.
One thing I found a little jarring about this book was the writing style. The novel is written in the "we". So the reader of the novel is reading from the perspective as the entire town as a collective we. This was very jarring and difficult to get into the writing flow in the beginning but I became more comfortable with it as the story progressed. This was a very interesting take on the novels point of view as it goes to show the reader just how complicit each and every person was in the rise and fall of Carolyn.
The novel is definitely one that I would recommend to parents and teens. This is because if how Sarah Bannan has not only written the bullying aspects of the novel so well, but also the "complicit by non-action" seen in the novel. Every person is guilty as a result of bystander effect. The whole town has countless opportunities to make things better for Carolyn, and actually recognizes this but still continues to do nothing. This was such a striking theme of the novel as the reader is essentially apart of this "we" and it makes you feel so helpless to aid Carolyn.
Sarah Bannan also excels in highlighting the sexism that exists in high schools / secondary schools. Carolyn is recorded having sex with the video being posted to the internet. Only Carolyn is blamed, not the boy she was with. The "Hot List" is also extremely sexist and objectifying. It features ranking the hottest girls in the school, no boys here also. This is further displaying the sexism, cruelty and bullying of teens online by their own peers.
I enjoyed the plot of the novel and how deeply it went into characters, relationships, sex, gossip, bullying etc., I found myself reading the majority of the novel in just one day. The constant theme of girls and weight throughout the novel was also an uncomfortable thread. The girls place so much importance on their weight, having too much or too little, dieting etc. It is a constant sub-theme throughout the novel further showing the pressures placed upon these girls by their society and peers to look a certain way.
The characters were really well written. Although we read mostly as a collective "we", the reader is also introduced to some of the key players in Carolyn's rise and fall such as Brooke, Gemma, Shane. I really enjoyed seeing the progression of characters from good to bad, bad to good. Relationships from perfect to sour and twisted.
Bannan also incorporates essays, Facebook posts, social media posts and notes to further illustrate just how the bullying and gossiping follow a person well beyond the classroom and into their home.
A really well written novel showing how damaging "doing nothing" can be. Bullying, sexism and hatred bubbling over in a small religious town who don't take kindly to strangers. Although not a perfect novel, I felt the pacing and structure was a little off for me, a great book for teens and parents alike.
The book centers on how a small town is rocked by the arrival of a new girl - Carolyn. As the town falls over themselves to first get to know Carolyn because she is the "shiny new toy" then then begin to turn against her just as quickly.
One thing I found a little jarring about this book was the writing style. The novel is written in the "we". So the reader of the novel is reading from the perspective as the entire town as a collective we. This was very jarring and difficult to get into the writing flow in the beginning but I became more comfortable with it as the story progressed. This was a very interesting take on the novels point of view as it goes to show the reader just how complicit each and every person was in the rise and fall of Carolyn.
The novel is definitely one that I would recommend to parents and teens. This is because if how Sarah Bannan has not only written the bullying aspects of the novel so well, but also the "complicit by non-action" seen in the novel. Every person is guilty as a result of bystander effect. The whole town has countless opportunities to make things better for Carolyn, and actually recognizes this but still continues to do nothing. This was such a striking theme of the novel as the reader is essentially apart of this "we" and it makes you feel so helpless to aid Carolyn.
Sarah Bannan also excels in highlighting the sexism that exists in high schools / secondary schools. Carolyn is recorded having sex with the video being posted to the internet. Only Carolyn is blamed, not the boy she was with. The "Hot List" is also extremely sexist and objectifying. It features ranking the hottest girls in the school, no boys here also. This is further displaying the sexism, cruelty and bullying of teens online by their own peers.
I enjoyed the plot of the novel and how deeply it went into characters, relationships, sex, gossip, bullying etc., I found myself reading the majority of the novel in just one day. The constant theme of girls and weight throughout the novel was also an uncomfortable thread. The girls place so much importance on their weight, having too much or too little, dieting etc. It is a constant sub-theme throughout the novel further showing the pressures placed upon these girls by their society and peers to look a certain way.
The characters were really well written. Although we read mostly as a collective "we", the reader is also introduced to some of the key players in Carolyn's rise and fall such as Brooke, Gemma, Shane. I really enjoyed seeing the progression of characters from good to bad, bad to good. Relationships from perfect to sour and twisted.
Bannan also incorporates essays, Facebook posts, social media posts and notes to further illustrate just how the bullying and gossiping follow a person well beyond the classroom and into their home.
A really well written novel showing how damaging "doing nothing" can be. Bullying, sexism and hatred bubbling over in a small religious town who don't take kindly to strangers. Although not a perfect novel, I felt the pacing and structure was a little off for me, a great book for teens and parents alike.
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