Thursday, September 16, 2010

Book Blogger Appreciation : Day 4


Welcome to Book Blogger Appreciation Week Day 4!

Today's treasure: Forgotten Treasures.

Sure we’ve all read about Freedom and Mockingjay but we likely have a book we wish would get more attention by book bloggers, whether it’s a forgotten classic or under marketed contemporary fiction. This is your chance to tell the community why they should consider reading this book!

This is very hard for me. Because there are so many books that I LOVE that I have just never seen around in the blogosphere.
One of these books that has really been on my mind lately is Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. This is one of my favorite books of all time, and there was recently a great review of it on the Bookette that has had me thinking about it and remembering how much I love it. It's about a girl in boarding school who is, basically, me. When I was in boarding school. And as such, I am sure she is also every other teenage girl in high school going through an awkward phase and feeling super shy.
And really, the Bookette review is the only time I have ever seen this book talked about in the blogosphere. Why? I couldn't tell you. Because it is absolutely AMAZING, and everyone should read it!

I read it a long time before I started the blog, otherwise there would be a link to my review of it as well.

Summary: Curtis Sittenfeld’s debut novel, Prep, is an insightful, achingly funny coming-of-age story as well as a brilliant dissection of class, race, and gender in a hothouse of adolescent angst and ambition.

Lee Fiora is an intelligent, observant fourteen-year-old when her father drops her off in front of her dorm at the prestigious Ault School in Massachusetts. She leaves her animated, affectionate family in South Bend, Indiana, at least in part because of the boarding school’s glossy brochure, in which boys in sweaters chat in front of old brick buildings, girls in kilts hold lacrosse sticks on pristinely mown athletic fields, and everyone sings hymns in chapel.

As Lee soon learns, Ault is a cloistered world of jaded, attractive teenagers who spend summers on Nantucket and speak in their own clever shorthand. Both intimidated and fascinated by her classmates, Lee becomes a shrewd observer of–and, ultimately, a participant in–their rituals and mores. As a scholarship student, she constantly feels like an outsider and is both drawn to and repelled by other loners. By the time she’s a senior, Lee has created a hard-won place for herself at Ault. But when her behavior takes a self-destructive and highly public turn, her carefully crafted identity within the community is shattered.

Ultimately, Lee’s experiences–complicated relationships with teachers; intense friendships with other girls; an all-consuming preoccupation with a classmate who is less than a boyfriend and more than a crush; conflicts with her parents, from whom Lee feels increasingly distant, coalesce into a singular portrait of the painful and thrilling adolescence universal to us all.


What are you waiting for? Go get your hands on a copy now!

11 comments:

Care said...

I have yet to read any Curtis Sittenfeld. Thanks for the recommendation. Happy BBAW!

Mishel (P.S. I Love Books) said...

I haven't heard of Prep or the author before your post. I went and read the Bookette's wonderful review and I gotta say I'm definitely interested. Great recommendation Audrey =)

Anonymous said...

I got a copy of this book from the publishers recently as it has been reprinted recently. Not that it's an old book, but they just brought out a new print of it.

I loved the book! Nice choice, although I'm not sure how forgotten it is (yet!). :-)

Zee said...

I keep picking up this book in bookstores, sounds like I should get it.

Meg @ write meg! said...

I've definitely seen this one around before but couldn't tell you why I've never thought to grab it! And it's awesome when we find books with main characters we relate to so strongly. Thanks for reminding me about this one -- and encouraging me to finally get it!

Simcha said...

I actually didn't care for this book at all. I found the main character irritating and difficult to relate to. Oh well, I guess we don't agree on everything after all ;)

Chrisbookarama said...

Hmm, I've seen this book elsewhere before but can't remember where.

BookQuoter said...

I was hesitant to read this just because I didn't really like American wife, but I know my daughter likes this book.

Natalie said...

I've never heard of this book, so it was nice to get your opinion on it. Thanks for the heads up!

Flo said...

this one sounds pretty good, i hadn't heard about it before so i'm glad you recommended it

S. Krishna said...

I read this one in my pre-blogging days and enjoyed it. Great pick!

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