lornarei's review
3.0
For most of this book I was sure I was going to give it four stars. I mean, even though I went to a small town, public high school in Indiana at the end of the Seventies, I could really relate to the story of the two girls at an exclusive Boston prep school in the 2010s. But somehow it started to fall apart for me near the end. Not sure why, but it was still a fun read.
dtrumps's review
4.0
Great story about friends, and accepting people for who they are rather than what you think they should be. 3.75/5
storytimed's review
2.0
OK. Kind of generic. I did like the focus on a dizzying, intense friendship, but I'm not really sold on the emotional conflict: Katie seemed to expect unquestioning support no matter what she did, and that's not really my vision of a healthy friendship.
missprint_'s review
3.0
Violet Tunis has a plan for her junior year at the prestigious Westfield School. This year isn't just going to be different, it's going to be perfect.
This year she is going ace her PSATs, get straight A-minuses (or better) in all of her classes, and improve the school's literary magazine to the point where it doesn't completely embarrass her. She's going to pass her driving test, get famous, and do many awesome projects with her best friend Katie. She will also make Scott Walsh fall in love with her.
Unfortunately for Violet, things don't go according to plan. At all.
Instead of having a perfect junior year, Violet has the exact same problems she always has struggling to keep up with Westfield's high academic standards (and competition) and failing miserably at sounding like a sane person when talking to boys.
On top of that, the literary magazine is a disaster and her editorial board is possibly filled with illiterates. Her driving teacher is mentally unstable. And her best friend Katie might be losing her mind.
Everything always comes so easily to Katie. She makes being pretty and smart and successful look effortless. So why is she suddenly making all of the wrong decisions? And if even Katie is falling apart, what hope does Violet have? More importantly, if Violet doesn't have Katie by her side, does any of it matter?
All Violet knows for sure is it's going to take a lot more than her Junior Year To-Do List to get things under control in Mostly Good Girls (2011) by Leila Sales.
Mostly Good Girls has a lot going for it. Violet is a quirky narrator with a voice that is almost as distinct as her sense of humor. Interestingly, this book is also the first one I have ever read where the teenagers talk exactly like I did as a teenager.*
Violet and Katie and their friend Hilary are all well-developed and come alive on the page. They are all so real, so unique, and so exactly like I was a teenager. It was refreshing to be able to see my own experiences reflected in this crazy, hysterical book.
My love for Violet, Sales' beautiful writing, and the book's wonderful setting is almost enough to make me love this book unconditionally. But I also wanted more from it.
The beginning of the novel is, simply put, genius--filled with witty snapshot-like chapters about Violet's life at Westfield. Snapshots that, I might add, could have been from my own high school. The actual plot, the plot you'll see on the book jacket, doesn't come up until about halfway in. At that point, for me, the story lost some of its verve.**
While the book remains authentic and charming I probably would have been just as happy with more snapshots about Westfield and less about Katie's crisis. That might be me.*** The ending offers some semblance of closure although a lot about Violet's life does remain up in the air.
Mostly Good Girls is an exceptional debut from a masterful author. Leila Sales is definitely going places and Mostly Good Girls is definitely a must read for anyone looking for an antidote to the vanilla, artificial high school experiences so often seen in books and movies.
*I have never before, and probably never will again, read a book where a teen character says, "Indeed."
**Part of that might have to do with my never having the "Violet and Katie" kind of best friend experience. Who knows?
***Or maybe it's just that at that point the plot diverged to something different from my high school experience and what I really loved here was that the book was so very similar to my high school experience.
Possible Pairing: A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley, After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy, Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin, Easy A (movie)
This year she is going ace her PSATs, get straight A-minuses (or better) in all of her classes, and improve the school's literary magazine to the point where it doesn't completely embarrass her. She's going to pass her driving test, get famous, and do many awesome projects with her best friend Katie. She will also make Scott Walsh fall in love with her.
Unfortunately for Violet, things don't go according to plan. At all.
Instead of having a perfect junior year, Violet has the exact same problems she always has struggling to keep up with Westfield's high academic standards (and competition) and failing miserably at sounding like a sane person when talking to boys.
On top of that, the literary magazine is a disaster and her editorial board is possibly filled with illiterates. Her driving teacher is mentally unstable. And her best friend Katie might be losing her mind.
Everything always comes so easily to Katie. She makes being pretty and smart and successful look effortless. So why is she suddenly making all of the wrong decisions? And if even Katie is falling apart, what hope does Violet have? More importantly, if Violet doesn't have Katie by her side, does any of it matter?
All Violet knows for sure is it's going to take a lot more than her Junior Year To-Do List to get things under control in Mostly Good Girls (2011) by Leila Sales.
Mostly Good Girls has a lot going for it. Violet is a quirky narrator with a voice that is almost as distinct as her sense of humor. Interestingly, this book is also the first one I have ever read where the teenagers talk exactly like I did as a teenager.*
Violet and Katie and their friend Hilary are all well-developed and come alive on the page. They are all so real, so unique, and so exactly like I was a teenager. It was refreshing to be able to see my own experiences reflected in this crazy, hysterical book.
My love for Violet, Sales' beautiful writing, and the book's wonderful setting is almost enough to make me love this book unconditionally. But I also wanted more from it.
The beginning of the novel is, simply put, genius--filled with witty snapshot-like chapters about Violet's life at Westfield. Snapshots that, I might add, could have been from my own high school. The actual plot, the plot you'll see on the book jacket, doesn't come up until about halfway in. At that point, for me, the story lost some of its verve.**
While the book remains authentic and charming I probably would have been just as happy with more snapshots about Westfield and less about Katie's crisis. That might be me.*** The ending offers some semblance of closure although a lot about Violet's life does remain up in the air.
Mostly Good Girls is an exceptional debut from a masterful author. Leila Sales is definitely going places and Mostly Good Girls is definitely a must read for anyone looking for an antidote to the vanilla, artificial high school experiences so often seen in books and movies.
*I have never before, and probably never will again, read a book where a teen character says, "Indeed."
**Part of that might have to do with my never having the "Violet and Katie" kind of best friend experience. Who knows?
***Or maybe it's just that at that point the plot diverged to something different from my high school experience and what I really loved here was that the book was so very similar to my high school experience.
Possible Pairing: A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley, Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly, Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley, After the Kiss by Terra Elan McVoy, Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin, Easy A (movie)
bookswithzaya's review
1.0
Wow, one the fastest insta-hates of a book ever. I don't even want to donate it.
Sample
Poor Mr. Thompson. Mr. Thompson is my precalc teacher, and he is also the only male at the Westfield School. Unless you count Mr. Roebeck, the bio teacher, which I don't, because he is approximately two million years old and the only manlike thing about him is that he wears neckties.
December 10, 2021
Sample
Poor Mr. Thompson. Mr. Thompson is my precalc teacher, and he is also the only male at the Westfield School. Unless you count Mr. Roebeck, the bio teacher, which I don't, because he is approximately two million years old and the only manlike thing about him is that he wears neckties.
December 10, 2021
momshenanigans's review
3.0
I like easy fiction about girls in high school. I almost forget what high school was like. So, I like reading about what is was like for other kids or kids today. This book is about two girls at a prep school in Boston, so it is completely different than anything I could possibly have experienced, so I liked it. It is not the best written book, but easy reading.
I do not, however, like to read a lot of cussing. I can usually over look it, but I hate reading some words - two in particular and one of those is in this book quite often.
I do not, however, like to read a lot of cussing. I can usually over look it, but I hate reading some words - two in particular and one of those is in this book quite often.
books_plan_create's review
4.0
This book was surprisingly good. The chapters are short, like 1-3 pages at times. But do not be fooled, you will become hooked and find that you've read more than you realized!
I loved the interaction between Violet and Katie. They were sarcastic and witty and pretty darn funny. Sadly their wit is not appreciated at their super competitive prep school. Cue a coming of age story.
I loved the interaction between Violet and Katie. They were sarcastic and witty and pretty darn funny. Sadly their wit is not appreciated at their super competitive prep school. Cue a coming of age story.
abigailbat's review
5.0
Funny and touching at turns, I seriously loved this book. One of my favorite books of the year. I'm glad I finally picked it up even though I hate the cover (don't judge a book by the what now?).
More on the blog: http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2010/11/mostly-good-girls.html
More on the blog: http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2010/11/mostly-good-girls.html
stenaros's review
4.0
I adored this book because it perfectly captured the general hilarity of two best friends. The conversations between them are worth the read. It's teenager girl patter to a T. Also, it does a nice job of capturing the subtle transitions that happen as friends change and grow. Very well done. I'm disappointed that Multnomah County Library doesn't have her 2011 book called Past Perfect, because I can't get enough of Sales' writing.