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A review by verkiezen
Shattering Glass by Gail Giles
2.0
Shattering Glass was a really interesting read. It's the story of a group of friends in high school (four boys) who led by their ringleader, Rob Haynes, decide to make the least popular boy in school, Simon Glass, Class Favorite. Each chapter is started with a quote by a character from after the story takes place. And you're told from the beginning that something bad is going to happen.
I couldn't quite figure out what was going to happen by the end, but I did figure out enough that the ending didn't really surprise me.
I guess I was never really "popular" in school, but my school didn't fixate on cliques to quite the same extent which this high school does. And it's hard to tell if that's an accurate reflection of life--y'know media distorting what actually occurs in high schools--or if I just happened to luck out by growing up in middle-class suburbia Montana.
This book, however, does focus pretty strongly on the concept of popularity, and the lengths to which people will go to achieve it. It also seems to focus strongly on the bad side of teenagers. Which I found a bit disheartening (as a former teenager and as a prospective teacher of teens). The only character who really seems to care about everyone is Ronna, who's also really the only present female character in the book. Most of the other girls are mentioned in passing or only mentioned in a sexual way, which I found very frustrating.
Overall, I guess the most I could say is that it was a fairly quick read and the mystery of it held my attention.
Favorite quote: "Movies tell us how skinny to be, and the television tells us which toilet paper to wipe our ass with. And everybody listens. You're even listening to your shrink instead of your heart. [...] Why do you have to make me the sinner because I follow instead of lead?"
I couldn't quite figure out what was going to happen by the end, but I did figure out enough that the ending didn't really surprise me.
I guess I was never really "popular" in school, but my school didn't fixate on cliques to quite the same extent which this high school does. And it's hard to tell if that's an accurate reflection of life--y'know media distorting what actually occurs in high schools--or if I just happened to luck out by growing up in middle-class suburbia Montana.
This book, however, does focus pretty strongly on the concept of popularity, and the lengths to which people will go to achieve it. It also seems to focus strongly on the bad side of teenagers. Which I found a bit disheartening (as a former teenager and as a prospective teacher of teens). The only character who really seems to care about everyone is Ronna, who's also really the only present female character in the book. Most of the other girls are mentioned in passing or only mentioned in a sexual way, which I found very frustrating.
Overall, I guess the most I could say is that it was a fairly quick read and the mystery of it held my attention.
Favorite quote: "Movies tell us how skinny to be, and the television tells us which toilet paper to wipe our ass with. And everybody listens. You're even listening to your shrink instead of your heart. [...] Why do you have to make me the sinner because I follow instead of lead?"