Catherine Linka's Blog - Posts Tagged "afterparty"
The Friendship That Still Embarrasses Me
Yesterday I was at a lunch celebrating the upcoming publication of ABOVE by Isla Morley (who is lovely!). The ten of us started talking about the difficulty of speaking out when a person you are with says or does something awful.
Isla recalled being at a gathering where she was a newcomer wanting to fit in when a women she didn't know made a nasty comment about another's clothing. She was so taken aback that she couldn't say a word.
Then we started sharing similar situations. Wanting to fit in, be part of the group, not ruin the mood, kept many of us from speaking out.
I've thought a lot about how we ignore or deny or justify others' behavior this week, because I've been reading AFTERPARTY by Ann Stampler. This is the story of a new girl at an exclusive LA prep school who is seduced into being the makeover project of a party girl. Emma has no clue how far her new friend Siobhan will go to control and manipulate her or how truly sick she is.
I had a manipulative and cruel friend in high school. Brilliant and wickedly funny, she was charismatic. But I was too naive to keep my distance, even when she pulled a devastatingly mean prank on the girl across the hall the first week of school--a girl who had done absolutely nothing to deserve it. It wasn't until junior year that I realized I wasn't her friend, I was her sycophantic sidekick.
I hope that AFTERPARTY will find its way into the hands of many teens. They might pick it up for the promise of drama and partying, but it has a lot to say about the choices we make and what we regret.
My choice has been to fill my world with people who treat others kindly so I don't have to live with regret.
Isla recalled being at a gathering where she was a newcomer wanting to fit in when a women she didn't know made a nasty comment about another's clothing. She was so taken aback that she couldn't say a word.
Then we started sharing similar situations. Wanting to fit in, be part of the group, not ruin the mood, kept many of us from speaking out.
I've thought a lot about how we ignore or deny or justify others' behavior this week, because I've been reading AFTERPARTY by Ann Stampler. This is the story of a new girl at an exclusive LA prep school who is seduced into being the makeover project of a party girl. Emma has no clue how far her new friend Siobhan will go to control and manipulate her or how truly sick she is.
I had a manipulative and cruel friend in high school. Brilliant and wickedly funny, she was charismatic. But I was too naive to keep my distance, even when she pulled a devastatingly mean prank on the girl across the hall the first week of school--a girl who had done absolutely nothing to deserve it. It wasn't until junior year that I realized I wasn't her friend, I was her sycophantic sidekick.
I hope that AFTERPARTY will find its way into the hands of many teens. They might pick it up for the promise of drama and partying, but it has a lot to say about the choices we make and what we regret.
My choice has been to fill my world with people who treat others kindly so I don't have to live with regret.
