ENG 580 Spring 2014 discussion

This novel is about a sixteen year old girl named Elise who is fed up with having no friends. She spends a whole summer trying to figure out what will make her “cool”. She reads fashion magazines, learns new makeup tricks, and picks out an entire new wardrobe. On her first day of her sophomore year of school she attempts to be the girl she thinks will make her popular. She wears her new outfit and moves from the front of the bus to the middle of the bus. Her drastic efforts this first day of school did not change her popularity status. She decides her next logical step is to then kill herself. After what she considered practice at cutting herself for suicide she phones a classmates who then calls 911. After this experience Elise does a lot of self reflecting. She sneaks out every night to walk around and think until she gets tired. While walking around late at night one night, she meets 2 girls who invite her into an underground dance party. She doesn’t stay long but returns every week. She begins to find interest in the DJ for the club, and also the act of DJ-ing herself. Elise develops friendships, a new passion, and a new understanding for herself. Elise has to deal with bullying, family issues, and low self esteem all throughout the novel.

I did enjoy this book. It was a good book that reflects on self discovery and individuality. There is also a large focus on music in this novel. I would say music is the main focus point. I think a novel that really focuses on music and how it can change your life will intrigue a large group of adolescents. Although I believe that many adolescents could relate to themes of the novel, the novel was extremely unrealistic in many ways. The ways they portrayed adolescent scenarios along with the actions of these adolescents seemed quite far fetched. Overall the novel was a nice read. It was quick and interesting with a theme that is not commonly explored in adolescent novels.