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  & 9 users

• Current

Type: fiction

Status: I recommend

Author: Marisha Pessl

Tags: school literary coming_of_age academia intelligentsia

Description: Erudite, amusing book on a teenager's unusual upbringing and relationship with her evenErudite, amusing book on a teenager's unusual upbringing and relationship with her even more unusual father. The novel starts out weird, gets mildly more easy to identify with, and by the end, is riveting. Highly recommended, but may not appeal to all. -EEB...

2007-06-08

  & 18 users

• Current

Type: fiction

Status: liked

Author: Curtis Sittenfeld

Tags: women school apocalypse coming_of_age teenage academia identity boarding_school class_issues

Description: Like Tobias Wolff's Old School, Prep meanders a well-worn and familiar path of "outsiderLike Tobias Wolff's Old School, Prep meanders a well-worn and familiar path of "outsider amongst wolves" wherein the outsider is the blue-collar, insecure, and identity-challenged teenager and the wolves are the wealthy peers with whom she is trying to fit in.

Unlike Wolff's novel, the protagonist seems to have no redeeming qualities of self-awareness and the book seems to end without a satisfying conclusion (whether that is a knock against it or not is a matter of personal taste).

That said, the atmosphere constructed was pleasantly appealing, and the characters were believable and somewhat realistic. Worth checking out. Recommended. --EEB...

2006-09-02

  & 11 users

• Current

Type: fiction

Status: favorite

Author: Michael Chabon

Tags: americana dark satire writing academia pop_culture adapted_for_film

Description: An honest story of what may be the seminal week of a tired writer's life, this gem fromAn honest story of what may be the seminal week of a tired writer's life, this gem from Chabon is simultaneously surreal and authentic, heart-breaking and hilarious, familiar and surprising. Highest recommendations. -Erin Betters...

2006-01-01