prep

This book was a quick and entertaining read that still manages to examine some serious societal issues. The main character, Lee, comes from an average family in the mid-west. At 13, she decides to apply to boarding school, and is accepted to Ault in MA. prep goes through all 4 years there and her evolution (or lack there of for some things in my opinion) during that time. As we can all imagine, at a private boarding school in New England there are lot of kids at this school whose families range from well-to-do to ridiculously wealthy, and most (or all) of those kids are white. There are some white kids on scholarship (like Lee), and most (or all) of the few minorities that are there are on scholarship. The book looks at class and race from Lee's point of view within this tiny sphere, and to some extent how that experience shapes her views later in life.

In an unusual experience, I wasn't all that wild about Lee as a person, but still really enjoyed the book. I found her persistent lack of self confidence a bit grating, mostly because I think that the other people were presented as friendly and as non-judgmental as any group of high-schoolers would be (clearly there were a few snobby people, but in general most of the characters seemed like normal people), so it's not like they were constantly making fun of her or ostracizing her. I really wanted to step into the book and tell her to get over herself. And get a therapist. But, she did have some good qualities and the other characters in the book weren't presented as good or bad either, they all had some good moments and some bad, which was a refreshing change.

I think that is one of the things that makes this book work as a book for adults even though it's a book about high school. The characters seem realistic since they're not good or evil, and the author does a good job of drawing you in to remember how high school could seem like the end all, be all of everything. All in all, a good read.