Prep

I finished Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld yesterday.  I started it the day before, randomly opening it up even though I hadn't finished Right Ho, Jeeves, and then I couldn't put it down.  I was up until one a.m. reading, despite having to work early the next morning, and after work I read for another two-and-a-half hours until I was finished.

Oh my GOD, it was SO GOOD.

I think Sittenfeld gets exactly what it is like to be a teenage girl.  That's not to say I was just like Lee, the protagonist.  The book follows all four years she spends at a New England boarding school, something I certainly haven't experienced.  But the dialogue and the worries about conforming and the stress and crushes - all of it felt just right.  Just like a teenager.  Perfect.

Should you read it? If you only like action, or mystery, or sci-fi, or non-fiction, then no.  Otherwise yes, for sure.

A note: The author's full name is Elizabeth Curtis Sittenfeld.  Was the choice to go by her male-sounding middle name made to help her career?  Are men's novels taken more seriously?  Well, yeah, generally.  I knew she was a woman, and that, combined with the white cover with a pink and green belt on it, made me assume it was chick lit.  So maybe there's something to that.  There's a lot to analyze there, but I'll leave it at "ugh."