Prep

Curtis Sittenfeld's Prep reads as a memoir. Although Sittenfeld is from the midwest and attended boarding school like her main character, the book is not completely based on her life, as she not so clearly states in the reader's guide following the story.

Lee Fiora attended Ault School in Massachusetts instead of attending her local high school in South Bend, Indiana. She had the idea that the children in the catalogs, the perfect girls and handsome boys, would become her friends and boyfriends. Of course, upon arriving at Ault for Freshman year, Lee was one of the few children on scholarship, and she would not forget it. She yearned to be more like the rich children, but she also had a fantasy that one of the handsome boys would find her crying in her room and comfort her. By the Winter of her Freshman year, Lee had fallen for Cross Sugarman. He became one of her obsessions throughout her four years at Ault.

Prep chronicles Lee's four years at Ault, as told by Lee in her late 20s. Although parts of the book were more enjoyable than others (i.e. Chapter 3: Assassin - following the game and wondering how it would continue and end seemed as much fun as playing it would have been), the book seemed more suited for a younger audience. The reasons that it is not for a younger audience are both the language (words children would not understand, as well as cursing) and the final chapter (Chapter 8: Kissing and Kissing), which was closer to Judy Bloom's Forever than to Meg Cabot's The Princess Diaries.

A-Z Challenge
completed - *Prep - Curtis Sittenfeld*
currently reading - *Scott, Elizabeth - Bloom*