Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson

April 3rd, 2008 at 9:22am |

Audience: High School

Rating: C

Synopsis:

Ashley has always thought prom was over rated. While the rest of her friends happily dreamed about limos and dresses and labored on prom committee, she avoid everything related to the ‘p-word.’ Then their math teacher steals the prom money and the big day is going to be canceled… unless Ashley and her friends can save the day.

Chatter:

(Spoiler Alerts! ) I did not think this book had the same magic that Catalyst had. In the beginning of the book I had a very hard time connecting with the main character, Ashley. She seemed to be what the author thought a lower-middle-class urban girl would be like… and she seemed cliched. She didn’t seem natural or believable like Anderson’s other characters; Ashley was much more forced. This faded a bit as the book continued. Either that or I just got used to her, but overall this book was not in the same league as Anderson’s other novels and I was disappointed by it.

Ashley’s parents were a joke… her father lectures her not for staying out late and drinking in the park, but for doing so without her boyfriend. Her mother allows her to skip school and calls to cover for her. And Ashley’s refusal to be honest with them bothered me too. Why would she let her father put so much work into fixing up the basement bedroom if she never had any intention of living there?

I was glad to see that Ashley learned more about herself by the end of the book. Breaking up with TJ was a brilliant decision. So was finishing high school and enrolling in community college. Moving in with Nat might be smart too… hopefully Nat’s study skills will rub off on her!