Customer Reviews

Getting the Boot (S.A.S.S.)

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Getting the Boot, by Peggy Guthart Strauss, was the second book I've read in the S.A.S.S. YA series. The first, Westminster Abby, was very enjoyable, as was this one. I really did think these books would be very "fluffy," but I've been pleasantly surprised thus far.

17 year old Kelly is super excited when she arrives in Rome for her summer abroad. Her excitement is quickly squelched when she gets put in a room with incredibly boring girls that just cramp her style. Kelly wants to shop, these girls want to study. Kelly wants to hang out (and make out) with her new boy, Joe, the girls just think he's bad news and shun Kelly even more because of him. When Kelly starts missing classes and curfew because of Joe, she starts to wonder if maybe the girls are right. Maybe Joe is bad news. And when Kelly is faced with the chance of being sent home, she needs to make a decision. Joe or Rome?

Though this book was more "romance based" than the first in the series, it was not overpowered with it and was still a good book. The plot in this book was something that many girls face while in high school and I feel the message given was a great one for teens.

Kelly worked her butt off to get into the Italian exchange program. Now that she's there, she isn't sure why. Instead of the glamorous, romantic Roman holiday she was expecting, she finds herself crammed into a small, hot room with 3 other girls. She actually has school assignments to do, and she isn't exactly lucking out in the new friends department. Then she meets Joe. Joe is wild, crazy, uninhibited, and trouble. He shows Kelly the wild side of Rome. She loves it, but it doesn't love her. Soon she is slacking off, skipping assignments, and getting in trouble with the authorities. Can Kelly get a grip on herself, and remember why she came to Rome, or will she mess up again and get booted out of the program?

Fashion-conscious Kelly expects her study abroad in Rome to turn her into a designer superstar, but fate has other plans in store. When Kelly and her friend Sheela land in Rome, they find out that a) they're NOT staying in some grand villa, b) the rooms are super-tiny, c) they're on the fifth floor (and NO elevator) and d) the air conditioning doesn't work.

Kelly can't seem to make friends with her suitemates Marina ("Goth Girl"), vegan Lisa, or timid Minnie, so she takes up dating the fast and dangerous Joe, a blond surfer type who always seems to find trouble wherever he goes. This leads to very serious consequences for all involved; Joe's stunts result in expulsion for at least one student.
In fact, out of the several S.A.S.S. books I've read, this is the first one that features noticeable drug use.

Kelly has real artistic talent, but she can't seem to get her personal life together once in Rome. She's constantly late to classes after breaking curfew every night with Joe, misses assignments, and is refused entrance to the Vatican because of her skimpy clothing. But after a pivotal event mid-book, she cleans up her act (although it appears that she never learns Italian) and tries to make the most out of the time that she has left.

Peggy Guthart Strauss includes lots of great details about daily life in Italy, particularly in her descriptions of artwork, and maybe more importantly, Italian food! Kelly gets to visit various regions of Italy, including stops in Tuscany, Naples, and Pompeii. During the course of the summer, she learns that appearance isn't everything; she loosens up and learns to enjoy the company of her new classmates, even if they're not the sort of people that she would hang out with back home in Chicago. She also stands up to the bullying Joe after he makes fun of her new friends. This was a quick, entertaining read that really brought modern Italy to life.

I enjoyed this book because I learned a lot about Italy by reading it. Kelly spends all summer in Italy, touring Rome, Florence, the Vatican, and other smaller towns. She learns about Italy's culture, food, art, and history by sightseeing, talking with locals, and painting. However, the characterization in this book is a little cheesy and stereotypical. Think typical high-school characters: there is a cheerleader, a gothic girl, and a crazy vegan/' activist. Still, I enjoyed reading about Kelly's adventures. This book changed my life and it was wicked cool! Read it or die!!