The True Meaning of Cleavage (Junior Library Guild Selection) [Hardcover]

Mariah Fredericks (Author)

Book Description

Series: Junior Library Guild Selection | Publication Date: March 1, 2003

Sari and Jess are best friends and total opposites. They've liked each other ever since they discovered that they are the only two normal people at Eldridge Alternative. As they prepare to face the trials of ninth grade, Sari is psyched. Jess, not so much. How can she face the Prada Mafia, the most evil clique at school? Or Mr. McGuiness's unnervingly long nose hair?

What if something really interesting happens to Sari and nothing whatsoever happens to Jess?

Not even Jess can predict the mayhem when Sari falls madly, psychotically in love with David Cole.

David is a senior. David is cool. And he's been dating Thea Melendez for forever. So he can't possibly be interested in Sari. Or can he?

Now Jess has a new worry. Because if David is interested in Sari, Sari may not be interested in being Jess's best friend anymore. Cool is cool and geek is geek, and at Eldridge, the two definitely do not mix.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-9-Jess and Sari, best friends, are starting their freshman year at Eldridge Alternative. Sari immediately falls "madly, psychotically in love" with senior David Cole, who is dating Thea, the most popular girl in school. Sari is pretty, "hot" even, with plenty of cleavage; she goes out of her way to attract David's attention and the two of them begin to have secret sexual encounters. Jess, the narrator, is smart, artistic (not hot), and into science fiction. The two girls begin to drift apart as the affair with David leads to a monomaniacal Sari, leaving Jess with practically no friends save the odd, social-misfit Danny. The story has been done before-best friends argue because of boy and eventually become pals again-but Fredericks has given Jess a fresh voice that will appeal to fans of Ann Brashares's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (Delacorte, 2001). Jess is a strong character as she goes through all the motions-the painfulness of being on the outside, having a friend ignore her, and finding that she can develop other friendships. Readers will be intrigued by and possibly disturbed about Sari's obsession with David, but the real story is Jess dealing with the pain of betrayal and beginning to understand human nature. A decent "best-friends" story that will appeal to many readers.
Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Hillsboro, OR
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Gr. 7-10. Sari is "madly, psychotically" in love with David, a senior at Manhattan's Eldridge Alternative School. Jess, a freshman like Sari, and the story's narrator, has not crossed the psychological divide that makes boyfriends more important than girlfriends and is frustrated, even frightened, as Sari begins drifting away when David shows some interest. But rather than a girlfriend (he already has one of those, a cool kid like himself), Sari is his backstreet girl, dutifully visiting David to service him on Thursday afternoons and telling herself they have a secret romance. At first, Jess tries to be a supportive friend, but in a fit of pique, she discloses the relationship to a blabbermouth, and the law of unintended consequences immediately kicks in. Fredericks, a first-time novelist, writes with amazing truth and perception. These characters are kids whom readers see every day, and the emotions so clearly on display are ones that they've experienced in their guts. Some readers will recognize Jess' wrenching feelings of being left behind and the desperate gyrations to turn the world right again. But others will identify with Sari, whose first hormonal surges lead her to places like behind a bathroom door at a party, when she first catches David's eye. The book's ending is both honest and hopeful. Things happen, corrections are made, and then--with luck--everyone moves on. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum/Richard Jackson Books (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689850921
• ISBN-13: 978-0689850929
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,295,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sorry,this is coming. I've just experienced a bout of amnesia and have forgotten everything about myself.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great characters. Incredibly realistic. I loved the story!, May 15, 2003

By 

"indyslf" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The True Meaning of Cleavage (Junior Library Guild Selection) (Hardcover)

I didn't know what to expect from this book at first, because I didn't know what the title referred to. I mean, I thought it referred only to sex, but then I read the book and discovered that the title is about how people become separated from one another, especially girls. High school is such a difficult time in a girl's life, and this book told how two girls deal with it in a really fabulous way, one I could really relate to. I loved the characters. They were so unique and, yet, so much like people I know must really exist. The book also had a lot to say about sex, without really ever talking about sex directly. It was GREAT the way the book gave the message that girls should focus on being true to themselves and that having sex just to be popular or to 'get' a boyfriend will only make a girl feel bad about herself in the long run. I read this book all the way through after school one day. Couldn't tear myself away from it!

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very refreshing story about friendship, March 29, 2003

By 

CT music fan "ctmusicfan" (Stamford, CT United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The True Meaning of Cleavage (Junior Library Guild Selection) (Hardcover)

To be upfront, I'm a former colleague and friend of the writer. However, as a male in his late thirties, I'm hardly the target market. That said, I enjoyed this book very, very much. It's funny, realistic, and I cared very much about the characters. The story moves quickly and I loved the developing friendship between Jess and Danny. I look forward to Mariah's next book.

P.S. My 11 yr old stepdaughter ate this book up. I withheld the book from her halfway thru it till she cleaned her room. I never saw her clean that room so quickly. Now if I could only get the book back from her...

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An awesome book YOU should read!, March 2, 2003

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The True Meaning of Cleavage (Junior Library Guild Selection) (Hardcover)

This book is a page-turner !

It is a funny and gripping story about two girl-friends who are in their first year in high school. They are very different. What happens to them during the year makes you think a lot about your own experiences with friendship and romance.

If you are a teenage girl, or about to be one, you will really enjoy this book!