Customer Reviews

Prep

5 star:		(152)
4 star:		(116)
3 star:		(85)
2 star:		(79)
1 star:		(88)

 

 

This book reminds me of "Joe College" by Tom Perrotta and "Old School" by Tobias Wolff with the same formula of working class outsider attends an elite school and learns life lessons en route to graduation. Unlike the protagonists in those books, however, "Prep's" Lee Fiora, manages to make more than just temporary connections with her classmates, and it is that which distinguishes the book from others with male protagonists.

Much has been made by reviewers of the fact that the protagonist is a snob. So what. Many teenagers are judgmental and materialistic, regardless of class, and most are, at some point, intensely embarrassed by their parents. It's part of growing up. What a cop out it would be if Lee were the kind of Hollywood teen who in the end always does the right thing. It's refreshing to see an author create a first novel protagonist who clearly isn't some idealized version of herself.

I just wish the author had prefaced each section with a date - it took me a needlessly long time to figure out when it was set. Characters used today's lingo (hook-up, etc.), but there were also elements specific to both the 80's and 90's. This was a bit jarring.

This was definitely one of the most engrossing novels I've read so far this year. PREP is the story of Lee, an insightful and eloquent (yet insecure) teen from Indiana. Remembering words her middle class father spoke years before ("these are the kinds of houses where they send their sons to boarding school"), she has made it her goal to attend an elite boarding school. And she achieves it-- with a scholarship. The story commences as Lee begins her first year at Ault (think Andover) and concludes as she graduates four years later.

This was an Amazon recommendation since I read Tom Brown's Schooldays. And, it's similar-- a bit. Like Schooldays, History Boys, even Harry Potter, etc., the book follows the lives of several teens during their formative years. I'm not sure everyone would like it-- I'm not sure I'd recommend it to my husband, for instance, but it was indeed excellent. The author, Curtis Sittenfeld , really has the voice of a young insecure teen growing into a more confident, but never completely secure, young woman. Initiallly, I thought the author was a man and was completely taken aback-- how could a man actually know this girl so thoroughly? However, Curtis Sittenfeld is indeed a woman. And, the protagonist and her friends and classmates lives were exactly as I remembered my own life and those of my friends and classmates during high school. Truly, the authenticity the author brought to this book-- the dialogue, the events, the crushes, the friendships-- was uncanny.

I've read the negative reviews here, but disagree with some of the reasoning. One reviewer, for instance, writes about how boring the sex scenes were. With all due respect, that reviewer missed the point-- of course the sex was boring and empty and that was the very purpose of writing about it. So much the narrator believed or hoped to be important was or turned out to be empty and insignificant (even while remaining a pivotal event in her own life).

If you're female and if your own memories of high school are less than ideal, I completely recommend this book but also warn you to read this with caution. For me, this brought back memories I haven't even thought about in years. And, worse, it made some of those memories absolutely new-- as if they happened yesterday. Obsessions over insignificant events become magnified . . . analyzing and over-analyzing every response and comment from every person within your social circle. . . reading between the lines when the lines themselves are perfectly clear. . . accepting much less than you deserve. . . giving less to others than they deserve (or maybe worse-- giving more to others than warranted). . . Prep will make all these memories new again.

This coming-of-age story is told from the perspective of Lee Fiora, an Indiana resident who is awarded a scholarship at the prestigious Ault School, an East coast boarding institution. "Prep" chronicles Lee's four years at Ault and details the numerous experiences and heartaches that help shape her life.

Author Curtis Sittenfeld has succeeded in writing a very adult book about something that nearly all readers will be able to relate to: high school. Being a teenager is not an easy experience for anyone, and all of us have our fair share of high school horror stories to go around. In Lee's case, the high school experience is even more challenging because she is thrown into a world where she is unbelievably out of place. Lee feels like an outcast at Ault: she's one of the few kids who are there on scholarship, and the other students come from very wealthy families. The money issue is one of several reasons why Lee is unable to fit in with her peers and really make her mark at Ault. She withdraws from her classmates and has a difficult time making friends. As Lee struggles to succeed at her new school, she finally forms a solid friendship with one girl, Martha, and has a huge crush on a fellow student, Cross Sugarman, who is a member of the "popular" crowd. Throughout her four years at Ault, Lee manages to learn a lot about relationships with other people and also a lot about the relationship she has with herself.

Critics of this book complain that Lee is an annoying character because she's incredibly insecure and obsesses about everything all the time. Personally, those qualities just make her more endearing to me. The teenage years are rough, high school is brutal, and experiencing all of that in a strange environment where you have no contact with your family must be a thousand times worse than what the average kid has to deal with. Yes, Lee can be hurtful, selfish, and downright stupid at times...but she's a teenager, and most teenagers go through a phase when they're extremely moody and self-centered. That being the case, I don't think there's anything unusual about Lee. I think her best quality is her honesty. Lee recognizes positive traits and tragic flaws in every person she meets, including herself. It's very refreshing.

I think the best thing about this book is that although the story is narrated by Lee and she is detailing her high school experiences, she is reflecting back on her time at Ault ten years after she graduated. "Prep" isn't a sappy story of teenage angst that belongs in the young adult section: it's a summary of Lee's boarding school experiences being told to the reader by Lee when she's in her late 20s. This isn't a book for teenagers; it's a story that was written for adults. I think most adults will be able to relate to Lee's experiences on many different levels, which is why I highly recommend this book.

I have NEVER, EVER read a book where I related more to the main character than I did to Lee Fiora. A lot of critics say she doesn't properly reflect the high school experience--well, that's understandable, since there is no universal high school experience that everyone in the world can relate to. If you are someone with an introverted, self-conscious, overly-analytical, fearful, shy personality (like myself), then you will identify with Lee's experience. If not, then you probably won't understand why she acts the way she does.

Like myself, Lee has a lot of severe social anxieties, and I'm sure it would only be compounded being one of the few "middle class" students at an elite prep school. I think her behavior is completely justified and absolutely realistic. Of course, there were scenes here and there where I thought I would have reacted differently than she did, but overall, there were so many occasions where I just thought to myself, "Oh my God, I can't believe there is someone else who thinks this way." Just her little everyday observations and worries, and how almost all of her decisions are driven by the effect they will have on how others perceive her - all of those things are things I felt in high school, and still feel every day. I feel like Sittenfeld got inside my mind. Even the littlest moments in the book struck a chord with me: in one scene, Lee is in a dorm room with another girl (I think it's Sin-Jun, but I can't remember at the moment), and is enduring an awkward silence. She likes the girl's skirt, and wants to compliment her, but she just can't bring herself to say anything. She thinks to herself, "Sometimes speaking is just so hard." I know exactly what she means.

Even her obsession with Cross is totally spot-on. Who in high school doesn't pine for the hot, popular guy from afar? And then, when her crush is actually realized, she becomes even more obsessed - he's all she can think about. Again, what high school girl could deny having behaved the exact same way with the first guy who expressed interest in her?

What I also liked about Lee is that she had a high school experience that wasn't all hearts and flowers. In fact, looking back on it, she doesn't necessarily feel that fondly towards it. I feel the same way - although it had a few great moments, high school wasn't that amazing for me. I wasn't one of the popular kids. I wasn't a complete outcast, but I was more like Lee - one of the peripheral, uninteresting girls. In fact, my 10-year reunion is coming up, and I don't think I even want to go.

I could not get enough of this book - I devoured it. I was so sad to see it end. I felt sad and nostalgic and bittersweet when it was over. I would love to hear about more of Lee's experiences. She is the closest I've ever come to feeling like I was reading a book about myself.

If you are nothing like Lee and think that a character like her would annoy you, maybe this book isn't for you. But if you feel that you possess any of her timid, insecure qualities--or are curious to get inside the brain of someone who does--then it's your duty to read this book NOW.

Much of your enjoyment of this novel depends on your tolerance level for the meticulous details of boarding school life and the obsessive expression of insecurities that accompanies the narrator at her age. Of course, the story of Lee's stay at a boarding school is recounted at a later stage of her life, which led me to wonder: "How does she remember precisely how she felt in that exact moment, so many years ago?"

Whatever. This is a story of "trying to fit" or the search for acceptance, not only at the school, but with herself. Lee is a bundle of insecurities and often her self-loathing spirals into self-pity. This is all like real life, except that in fiction a reader may expect something less "familiar" or drab.

The overall prose is excellent. You can't say the author writes badly, yet after so many hundred pages, I found myself growing tired of the main character and this is a bad thing. The main character in a book is like a friend; and I found Lee to be a little draining, after a while. I would still recommend this book, along with another novel often mentioned by reviewers, The Losers' Club: Complete Restored Edition by Richard Perez. Ultimately, it's all a matter of taste, of liking a character, of tolerance levels regarding the subject matter, etc. However, I would still personally recommend reading either book.

I first read something by Curtis Sittenfeld in December when she wrote a hilarious article in the New York Times called, "you can't get a man with a pen." I sent it around to my friends. I hate using the word fresh for writing, but there is something about her character in Prep that feels new. The character, like Sittenfeld's writing, is honest -- about insecurities, about powerful crushes, and about high-school life in general. This kind of honesty, when reporting the inane existence that is high school, is at turns exhilarating, excruciating, and just plain funny.

My first impression of this book was that it was trite, formulaic, predictable, unintelligent, and unoriginal. And to be honest, much of the first 200 pages were just that. It read like a work of "young adult" fiction, the kind of book that would appeal to 14 year old girls but not to adults. I really felt betrayed by the reviews of the book that touted it's "eccentric wisdom" and compared it to Catcher in the Rye. Because to be honest, the first half of this book was really mediocre.

But then something happened - it got, well, good. The characters became fuller, more complex, more human, and more original. And the world of this prep school started to get interesting in a smart and meaningful way. And that's when I realized that the first half of the book was trite and predictable on purpose, because that was the author's point - that a lot of the stereotypes about life at an elite east-coast boarding school are true. And when that message finally sunk in, the book started to get really good. The drama became heartfelt, the characters' dilemmas became sympathetic, and the story started to feel real. And by the end I have to admit that I was really loving this book. It still has its flaws, as any first novel does, but it's definitely an impressive debut performance. Sittenfeld has really captured an authentic portrait of a socio-economic as well as geographic clash. Her main character is a true outsider, and she dives deep into the psyche of a young, scared yet courageous girl struggling to find her place where she knows she does not fit in. It's about as honest and genuine as any reader could hope for.

...simply because I could relate to the character of "Lee" perfectly. She is so very much me. I have never read a book where the teenage girl characters acted or felt anything even close to what I felt in high school. This is actually what many of us do feel.

Those of you who say she acts unrealistically and couldn't relate are obviously more like the "Aspeth" or "Martha" characters. Well adjusted teens who made their way through high school normally.

"Lee" was always uncomfortable, always observing from afar and then living in her own head. There are many details in this book which have brought back painful memories for me. I had forgotten so many things. I remember being shocked to hear the most popular girl in school say dorky or nerdy things one day at lunch. I didn't think it was possible. I couldn't understand how people went out with each other and what they said to one another. I felt envy and wonder at people who always seemed to know what to say and do and "how to act".
I never knew myself.

I totally love this book, and I get it. If you don't, you don't. Maybe not getting this book is a good thing, it means you can't relate to being a shallow, self absorbed, judgemental lonely and scared human being like Lee, and like me. Life is probably a lot easier for you too.

Anyway, it depressed me a lot because I too wasted all of my life not connecting with people. It really made me think and feel sad for myself, and for her.

She did learn at the end though. Lee remarks that she never noticed how funny Dede was until she was older. Something like this is tragic and true. When you are living in that kind of crazy head space you fail to notice things like the very basics about other people's personalities, even your roomates. She knew she missed out on life.

I really got into this book. Like I said it's the first teenage girl book I could 100% relate to in every way.

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It is as if Curtis Sittenfeld held up a microscope to her high school experience and committed it all to sometimes horrifying memory. Parts of the book are so poignant that I had to stop and let them settle in before continuing. One of the most powerful aspects of the book is the central character, Lee. It's one of the most warts-and-all portrayals I've ever read. Lee's sexual insecurity, lack of self-worth, crush on Cross Sugarman, latent racism, and constant awareness of her relative poverty at the fictitious, prestigious, money-loaded Ault School are bravely and fully on display. The book is told with excruciating detail, including authentic prep-school kid dialogue and close observations. For example, Lee is fully aware of the difference between her bubbly self growing up (she won a pie contest in her hometown) and her quiet, watchful self at prep school, constantly monitoring her own behavior and observing others. The difficulty of balancing these two selves makes Parents' Weekend an especially wrenching experience for her.

Curtis Sittenfeld reminds the adult reader why many people opt on school reunion websites NOT to do high school all over again if given the opportunity (nevermind wanting to go back in time in order to play more sports, take life less seriously, study more, etc.).

Curtis captures the self-absorption and insecurity of teen angst in such a way that the reader relives this uncomfortable phase of life along with Lee. I like that Sittenfeld (I don't know to what extent this book may be read as autobiographical or at least, semi-autobiographical) does not idealize Lee and use authorial revisionism (if it is in part autobiographical) to cast her in the best light. Lee can be a self-serving, insensitive jerk. She can also be sweet intermittenly. Like the rest of us, she's a mixed bag; however, it's apparent that high school was not her hour of self-actualization.

This is not a feel-good book, but it is a brutally honest portrayal of an insecure teen. Lee's self-talk borders on paranoia, and she is constantly overanalyzing and overreaching in her perceptions and conclusions. She is not always a likable character, yet I never wavered from wishing her well and taking her part. The scene where her parents visit during her junior year is one of the most painful in the book. Lee was trying too hard to be one of the Ault students and had none too subtly let her parents know about her newfound sophistication. Her dad did not take kindly to this attitude. Later, this brutal scene would be rendered less awful (and almost humorously) in family folklore.

As I wrote before, I appreciate Sittenfeld's honesty and her willingness to let this character be seen at her worst. High school wasn't the worst time in my life (although it was no bowl of cherries), but I'd definitely choose NOT to do it all over again if given the opportunity. Sittenfeld's "Prep" helps confirm this choice.