Prom [Hardcover]

Laurie Halse Anderson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 3, 2005

High school senior Ashley Hannigan doesn't care about prom, but she's the exception. It's pretty much the only good thing at her urban Philadelphia high school, and everyone plans to make the most of it-especially Ash's best friend, Natalia, who's the head of the committee. Then the faculty advisor is busted for taking the prom money, and Ash suddenly finds herself roped into putting together a gala dance out of absolutely nada. But she has help-from her large and loving (if exasperating!) family, from Nat's eccentric grandmother, from her fellow classmates. And in putting the prom together, Ash learns that she has choices about her life after high school. Prom has everything that award-winning author Laurie Halse Anderson is known for-humor, poignancy, teen readers' tough issues dealt with head-on, and a voice teen readers will recognize as their own.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Ages 12 and up. Who would have thought the author of the gritty classic Speak had a gift for comedy? Here she demonstrates her comedic talent in the warm and witty story of Ashley, who is definitely not a prom-type person, and her best friend Nat, who lives for the prom. When the math teacher disappears with the funds just eleven days before the dance, determined and organized Nat goes into high gear to find alternative ways to make the prom happen and drags an unwilling Ashley into the flurry of urgent details.

Ashley has enough problems in her life already, starting with the complexities of her crowded but loving working class family -- her extremely pregnant mother and her three exuberant and prom-crazy aunts, and her cab-driving father and three younger brothers, who think nothing of happily trashing the kitchen in a game of hot dog baseball. Then there’s Mr. Gilroy, the evil vice principal of discipline, who has Ashley on endless detention, her awful job at EZ-CHEEZ-E, where she has trouble seeing the customers through the eyeholes of her rat costume, and her good-looking but lowlife boyfriend TJ, who wants her to join him in a future as depressing as the dank one-room apartment he has so proudly rented for them. Not to speak of Nat’s loony grandmother, who wears her red bathing cap even when she’s not doing the backstroke in a wading pool, babbles at Ashley in Russian, and spits on the floor to show her disapproval.

But in the end it’s grandma with her skill at baking (pastries to bribe the custodians) and sewing (a magical prom dress) who saves both the prom and Ashley’s belief in herself and her future in this delightful and heartfelt novel. --Patty Campbell

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up - Ashley is (in her own words) normal - a senior from a lower-middle-class family, dating a high school dropout, and gearing up for graduation but with no plans for college. But when the new math teacher steals the prom money, Ashley - who swears she doesn't care - finds herself sucked into turning nothing into the best prom ever because it means the world to her best friend, Nat. This is a light, fast read, with "chapters" that range from one line to five pages and a narrative voice that is only a little smarter than it should be. Some secondary characters - Ashley's mother and Nat's grandmother - jump off the pages; unfortunately, the teens do not fare as well. Boyfriend TJ is a stereotypical tough boy, and Ash and Nat's other friends are there mostly as filler. But the first-person narration and the essentially personal nature of the story - Ashley finally comes into her own and proves herself successful at something other than garnering undeserved detentions - makes this a flaw that readers will overlook. In fact, the major flaw is that it's hard to believe Ashley is as bad a kid as she might have you believe. But teens are notorious for making petty misbehavior sound bigger and badder, so this could be read as further proof of just how normal she is. Those looking for another Speak (Farrar, 1999) may be disappointed, but this book will delight readers who want their realism tempered with fun. - Karyn N. Silverman, Elizabeth Irwin High School, New York City
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Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Viking Juvenile (March 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670059749
• ISBN-13: 978-0670059744
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,193,421 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author who writes for kids of all ages. Known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity, her work has earned numerous American Library Association and state awards. Two of her books, Speak and Chains, were National Book Award finalists. Chains also made the Carnegie Medal Shortlist in the United Kingdom.

Laurie was the proud recipient of the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award given by YALSA division of the American Library Association for her "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature...". She was also honored with the ALAN Award from the National Council of Teachers of English and the St. Katharine Drexel Award from the Catholic Librarian Association.

Mother of four and wife of one, Laurie lives in Northern New York, where she likes to watch the snow fall as she writes. She and her husband, Scot, plus dogs Kezzie and Thor, and assorted chickens and other critters enjoy country living and time in the woods. When not writing or hanging out with her family, you can find Laurie training for marathons or trying to coax tomatoes out of the rocky soil in her backyard. You can follow her adventures on Twitter, http://twitter.com/halseanderson, and on her blog, http://madwomanintheforest.com/blog/.

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#83 in Books > Teens

#83 in Books > Teens

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Story with Lots of Fun! June 28, 2005

By Tamela Mccann TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Prom is very different from Anderson's earlier books, but it is warm and funny and very well-written. Ashley is a regular senior in high school (notice I tried not to say she's "normal"--Anderson does that enough) who couldn't care less about prom until her best friend Natalia drags her onto the prom committee at the last moment. Ashley is cynical about everything, including her boisterous family, and this attitude carries over into her school work and in particular the prom. Ashley's boyfriend TJ foresees the two of them together after her graduation in a dump of an apartment with going-nowhere futures. As the story goes on, of course Ashley begins to realize she really has more to offer than just a counter job in a store, tho she never loses her edge in expressing herself. At times this book is laugh out loud funny and at times it provokes the reader into anger but it is never boring. The sex is implied, not graphically stated, and is realistically done. I liked this book a lot and recommend it.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Prom December 4, 2005

By Jinhee Lee

Format:Hardcover

According to Ashley, she is an average student with average family. She could not think of going to a prom because she does not believe in one magical night. But, when Nat, her best friend, asks for help to reschedule a prom after a teacher used up most of the prom money, Ashley becomes more and more involved in prom. As she gets into the prom, her life starts to change as well. If you Expect this novel to be another `Speak,' you will be disappointed. It is funny rather than serious. This novel is written in cynical tone with funny, tough, and sometimes sweet attitude of Ashley. Anderson wrote this with teen's tone of voice and teens will find this novel as if it is their real story. Anderson takes one of the popular subjects of teens, the prom, and turns that into a real magical transition of real life. She proves that one night of magic can make your life even more magical than ever. It is very entertaining than educational but it is worth reading because everyone should believe in some kind of magic in their life.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Modern-day fairytale September 20, 2005

By Claire Hennessy

Format:Hardcover

A Cinderella story, though not quite as straightforward as the fairytale. Ash is a 'normal' kid, planning to move into a teeny-tiny apartment with boyfriend TJ after graduation rather than going to college, works a job which involves dressing up as a rat and dealing with obnoxious customers, and is going to have to attend detention every day between now and the end of term if she wants to graduate. She isn't remotely enthused about the upcoming prom and thinks it's pretty stupid but when disaster strikes and she finds herself getting involved, she might just get a magical night of her very own. This is sweet and realistic and even though it's quite different to Catalyst or Speak, still brilliant and extremely readable.