Surviving High School [Paperback]

M. Doty (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 4, 2012 | Series: Surviving High School

What's the secret to surviving your freshman year of high school?

Emily Kessler thinks she has it all figured out. She eats, sleeps and trains for competitive swimming. All she has to do is keep her grades high and swim times short -- short enough to live up to her sister Sara's. But walking the crowded maze of unfamiliar high school hallways is like diving headfirst into shark-infested waters. Shark #1: Dominique, her biggest competition on the swim team and all-around mean girl. Shark #2: The adorable and popular Ben Kale... Emily can't resist his smile no matter how hard she tries. When the pressure builds to the point where Emily isn't sure she can stay afloat, she begins to question the strict path her life has always followed.

Maybe there is more to life than studying and swimming. Maybe the secret to surviving high school is just to have a little fun.

The hit mobile game Surviving High School comes to life in an original novel about perfection, failure, and following your dreams.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Snappy dialogue [and] adorable chemistry..." (Kirkus )

"The story moves along at a compulsively readable pace. Teens will want to clear their calendars after they start this one." (SLJ )

About the Author

M. Doty is an award-winning screenwriter, game-writer and novelist. For the last six years, M. Doty has worked as a writer for Electronic Arts' hit mobile game, Surviving High School.

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Poppy; 1 edition (September 4, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316220159
• ISBN-13: 978-0316220156
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #389,140 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #56 in Books > Teens > Sports & Hobbies > Girls in Sports

More About the Author

Max Doty is an award-winning screenwriter, game-writer, and novelist.

He holds a BA and an MA from Stanford University in English literature as well as an MFA in fiction writing from Arizona State University.

For the last eight years, he has worked as a writer for Electronic Arts' Surviving High School, which he has also adapted into a series of young adult novels.

In 2009, he and co-writer Phillip G. Flores won Netflix's inaugural Find Your Voice competition for his screenplay Almost Kings (fomerly The Wheeler Boys). The movie went on to premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival and is now available on DVD.

He is currently working on several screenplays as well as a novel.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The best high school book - hands down! August 24, 2012

By Oliver

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's amazing! M. Doty did a masterful job of combining the realities and tensions of high school with a fast paced, adventure filled story. As you'd expect with a high school novel, he throws in a healthy dose of romance, too. I love how Emily starts out as a freshman with her swimming and you get to see her mature and evolve, not just as an athlete or student, but as a person.

I lent my copy of the book to a friend (I'd never just give it away because this one is staying with me forever!) and she couldn't put it down. In fact she was cranky the next day because she had to stay up late finishing the book. I don't want to spoil the book for others, so I'll just list some of my favorite books, movies, games, and TV Shows and say that this one ranks up there right next to all of them: Hunger Games, Twilight, Harry Potter, Glee, the Olympics (especially swimming), Cause of Death (the iPhone game), and Surviving High School (the iPhone game)! Yes, that's right, if you haven't played the game yet on iPhone check it out. It's addicting!

My final recommendation:
5/5. The best of high school with a strong, emotional core. Must read!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Packs a Powerful Punch September 25, 2012

By Andrea Thompson

Format:Paperback

A story that's not particularly lengthy, but full of a wealth of emotion, Surviving High School is proof that size sometimes doesn't matter.

Surviving High School tricked me. When I saw that it was based on a game, and contains a mere two hundred, eleven pages, I thought it would be sort of a "fluff" book. A book that skims the surface, nice, but never digging too deep. Boy, was I wrong.

Surviving High School centers around Emily, a girl who is beginning high school in the shadow of her newly deceased sister. Since her sister, Sara's death, Emily has been pushed into her role: model student, perfect athlete, quiet daughter. She even eats and trains exactly like her sister did. The other girls on the team? They're not Emily's competition. She's competing against her sister's swim times. It doesn't help that her grieving father is also her swim coach. He pushes and punishes Emily to the very edge, not realizing what a loose grip she has. When Emily becomes involved with a boy from school, and realizes she wants a life outside of the pool and the constraints, she begins to unravel. How long will it takes her perfect life to fall completely apart? And does she even want to save it?

Surviving High School was very nicely written. The third person narrative, and the manner in which the story is told gave me the sense of watching the story unfold from above. Sometimes that doesn't work for me, but in this case it was nice. Emily's emotions were conveyed so simply, yet strong enough that I didn't feel disengaged.

I find it very interesting that the story, and subsequent series is based on a game. I'm curious as to how it plays out, and I may even buy it for myself. I would love to talk to someone who has actually played it. The next book in the series, How to Be a Star, is based on Emily's best friend Kimi, who is an absolute riot. I'm definitely interested in reading that book as well.

Surprisingly thoughtful and full of depth, yet fun, Surviving High School is a book that I can recommend to adults and teens.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Romance! Action! Humor! Betrayal! This book has it all. September 12, 2012

By SaiintLuke

Format:Paperback

This companion novel to the *excellent* EA mobile game "Surviving High School" is an exciting, riveting tale about the struggles of one young girl navigating her intimidating, confusing high school years. Couldn't put it down! Can't wait to see the new characters from the book show up in the game!