A Year In Girl Hell: Crushed / Meredith Costain

Summary - Starting high school and working out who you are in a new world of cliques and boys can be tough - especially when the three people you thought were your best friends for life begin to seem more like enemies. A fantastic new four book series. High school is shaping up to be hell.

Review - The older I get, the more I realise how little social interactions change. The main characters of this book may be twelve years old but these friend issues pop up all the time in our early years, our adolescence and our adulthood. Friends grow up and apart, develop friendships with people that have more in common with them than simply growing up with one another and there will always be a heinous girl that makes you feel small (but want to impress her all the same.)

Costain has created a book here that is universal to the girl experience. Petty revenge, unabashed and somewhat shameless attempts to impress and crushing on a guy because he has awesome hair. Some parts made me cringe because I have thought and done some of the same things. Costain gets the voice right, she doesn't try and mimic what she hears from kids these days. Lexi is painted as someone who does the wrong things, knowing fully that it isn't nice but not really pinpointing why she does them anyway. Sound like high school to you?

While I am definitely not the target audience, I enjoyed some of the memories that emerged from reading this novel. The choreographing of dance moves to the latest songs, discussing pros and cons to hairstyles and the need to dress similarly. There is a great little subplot about Lexi’s parent’s relationship issues and how that impacts her dealings with her friends also. This series leaves us on a cliff-hanger and I can’t help but wonder what is going to happen next. A great fun read with a nice message.

Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont

Format: Paperback, 137 pages

Published: February 2009

Origin: Australia

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