Prep

by Curtis Sittenfield

I'm still not quite sure how I feel about this book. While reading it, I went through it really quick, because I wanted to find out how the protagonist's life would inevitably spiral out of control in a public way (so said the jacket cover). When I was finished, though, all I could think was, "that's it? That was the big ending?"

The writing's just fine. It's written in the first person, as the main character (Lee Fiora) is looking back on her high school boarding experience from an adult's perspective. I really liked how well I could relate to Lee. I, too, attended public school my entire life up until college, when I opted for private, and the transition Lee felt going from public grade school to a private high school was very familiar to me. Even some of her personality traits were strikingly similar to my own, but I suspect most girls could relate to a teenage Lee just as well.

Thinking back on the plot, I'm surprised the book is as long as it is, since it doesn't seem like that much actually happened. And it wasn't like Curtis Sittenfield was overly descriptive either; I think a lot of pages went to Lee's obsessive analyzing over every situation, every person at Ault, her school. I started to get a little fed up with her attitude, actually, and wanted to just shake her out of her false impressions. But then, I guess that's the best part of this book: seeing Lee's mistakes showed me some similar ones I've made, and makes me want to never commit hers. So, in the end, you might get something out of this book too. I wouldn't really recommend it, though. There are many, many books out there, and unless you don't mind using some of your free time on an okay book, I'd opt for a better one.

Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Bronte

One of my all-time favorites. It's a classic, so you really can't go wrong, although there are some parts where Charlotte Bronte gets a little verbiose in her description of scenery. That's really my only complaint though.

The story begins with Jane Eyre as a young orphan living in her aunt's house, and the emotional abuses she suffers there. After a truly dreadful episode, she is sent away to boarding school, where she grows into an intelligent, austere young woman. Jane decides she wants to see more of the world, and so becomes a governess at Thornfield Hall. The girl Jane tutors is the ward of Mr. Edward Rochester, the owner of Thornfield, a man not handsome, but striking in his personality. Jane falls in love with him, and he with her, but he has a dark secret that stands in the way of their happiness.

There are elements of Pride and Prejudice and Rebecca in here - or maybe elements of Jane Eyre in those two books, I don't know when each came out - which are two of my other favorite books. Jane is a strong heroine, and I love her/Charlotte Bronte's voice (it's written in the first person). Mr. Rochester is also a wonderfully sketched character, and the repartee between them at times is really funny. Like I said, the only complaint I have is that descriptions can get a little wordy and slow down the pace of the book, but it's worth getting through those parts because the plot and characterization are so good.