The story was told exclusively in the first person perspective of Taryn, which was exactly the way it needed to be told. Though she was part of the popular crowd, there was a sense that she didn't always feel like she belonged there. She was flawed and had to come to realize that she was part of the bullying problem simply by not paying attention to those outside her own world.
The story had all the characters I remember from school. The science teacher who reminded me of the one I had in Junior High. The in crowd, the not-so-in crowd. I loved that there was also the wonderful lady who worked in the school office named Phyllis. Who was motherly and caring. Not that it was written after me, mind you, as I don't even know the author from anything beyond an e-mail or two and her bio. :-)
She is also the adviser to the cheer squad, and despite the fact that she was a cheerleader at Ideal High about a hundred years ago, she tries to keep up the image. She's not fooling anyone.
"I was freaking out thinking he was going to pull a gun."
I turn away, pretending the paper towel and my dark bangs are enough to shield my face.
Now there's a pile of comforters high enough for me to cower under.
"Just had stuff to do." Sleep. A funeral. Decide to be president.
"The whole makeover idea. It's like a bad teen movie. They want to say 'Don't judge someone by their looks', and then what do they do every time? A makeover. Then the person's beautiful and they're all popular. It's fake."
There was brief mention in the book that the funeral took place at a Mormon church, but there is no doctrine shared in the story, and beyond the funeral service, no mention of religion at all.
This review was originally posted on Among the Reads