PREP by Curtis Sittenfeld
ISBN: 1400062314
Format: Hardcover, 406pp
Pub. Date: January 2005
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Curtis Sittenfeld has written a wonderful debut novel that explores the insecurities and search for self that is the essence of life in adolescent and high school years. Lee Fiora, a student at Ault and narrator of Sittenfeld’s novel, allows the reader to follow her along for four years. During this time, Lee watches her classmates, roommates and “friends” and tries to learn and discover things about herself through others. Lee constantly prays that no one will ever really see her or notice the things she says, does and believes. It is this fly on the wall mentality that Lee possess that gives the reader an honest and accurate portrayal of the awkwardness and trauma of being a teenager. However, what Lee learns, and what most people discover through life, is that no one can be a fly on the wall forever. Ultimately you make your mark and create a space for yourself. It is in these difficult moments that beauty and truth are formed.
