just finished this debut and thought it was a really good read - got a bit boggy in the last hundred pages (it's 400 pages long) but there's a real voice and it carried me through to the end happily. lots of really good takes on what it's like to be an adolescent. particuarly liked: 'you feel what you feel and you act how you act; when did anyone in history ever change because of a well-reasoned argument?' - how adolescent, but how right it felt at the time.

seems to be a good time for books by youngish american women writing about being at prestigious boarding schools - 'special topics in calamity physics' by marisha pessl has been all over the place recently too.

oh, one of my best friends told me to read that ages ago & I never got round to it. thanks for reminding me.

Oh, I loved that book! Such a strong voice, and such a finely-delineated character.

I've read this too, and I have to admit I enjoyed it in spite of myself. I didn't want to like it because of all the controversy - the author is famous for making disparaging comments about authors of similar work. I won't go into it here, though!

If you enjoyed this you should try Megan McCafferty's excellent trilogy.