Bittersweet Sixteen

Bittersweet Sixteen by Carrie Karasyov & Jill Kargman follows middle-class Laura and her wealthy friends through their sophomore year at an exclusive New York girls' academy as they compete no holds barred to host the best Sweet Sixteen ball and to land a date with the boy who has captured their fancy.

At the elite private school where she is a scholarship student, main character and narrator Laura finds herself surrounded by a group of superficial, selfish, malicious teenagers who treat their best friends like their worst enemies in order to get what they want. Like Cady from the film Mean Girls, Laura is a down-to-earth, intelligent fifteen-year-old with a unique talent. Her parents and crush object Jake are also appealing characters who ring true. However, her friends Whitney and Sophie are a couple of stereotypical spoiled brats who show virtually no redeeming qualities, even after claiming to have seen the error of their ways, which makes it impossible for the reader to believe that Laura would want to be friends with them. The repeated upscale brand-name-dropping and frequent use of "Lolita lingo" were supposed to add to the appeal of the book, but in fact, they create a shallow, money-oriented atmosphere that seems at odds with the characterization of sensible Laura. What's more, with all the focus on material possessions, it feels like the novel isn't 100% behind its own very commendable message, that it's what's on the inside that counts. But even though it doesn't make its point as well as it could, this book does demonstrate its own message: despite some external flaws, its heart is in the right place. Younger teens will cheer for Laura through all the drama and nastiness, as she--with the help of a certain boy--learns to appreciate what she has and finds the confidence to follow her dreams.