The Cheerleaders

Let's just say... Karen McManus does it better.

Actually, I still have more to say, but from the opening line, you know where this review is heading. Read on, if you are so inclined.I thought the editing was poor (see below, re: age inconsistencies), and the author writes to such effect that I felt like I was falling in and out of consciousness while reading the words on the page. A character is sitting in a chair, but in the next sentence, that characters is suddenly across the room. Did I black out? Did the character teleport? Goes back and rereads the last sentence Nope, didn't miss anything. Very disorienting and confusing.The author seemed to emphasize dates and ages, but none of them make any sense. Even more maddening is that these details don't make a difference to the story, so the fact that I'm so bothered by them rather than focused on the actual narrative, speaks volumes. For example, Monica is sixteen and Brandon is some number of years older than her... either 6, 8 or 11 years, per the various age references throughout the book. [For an example of bad math, see Chapter 5: “ ‘He [Jack] was twenty, and she was seventeen. [...]' Four years. The age difference between Brandon and me is twice that.” – actually, the initial difference stated is three years, and twice that is six. Mike Meija is either 22 or 27 (i.e. possibly the youngest cop EVER).Another quibble is that dogs in this book apparently blink in and out of existence, as needed to make the story work. Why was Mango MIA when Brandon forced his way into Monica's house? In other dog news, how did the cops overlook the dog from 5 years ago at the scene of the murder?My last point of contention about “The Cheerleaders” is that the characters are bland and interchangeable, and too many are characters of convenience. Some of these people are not too bright, including the town cops. Why would Brandon return to the scene (town) of the crime, and why would he get involved with the sister of one of the titular Cheerleaders? Are we supposed to accept the coincidence that he is/was Allie's boyfriend? What was Carly Amato's purpose? Monica's mom seems to underreact to her pregnancy and abortion, and overreact to her getting detention or other typical teenage infractions. Monica does some questionable things and none of the adults seem to be the wiser. I had to suspend my belief multiple times that everyone seemed so oblivious.