The princesses of Iowa

Yay! I went to the same college as Molly Backes (Grinnell College, in IOWA) and reading this, first of all, gave me a ton of Iowa nostalgia. Swoon. Anyway, I LOVED this look at high school popularity. It reminded me kind of [b:Before I Fall 6482837 Before I Fall Lauren Oliver http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1347331552s/6482837.jpg 6674135], that kind of behind-the-curtain humanizing look at popular girls. But it also had a lot going on (drinking & driving, ~the power of art~, institutionalized homophobia, adults with thwarted ambition, etc) all in a way that, to me, felt very natural and never felt like too much going on. Also as an alleged grownup reading this, I loved the character of Mr. Tremont, their young new English teacher–little glimpses of him thinking high school is hilarious while still taking the kids & their work seriously, and hints of his grad school friends already nostalgic for listening to Lady Gaga in college. Hurrah!