Wednesday, October 29, 2014

High School High. (Port City High)

Freeman, Shannon.  High School High.  (Port City High)  Saddleback  2014      200p  $9.95  ISBN 978-1-62250-037-6  ms/hs  High/Low  A

High School High has a very appealing cover and a tired tried-and-true formula: three good friends embark on their freshman year of high school.  Will the pressures and stresses of their new environment bring the girls closer together, or will it tear them apart?

Saddleback’s intended
readership is high-low readers, so the text is colloquial and  conversational.  Dialogue is slangy and laced with “teen speak,” to make it appear more authentic.  Nonetheless, the text would benefit from more stringent copy editing; it was riddled with grammatical errors and read like an uncorrected proof.  The slim volume only offers enough space to tell a very brief story.  This results in a truncated plot, riddled with clichés, and a large cast suffering from underdeveloped, stereotyped, shallow characterization.  Brandi, a cheerleader, dates an older football player who pressures her to have sex before she is ready.  Marisa shares more classes with Brandi’s ex-boyfriend than with her girlfriends, and the two soon share a guilty kiss (resulting in inevitable drama).  Shane wants to start high school on a fresh page and drops her pot habit, only to become addicted to prescription drugs.

This is the first volume in
the series Port City High. 

Summary: Inseparable since middle school, four friends tackle the challenges of their freshman year of high school.  Will the stress of high school break up their friendship, or bring them closer together?

High school-Fiction, Friendship-Fiction           --Hilary Welliver    

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