I learned about this book from a “if you liked this try that” article and was half way through before I realized it was something of a cult classic. The story perhaps dragged a bit in the middle chapters but really captures how so many of us felt in high school, years that we’re told are supposed to be the best of our lives. The thing I really loved about the story is the author never gives in to the cliche or expected – whenever you think you know what’s going to happen, the author takes a left turn, but not in a way that feels forced or contrived, but rather in a way that feels like what would happen in real life. The narrator was also really well chosen for the inner dialogue of a teen girl.