Well, so after hearing the hype about this book, I got it from Landmark in Chennai last week. This is a great and funny read, about a girl’s attempts to look and act cool toget into Harvard. Somewhat like ’Legally Blonde’ in reverse-a brainy girl who’s stumped when the Harvard interviewer asks her what she does for fun. How she and her parents embark on a do or die mission to turn her into the hippest and hottest babe in high school before the second interview is what the book is all about.
The story is told in the first person, and the narration goes at a rollercoaster pace. Despte the overall story being predictable, it’s the journey through the book that’s enjoyable.
There are several situations familar from a dozen chick flicks-infact the book also openly refers to several of them. However when you expect the usual treatment, you find the scenario differs.
At times it tends to overfocus on certain aspects, for example, the interactions with the ’hot bit#%es’ in Opal’s high school.
The book is not what one would call serious fiction, nor does it try to appear like that. It could be classified as ’chick lit’ or a paperback version of teen movies, but in the end it is fun to read.
For a debut novel, this book is splendid, and Kaavya Vishwanathan’s narrative skills come to the fore at several points. Here’s to more books from her in future!