Smart Girls Get What They Want

June 4, 2012
Brainiac Gigi Dubois and her best friends Bea and Neerja believe that serious studying will make their dreams come true come college. That’s what Neerja’s older sister, Parad, did—and she got into Princeton. But when they find Parad’s hidden high school yearbook—which has barely been signed—they realize that good grades don’t equal happiness. “Shouldn’t the kids at the top feel on top?” Gigi wonders. They vow to make names for themselves during their sophomore year. Gigi gets accused of cheating in chemistry class and runs for student office. She also tries out for the play and signs up for ski team—just to support her besties. The spot-on teenage characters—including cute boys like new student Will from California and “Man Clan” Mike—keep the book energized and romantic, buoying an often-wispy plot. In her YA debut, adult author Strohmeyer (Kindred Spirits) excels at exploring the bonds of friendship and the complications of teenagers’ lives. Smart readers will find a heroine in girly, intellectual Gigi—all the while winking at her nerdy jokes. Ages 13–up. Agent: Heather Schroder, ICM.

July 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-Super-studious sophomore Gigi Dubois dreams of getting into an Ivy League college and leaving the high school grind behind. But when she and her equally driven BFFs Bea and Neerja sneak a peek at a yearbook belonging to Neerja's academic overachieving sister and realize that nobody in her graduating class knew who she was, they realize, they're missing out. Gigi vows that it will be her "personal mission to ensure, unlike Parad, we got everything we deserved from high school." Bea joins the ski team, Neerja steps up in drama club and pursues the gorgeous (but vapid) boy she has been crushing on, and Gigi, who is terrified of public speaking, decides to run for student rep in order to battle an unfair accusation of cheating on a chemistry test. However, things don't go as planned. Gigi's opponent in the election is a handsome new boy, Will, who seems to be interested in her, but she has to sort out her feelings about hottie Mike, whom she blames for the cheating fiasco but also finds unexpectedly appealing. Gigi is a quirky, smart, endearing character with a wry sense of humor, and her strong friendship with Bea and Neerja is one of the high points of the book. The lively depictions of supporting characters and the Massachusetts setting are well done. A great read to recommend to Meg Cabot fans.-Kathleen E. Gruver, Burlington County Library, Westampton, NJ

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2013
When Gigi, Bea, and Neerja don't make the "hot" list on the boys' bathroom wall, they decide to make themselves known. Previously concerned only with getting into the Ivy Leagues, they join theater, the ski team, and run for student rep--and gain new friends and male attention. Female readers will respect Strohmeyer's smart, strong-minded characters amidst the high school drama.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

May 1, 2012
What smart girls like Gigi, Neerja and Bea want is smart boys, although they're hard to find. After following in Neerja's sister Parad's Ivy League-bound footsteps for years, the friends stumble upon Parad's signature-less yearbook, making them think that maybe studying isn't everything. Gigi, who rocks Latin and chemistry, narrates this clever, Glee-like romp through sophomore year. The only relationship on her Facebook page is with Petunia, her basset hound. Her social nonexistence is epitomized by the girls she sits between in homeroom, who ignore her while they pass a phone back and forth across her. Her take on their account of a Halloween party prompts the question, "Where is a deus ex machina when you need one?" When Gigi is accused of cheating on the AP Chemistry midterm along with Mike, a Man Clan wannabe who calls her "Einstein," the girls launch into action. Gigi finds herself running for student rep against Will, the new guy from California she's fallen for who's unafraid to use the word "metaphor" in conversation. Neerja tries out for the lead in Romeo and Juliet and Bea convinces Gigi to join the ski team with her, all in the name of establishing their cred. The author of The Cinderella Pact (2006) shows a humorist's ear for the cadence of teen language in this smart foray into teen literature. (Fiction. 12-17)

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