Confessions of a Hater

The Basics:

Title: Confessions of a Hater

Author: Caprice Crane

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends (2013)

Pages: 368

The Overview:

Hailey Harper has always felt like an invisible outcast, and every day at high school brings a new embarrassment at the hands of the "cool kids". So, when her father takes a new job in Hollywood, Hailey sees an opportunity to reinvent herself in the image of her ultra-cool, popular older sister, Noel, who has gone away to college. With the help of a journal she discovers in Noel's belongings, entitled "How to be a Hater," Hailey transforms herself into a confident, take-no-nonsense cool girl-- at least on the outside. 

When she arrives at West Hollywood High School, Hailey quickly uses the wisdom she has gleaned from her sister's journal to fall in with the coolest crowd of girls in school, led by the pernicious Skyler Brandt. However, she soon grows tired of the shallow, manipulative Skyler and branches out on her own, embracing her unique neighbor Anya and a crowd of misfits. They label themselves The Invisibles and turn to Noel's journal as a sort of bible instructing them on how to change their social situation. They also go to war with Skyler's crew in a malicious prank battle that reaches "epic" heights. 

Aided by her highly-acclaimed comic strip, which appears in the school paper under the title "Abby Invisible" and lampoons the social structure of the high school, Hailey takes on the established bully culture in West Hollywood. However, she soon finds herself out of control and struggling to solidify an identity, and personal crises begin to pile up. 

Why I Read It:

A pre-release Variety review referred to it as a mix between Mean Girls and Revenge of the Nerds, which are two of the best things. Additionally, an astute reader of this blog may notice that I have been reading exclusively material aimed at or about (or both) young adults in the past couple months (including a few stinkers I didn't even bother posting about).  After this I am moving onto a string of more adult things, so I figured why not go out on the teenagerest of teenager books? 

Why You Should Read It:

Every once and a while, someone makes a movie or a book or a piece of art that is a perfect snapshot of the time in which it was created. This is an example of that phenomenon. From lingo (including online abbreviations --in text--!) to music to TV to movies to twitter to Facebook to fashion, all of the cultural references are here. The girls' outfits are even often described in great detail, including extremely contemporary, hip, young name brands. If you want to know what it was like for a young person in 2012-2013, this is the book to reference. 

Caprice Crane is more than qualified to write this kind of novel. She has worked for MTV productions, written for the CW's new 90210 and Melrose Place, and written on YA films, but she is also an experienced novelist. (Bonus: her mom is Ginger from Gilligan's Island.) So for all its pop culture indulgence, it is an extremely savvy and well-crafted book. Hailey and her friends can be irritating, but teenagers are sometimes irritating people. These characters are completely believable as modern, drama-fueled teens, and even the high school feels real. Hailey herself is one of those characters that you feel like you know completely, even if you don't always love her. 

It is probably necessary to mention that this book likely would not exist without Mean Girls. The plot parallels that film to the extent that it sometimes feels like a novelization of the movie. However, it incorporates some elements that Mean Girls did not have room for, and it goes further in almost every way (language, sex, nastiness, roundness of characters, etc). So, if you are a fan of that film, you probably will not be disappointed by this book. 

You can look at Confessions of a Hater as a book version of that super right-now Lorde song "Royals". Possibly brilliant, but a little bit irksome, interesting, and oh-so current. It won't be relevant soon, but it is horribly relevant right now. So, if you like hyper-contemporary writing, definitely read this book, but do it soon. 

When I Found You

I should preface this edition of the Book Blog by admitting that I started it when I had been drinking. I was torn about making a post about this book because I didn't know exactly how to express why I loved it, and I wasn't sure that anyone else would love it for the same reasons. Then I got a little drunk and a little sad and realized I was looking to a character I had just read for advice, and yeah, he was in this book, so it obviously warrants a spot.

The Basics:

Title: When I found you

Author: Catherine Ryan Hyde 

The Overview:

One fall morning when Nathan MaCann, a middle-aged man in a difficult marriage, goes duck hunting, he stumbles upon an infant left to freeze to death among the leaves. Upon discovering that the baby boy is still alive, Nathan rushes him to the hospital and quickly decides that he wants to keep the child despite the resistance he knows he will meet from his childless wife. Unfortunately for Nathan, when the child pulls through, he is released into the custody of his maternal grandmother. Still, Nathan feels that he needs to be a part of the baby's life, and he ensures the old woman that if ever she needs his help, he will be there.

Years later, the grown child, named Nathan after his savior and nicknamed Nat, discovers the truth about his mother's abandonment and begins a rapid decline into delinquency. With his grandmother at the end of her rope, Nathan the elder finally finds himself called upon for help. For the remainder of his days, Nathan McCann struggles to help guide his charge through adolescence and young adulthood as the younger falls in love, begins a boxing career, and fights the identity and anger issues that he cannot seem to shake. Despite difficult times and set backs, Nathan never abandons the promise he made to the nearly lifeless infant he discovered in the woods.

Why I Read It:

Catherine Ryan Hyde has written something like 20 books and people tell me to read one or another all the time. I didn't choose this one for any particular reason other than that it popped up on my kindle at a low price and at a time when I was looking for a clearly emotional read. When the first sentence of the Amazon description included an abandoned baby, I said, "Here it is!"

Why You Should Read It

First of all, Nathan McCann is the best. A lot of times "wise old man" characters some across as extremely cliche or overwrought, but this character is brilliant in his simplicity and steadfastness. I cannot imagine reading this book and coming away without love for him. Nat is a very interesting character, too. Writing human maturation effectively is not easy, and Hyde handles the task very well in this novel. The cast of supporting characters is well-rounded but simple, keeping this a straight-forward read. 

Secondly, the feelings! You sort of go into this one knowing what to expect (or you will, now that you have read my overview anyway), but it is executed so beautifully and with such simple tenderness that you can't help but be swept up in it. I enjoy books where you end up rooting for all the characters. If you don't need a bad guy to be entertained, this is a good choice for you. 

Finally, if you (like me) read at bed time and can't stop in the middle of chapters, this is a gift. It is organized into several-pages-long vignettes that move quickly through decades of time. Logical stopping points are plentiful, but the plot never feels gapped or rushed. 

In conclusion, if you are looking for a heartfelt, sweet page turner written by a skilled storyteller, check out When I Found You, and bring tissues for the end.