High school is a place where you seem to live or die by the clique you are part of. Perhaps you’re the football star or the cheerleader captain, on the opposite end of the “popularity” spectrum are the band geeks or nerds. Each clique seems to(or at least attempt) define how you act, look, dress, where you hang out, who you hang out with, and who you should never end up with or as.
A rather disturbing trend that comes along with certain cliques are what makes other cliques “uncool” or “outsiders”. Yet what makes certain groups outsiders are just human characteristics; For someone who is original, an “outside-the-box thinker”, courageous, or passionate, it does not make them “different”, “weird”, or anything close to being an outsider”.
That is what Alexandra Robbins pushes for in her book – you should not be afraid to be different and that no clique can single handily defines who you are.
The key parts of her novel center around seven unique people who each belong to a different clique within their respected schools. You have Danielle who is labeled as a Loner, Eli is the Nerd who even his own mother attacks him for not being “normal,” Mark (referred to as Blue throughout the book) is the Gamer who is barely passing school, Joy is the New Girl who is attacked for being raised differently, and then there is Noah who is the Band Geek. Interestingly enough there is also Whitney who belongs to the popular clique,unwillingly, and Regan who is not even a student but a facility member at her school. Robbins follows the characters as they make their way through the school year with a twist half way into their year that none of them see coming.
This book is a great read if you have ever felt out-of-place in high school, misunderstood in class, bullied in the halls, or left alone in the cafeteria. Every story is unique in its own way and will leave you shocked, angry, happy, proud, or at times depressed.
It sounds just like high school.
