Better Than Yesterday

April 1, 2007
Gr 10 Up-This story of four friends who are attending summer session before senior year at their New England boarding school is told by Skylar and Charley, in alternating chapters. Hilliard is known for sending its graduates to top colleges, and the pressure to excel is sometimes overwhelming. Charley struggles to be the student his parents expect him to be. Skylar, who has a "scandalous" reputation, is senior honoree. Marissa, her roommate, is on scholarship and a lover of fantasy and sci-fi who doesn't quite fit in. Blake, who has returned after a two-year absence, seems darker and on a path of self-destruction. Charley and Skylar flirt with romance; Blake disappears, and the others jeopardize their class rankings by heading to New York to find him. The beginning of the novel is overstuffed with raw language, drug use and smoking, and sexual references, which diminish as the book progresses. Skylar's voice is similarly uneven. At first, she talks in asides and lists, and then she becomes more readable and less shallow. Charley is endearing and the most well-developed character. His passion is music, and his rebellion against his parents' desire for him will have readers cheering. Blake's dark side and meltdown are never fully explained, and his story is wrapped up too neatly. Marissa is an underdeveloped figure. Literary references appear throughout. Readers who enjoy Cecily von Ziegesar's "Gossip Girl" series (Little, Brown) may like this title, but wait for the paperback."Heather E. Miller, Homewood Public Library, AL"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2007
Imagine the Gossip Girl books set during summer school, with fewer characters and a more serious bent. In her debut novel, Schneider, a student at Barnard College, captures the pressure-cooker atmosphere of prep school and delivers realistic teen thoughts and dialogue. After Blake, a fellow student with a troubled past, disappears to New York, Skylar and Charley, the two top students at Hilliard Preparatory School, follow, believing that they need to rescue him. As they search through the glamorous, young party circuit in Manhattan, they gain new insights into themselves and their relationships. Schneider includes lots of references to sexual activity and drinking, and, like the Gossip Girls books, the designer labels and pop-culture references will ultimately date this title. This is a fun, fast read, though, filled with characters who prove that money cant buy happiness. References to classic literature, including cleverly titled chapters, may inspire readers to seek out the original texts.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)