Three girls from three different backgrounds. They all seemingly have something good going for them. Until one night, they make up a lie to get out of trouble only to watch as their lives slowly unravel.
Emma, Anna, and Mariah are freshmen at Orsonville Day School, a private high school in New York. Though their parents are nothing alike, the girls all share the same fear of letting them down. Emma has the edgy, intellectual, college professor parents and her brother, Silas, the most popular senior in school. Anna is an only child who enjoys playing board games with mom and dad on the weekends. Mariah is gorgeous. And so is her mom. In fact, her ex-model mom just married the town's wealthiest man, who unfortunately wants nothing to do with Mariah. Emma and Anna have been friends and outsiders since the third grade. That is until Mariah comes along with her short skirts and her senior boyfriend and shakes Emma and Anna out of their shells.
Every high school kid does it. Tell your mom you are sleeping at my house and I'll say I'm sleeping at yours. It's Friday night and the girls have a senior party with boys to attend. What their parents don't know wont hurt them. That is until the phones start ringing. There's only one thing left to do, so the girls make up a lie that takes them away from the party and puts them in the middle of the biggest story that has ever shaken up their small town.
The lie was simple enough; the girls got mugged, they took control, and got away. But now the town is on a witch hunt for someone who never existed and Emma, Anna, and Mariah all have to deal with what happens when an innocent lie overtakes your life.
Though this novel was interesting to read and succeeded in keeping the reader guessing, it was fairly far fetched and not very realistic. If anything, this book would be useful in showing high school students how pointless it is to lie about such a little infraction such as going to a party. Most young adult readers might become bored by the scenario of three girls, who are too passive and wimpy, that choose to make up a serious lie over a weekend of grounding. The "heroine" in this novel is found only in the story of the lie; who the girls make themselves up to be. There is a lack of a strong character to resonate with the reader.
This book was a Best Books for Young Adults Nominee, 2008.
5 comments:
Yep, we have all done it. It sounds out there but I can see kids liking this book even though we as adults roll our eyes. Calling wolf is a topic sometimes overlooked I think and one we should pay attention to more in order to avoid the innocent being blamed or sending people on wild goose hunts.- reminds me of the "Runaway bride" story.
Hi Mallory! What an interesting book--it was actually nominated for both the best books award and also the best books for reluctant readers.
from your description (and the cover), it sounds like another book influenced by "sex and the city" and also the "gossip girl" phenomenon of highly provocative books for young adults. in other words, it is popular, somewhat "trashy" novel for teens.
so maybe this is the connection you can make to the contemporary world--its not just about "secrets" and lying to parents, but it is also about the anxiety many adults (and young adults) feel today about the increasingly shocking and sexy nature of popular culture and concerns that big city and media influences are eroding something really important in America, especially in rural towns and suburbs?
just a thought--take care!
TP
"Harmless" was about teens finding a way to get out of their trouble and a man hunt begins. The first image popped in my head was of Susan Smith creating the chaos when she lied about the drowning of her children.
If one uses this book it might be a good idea to pull the articles so that students can see how much harm can be done when making an accusation of this nature.
I definitely think it would be a good book for students, especially since it would show them how tragic lying can become. I don't think most kids understand that the spoken word can cause a whole lot of trouble!
That is a great connection, may--well-done.
Maybe this is why so many people are interested, too, in the murder case in Bolingbrook with the ex-cop and his third wife. Its the intrigue and the possibility of a lie that keeps us tuned in.
Take care,
TP
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