The Girls - Softcover

Tucker Shaw was a writer and advice columnist for Alloy and has authored 3 novels, 3 gift/recipe books for Chronicle, numerous teen self-help books, and is currently the food critic for the Denver Post.  He also appeared on the Today Show promoting his recent gift book Everything I Ate.

Grade 8 Up—Winter Break is over, so it's back to a prestigious prep school in Aspen for Peggy. At a local coffee shop, she overhears a conversation between Amber, the vapid super-gossiping barista, and Sylvia, a Prada-wearing snob. Peggy is devastated to learn that her friend Mary's boyfriend Stephen is cheating on her with a girl from "down valley." When Mary finds out, it leads to a maze of drama, gossip, and strange alliances. The front flap claims that this book is a "modern retelling of Clare Boothe Luce's The Women." While all of the characters are female (male characters manifest themselves only by phone or text messages), that is where the similarity ends. The novel degrades into a lackluster, stereotypical vignette of the teenagers' lives. The girls are shallow and have no moments of insight. Despite dumping the cheating males in their lives, there is no real empowerment, no real message. That being said, The Girls is a quick read, with all plotlines neatly tied up by the end. The writing is easy to read, possibly appealing to reluctant readers. Fans of private-school dramas might like this book, but it lacks the intricate and sophisticated plot twists of other novels of that genre.—Melyssa Malinowski, Kenwood High School, Baltimore, MD
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