Thursday, September 25, 2008

What Mrs N's Been Reading - Fly on the Wall


Just finished e. lockhart's Fly on the Wall. It's a quick read - the story of Gretchen Yee, a student at an arts magnet high school in New York City. Her best friend Katya seems to be blowing her off lately, her parents just told her that they're getting a divorce, her drawing teacher is hypercritical of anything not done in the particular style she prefers, and she just can't figure boys out at all. In a discussion about boys, Gretchen comments to Katya that she'd love to be a fly on the wall in the boys' locker room. Sure enough, the next morning she wakes up as a fly on the wall in the boys locker room. Over the course of several days Gretchen goes from being a voyeur to starting to see beyond the surface of several of her classmates. I'd recommend this one to high school students, due purely to some of her observations in the locker room. Considering what she's describing, I thought it was remarkably non-graphic, but it is what it is. There's also some salty language, but if you ride the bus, you've probably heard it all. Hopefully reading this book will encourage you to look beneath the surface of some of the people you think you know. What you find there may surprise you.
Enjoy!

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