Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

This week I began the book Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld. The main character is a freshman, Lee, at a boarding school named Ault. Lee begins the year without knowing anybody and doesn't have many friends. She tends to keep to herself and takes herself out of social activities sponsered by the school. One of the first people that Lee takes interest in is a senior named Gates (a girl). Gates is the first girl prefect Ault ever had, and is a complete role model to Lee. Lee finds that she wants to be friends with her, but doesn't know exactly how. She begins to make friends with other people--Little Washington is one of Lee's first real friends, but Lee catches her stealing money and has to turn her in. After Lee turns Little in, Lee feels so guilty that she becomes physically sick. Her roomate, Dede, tries to be supportive of Lee by saying that she did the right thing. This is the first time that Dede really shows how she actually cares for Lee. Dede is a follower of other girls--she wants to be cool and popular, and clings to the girls who represent those qualities. However, Lee doesn't like this quality about Dede and therefore, they aren't really good friends. Soon, though, Lee begins to be friendly with a girl Conchita. Conchita isn't like the other girls at Ault--she dresses completely crazy and always speaks her mind, no matter what she is thinking. Conchita is very accepting of Lee, and Lee tries to do the same for her. As they become closer, Lee becomes steadily happier. I'm only partway through the book, but so far, I greatly enjoy it. All of Lee's experiences are very typical for a high school girl, and each character portrays different personalities very well.