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Title: High expectations, but disappointed
Review: I had heard good things about this book and it looked to be an interesting novel of teen self-discovery. The main character, however, was rarely redeemable in any situation in the book. Slavish to men, to authority, to the wills and wiles of her peers, Lee Fiora was neither complex nor very interesting. Overthinking every situation was one of her specialities, a characteristic that Ms. Sittenfeld played up so much that it became hard to endure. I think perhaps worst of all, was the fact that Lee seemed to never learn from her mistakes. Every so often, she would discuss how she would later react to a similar situation in the future and oftentimes, it was not that different from her teen self, especially situations involving men. I find this disheartening and not true to the fact that the author seemed to think Lee was actually learning something from her surroundings. It was a lesson in what a dismal, self-fulfilling prophecy life can be if you let it.
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