These girls make Gossip Girls look tame in comparison and they are far from the perky preppy bitches in Bring It On. Now, when I first read the synopsis and how it’s about two troubled high school girls who are best friends and also cheerleaders my mind automatically flashed to scenes from Bring It On and Gossip Girl and I physically winced and completely lost all interest in ever pursuing it. The sense that everything is changing in ways we can’t guess and that nothing can stop it.’ ‘…we work hard because it raises a din, a rabid, high-pitched din that can nearly drown out the sound of the current and coming chaos. When the new school year comes around and with it a new cheer coach, it sets about a change so big that no one can even begin to imagine the end results.

Their lives would mean nothing if they weren’t in cheer. Seemingly perfect girls Addy and Beth are cheerleaders but it’s more than just a hobby to them it’s a part of who they are. Before we all stopped believing a tornado, or anything, could touch us, ever.’Īh, the sordid lives that teenagers lead, hidden under their masks of perfection. Beth and me wedged tight, jeaned legs pressed against each other. ‘The drone in my ear, it’s like the tornado drill in elementary school, the hand-cranked siren that rang mercilessly, all of us hunched over on ourselves, facing the basement walls, heads tucked into our chests. Award-winning novelist Megan Abbott, writing with what Tom Perrotta has hailed as 'total authority and an almost desperate intensity,' provides a harrowing glimpse into the dark heart of the all-American girl. The raw passions of girlhood are brought to life in this taut, unflinching exploration of friendship, ambition, and power. After the first wave of shock and grief, Addy tries to uncover the truth behind the death - and learns that the boundary between loyalty and love can be dangerous terrain. Then a suicide focuses a police investigation on Coach and her squad. Only Beth, unsettled by the new regime, remains outside Coach's golden circle, waging a subtle but vicious campaign to regain her position as 'top girl' - both with the team and with Addy herself. Now they're seniors who rule the intensely competitive cheer squad, feared and followed by the other girls - until the young new coach arrives.Ĭool and commanding, an emissary from the adult world just beyond their reach, Coach Colette French draws Addy and the other cheerleaders into her life. Beth calls the shots and Addy carries them out, a long-established order of things that has brought them to the pinnacle of their high-school careers. Published by Reagan Arthur Books on July 31st 2012Īddy Hanlon has always been Beth Cassidy's best friend and trusted lieutenant. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. I received this book free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review.

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