Attraction and Alienation (Prep by Curtis Sittenfield)

This was another re-read for me. I went home for the weekend and left without any for-fun reading materials, so I had to pick something from my extensive collection of already read books.

Prep follows the experiences of an Indiana high schooler by the name of Lee Fiora who decides to attend the prestigious Ault School in Massachusetts. It is Lee's first experience away from home, and she soon finds herself as a fish out of water. The classes are hard, and she had trouble making friends. Furthermore, she finds herself nursing a crush on the star basketball player, Cross Sugarman, and desperately wishing that she could be one of the popular kids.

Prep chronicles all four years of Lee's experiences at Ault, and the reader witnesses her grow from an awkward 14 year old to an awkward 18 year old. At times, Lee can be tiresome, constantly worrying and doubting herself, and I see bits of Holden Caulfield in her. The first time I read this book, after I had been away from home at college, I identified a bit with Lee. Now, several years later, I have a hard time relating to her and I found myself annoyed by the end of the book. Teenage angst is harder to understand the older you get, I suppose.