After reading and feeling indifferent about Sisterland, I was prompted by many book lovers to check out Curtis Sittenfeld’s Prep.
Sooooo glad I did! I found a copy of Prep at a book warehouse and sped through the novel.
Photo Credit: Goodreads
Prep is the story of Lee, a midwestern girl who decides that for high school, instead of going to the local school, she wanted to go to a prestigious boarding school. Once she gets to Ault, she knows that her world will change and just be amazing.
But Lee is a shy teenager, painfully shy and self conscious, so things don’t exactly go as planned. I mean, she IS a scholarship girl mixed in with the wealthy.
Prep takes you on an inside look into both Lee’s world as a teenager and her fictional experience going to a boarding school.
And I just loved it. Sometimes I wanted to just shake Lee and yell at her, but she was just so likeable, and so much a typical teen.
Did you ever think that boarding school would be a fun experience?
Interested in getting your own copy? Check it out on Amazon
rscaglione.wordpress.com 
Like the anti-Malory Towers/Harry Potter/every other series that makes you immediately wish you went to boarding school… I’ve had this one for YEARS after I found it in a remainder bookstore in York during my first year at university. That means I’ve potentially had it on my shelves for… eight years?! How time flies! *blushes slightly*
I’m really looking forward to it though, and since we’re moving house this week I’m hoping to attack my books with renewed optimism as I comb through the boxes in my new room. Maybe this year will finally be its year! 🙂
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You should, Ellie, because it’s one you can read pretty quickly, and it’s really light. It’s a great “I’m moving so I don’t have lots of time or want to read something intense” type of book!!!
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OK, I need to stop sneering at Curtis Sittenfeld from the corner and read this book already.
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I totally get it, though, because I was all like, okay I’ll try Sisterland and it was blah. Everyone recommended Prep but to me it looked like such a teen type of book. It is worth it, though!
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I’ve seen this book so many places and never really realized what it was about, lol.
I would’ve TOTALLY loved a boarding school. I think I would’ve excelled. Or I would’ve been the school bad-girl and totally made a mess of it. Either or 🙂
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I’ve seen it everywhere, too. Once I read Sisterland (and thought it was blah) a few bloggers told me not to give up on Curtis Sittenfeld (who is a GIRL! Curtis, a girl???) and to check out Prep. I’m glad I did.
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I’m not sure I would enjoy boarding school, since I love being able to eat whatever I want and sleep whenever I want, but boarding schools in books are my favorite 🙂
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I’d probably also not like boarding school, because I didn’t grow up super rich. But who knows? Because it doesn’t look like all the HP people are all super rich and they loved it. Prep, though, they’re mainly super rich.
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I’ve been meaning to get to this one ever since I read Sisterland.
When I was a kid I thought it would be terribly romantic to go to a boarding school 😉 Now that I’m a parent I think my kids should go to one, ha ha. 😉
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Hahaha! Yeah right! You homeschool!!!! Step 1 to getting your kids to boarding school: stop homeschooling 😛
Prep is worth reading, and you can definitely find it at the library since it’s not a new book or anything. It’s a good one for in between super serious books.
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I’m glad you liked it! The only Sittenfeld I’ve read is American Wife and I really, really enjoyed it. I don’t know that I’d love this book based on the premise BUT I do love her writing, so…. We shall see 🙂
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For sure, if you pick this up, read it in between a few of the heavy reads. I’ll have to check out American Wife.
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I liked this one a lot. And Lee I both liked and thought silly (she could have done with some advice). Boarding schools always sounded fun thanks to the books on my mum’s shelves, but in reality I’m glad I went to a ‘normal’ school.
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Lee DEFINITELY needed advice! But she did have a friend who tried to help her. . . she actually needed to LISTEN to others and be willing to take risks.
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Never was sure whether or not this one was worth picking up but you’ve convinced me to give it a shot!
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I hope you enjoy it. It’s a light read for sure, but one that is more worth it than Sisterland! 🙂
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I think that reading this book would be nice, but I’m not so sure that I would have enjoyed boarding school 🙂 Thanks for the review.
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I don’t know if I would have liked it either. Living with people while going through the awkward phases of your life? I wasn’t the popular kid, so what would I have been like at a boarding school?
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Oh no, I’ve never thought about a boarding school as funny! Unless you go to Hogwarts, of course.
My father went to a boarding school, but it seems like a thing of the remote past! I can’t understand why a teenager nowadays wants to go there.
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I think most boarding schools are for super rich people or for bad kids. I don’t know about others.
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