A Matter of Principle

A Matter of Principle is the story of Becca Holtz, 17, a high school junior who works on the newspaper and plays and who has always done everything right. When she and group of friends decide to start an underground paper, though, she finds herself in a world of wrong. While thought-provoking, The Shaft also carries a dirty cartoon making fun of Malloy, the principal, and Miss Holstein, a teacher. Malloy comes down hard on the seven students, suspending them until they agree to apologize. Becca refuses, and through her father's connections in the law field, she and her friends take the school to court in order to resolve this matter of principle.Becca is a strong teenager, but not overly perfect. Most stories deal with hardship, and most hardships bring out the less-than-perfect sides of us. Becca is used to having a good relationship with her parents and younger sister Abby, and her parents are disappointed in her. She's confused, lonely, and isolated when she's suspended from her high school, and that creates a lot of tension in the family. Her parents support her, but are still angry and disappointed; her sister doesn't know how to look up to her. But her parents do things wrong as well - a good reminder that parents are not always right.There are many stories that deal with the loss of friends and boyfriends, but Pfeffer handles that effectively in A Matter of Principle. Becca's boyfriend Kenny and her best friend Melissa, Kenny's cousin, both have to drop out of the lawsuit for financial reasons. Becca's anger at both of them is justified but painful. Yes, she has a reason to be angry at them - they've abandoned her with the cause. Yes, they have a reason to be angry at her - it's easy for her to be righteous, because she has no idea of the situations they're in. Becca's breakup with Kenny isn't just the usual angsty teen breakup.Pfeffer also tackles mid-adolescent alcoholism (one of the seven students, Elliott, is well on his way to becoming an alcoholic) as well as the unlikely bond between Becca and Paul, whom she has never liked, but who turns out to be her staunchest ally through the lawsuit.I often felt like I was waiting out the lawsuit with Becca. She attends a private high school while she is waiting to see if she'll be allowed back to her public school, and she misses it painfully. A Matter of Principle isn't just about principles, about civil rights: it's about belonging, and Becca belongs where she is no longer allowed to be.Although the students do win the case against the school, nothing is the same after Becca returns to school: she's lost Kenny and Melissa, perhaps gained a friend in Paul, but the school body is edgy around her, even though it's where she fits best. And that's as it should be. One feels a great sense of relief that they won the case, but no one could expect to go back to school after that and have everything be the same.Ultimately Becca learns a lot - about people, about what you can and c

This was a very interesting book. Its a shame they don't make more books like it.