Fringe Girl

Adora Benet's nickname, Fringe Girl, refers to more than just her bangs. Her place socially is decidedly on the fringe. Not the Ruling Class, but not one of the Teeming Masses. Her place as a Fringe Dweller is precarious, and she's always taken all precautions to keep it in place. When she's assigned to do an independent project in social studies on a revolution, she decides to start her own. Her goal? Completely overturn the social order at her school, and implement a new "regime." Of course she has other goals too, such as Vin Transom, the boy she's been in love with since kindegarten. But as the revolution gets going, it becomes all consuming, and soon she has succeeded! Adora has been crowned the new leader, and is revelling in her new position as Queen of the Ruling Class. But when she looks around, she realizes she's alienated all her friends, and now only has her Sarcastic Ball for advice -- and it's not much help. Adora wants to make up with her friends, but she wants to keep her spot in the pecking order, too. Is it possible to have both? Or will she have to choose, friends over worshippers? Unexpected plot twists near the end will keep you guessing on her decision. This is an incredibly real, poignant story who will ring true with anyone who has attended high school. Adora is a heroine in her own right, though it takes her a while to realize that, and you will be hoping anxiously for her to reconcile with her friends.

If Adora Benet had her way, the first day of junior year at the Brownstone Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn Heights, New York, could be summed up like this: "I am hot. My heat could melt the belly of an airplane. I am only slightly less on fire than the surface of the sun." Unfortunately, as soon as Adora utters this mantra, she knows it's not true. More matchstick than burning ember, more generally pretty than outstandingly beautiful, Adora knows that she'll never be A-list quality. Sure, she has friends, and yes, she's pretty well ensconced in middle class, but she'll never be the girl who sits comfortably atop the popularity pyramid. It doesn't help that her well-known parents, Gloria and Ed Benet, are authors of the tomes of wisdom like His-And-Her Seduction and His-And-Her Dating. Those kinds of books, and she can't even get gorgeous, track athlete Vin Transom to notice her. Not even attempting to jog across the Brooklyn Bridge had garnered her a passing glance, even though she did, admittedly, quit three blocks from home for an iced coffee. Nevertheless, Adora wants junior year to be different. Others, though, like Sondra Fortune, queen of the A-listers, most popular of populars, insists on calling Adora Fringe Girl. Sure, it started out when she had a haircut with bangs, or fringe, but it's continued because, Adora suspects, Sondra knows just how accurate the nickname is. But now Adora has a plan. Mr. Sagebrush, her social studies teacher, has presented an interesting idea to the class. Their term project will be based on the three tenets of bloodless revolution: undermine authority, present an alternative government, and enlist the masses. Adora needs to come up with a proposal, and suddenly the idea is brought to life--why couldn't she, along with her best friends Eli and Liza, stage her own school revolution? Who said Sondra Fortune had to be the undisputed queen of the school's halls? Where was it written, anyway, that a girl on the fringe couldn't rise to queendom? And so begins Adora's ascent--or descent--into the ups and downs of becoming an A-lister, the queen of cool, the undisputed champion of popularity. Except, as these things have a way of happening, Adora's life as an anti-fringe girl seems to have some really disappointing consequences. Will Adora ever find her place in life, somewhere in the middle of the top and bottom of the social pyramid? What makes FRINGE GIRL such a fun, fascinating read is the true-to-life characters, the great dialogue, and the interaction between everyone involved. You won't be able to help yourself from rooting for Adora during her bloodless revolution, just as you won't be able to stop yourself from feeling her heartbreak along the way. This is definitely a read that's well worth your time!

With likeable characters and some screamingly funny dialogue, Fringe Girl is a very enjoyable read. Narrator Adora learns lessons about friendship, social politics, family life, and how to make out as she stages a revolution--for homework, no less--at her exclusive Brooklyn private school.

Adora Benet is sick of being on the fringe of her school's social world, so she leads a revolution, a "bloodless coup" to redistribute the powers that be. Along the way, she gets a couple of boyfriends, wins and loses friends, and discovers a few secrets among the "Ruling Class" that explains why things are the way they were in the first place. Plus, in classic Val Frankel style, this book is FUNNY, FUNNY, FUNNY, as well as smart and so 2006.

Every girl will recognize a little of herself in Adora Benet. You'll laugh at her bumbling attempts at romance--who hasn't picked the wrong shoes for a date?--and cheer when she vanquishes the mean girls, at least momentarily. Frankel inserts just enough of a moral to give you something to think about. But don't worry--you'll hardly notice it amid the giggles.