The Cheerleader

I first read this book in 1975, when I was 16 and in high school. My battered copy was passed around between girls and boys in my circle of friends and everyone loved it. I am rereading it for the first time in many years and am thrilled to find the sequels. I still love this book 40 + years later!

The Cheerleader offers a painful, deeply realistic view of growing up in the 1950s, one that is at once compelling and alarming in its portrayal of teenage life. Snowy and her friend Puddles, eager for high school acceptance and the typical teenage experience, try out for the cheerleading team and make their way through the complicated maze of relationships along with their friend Bev. What follows is a full description of dating, the most important aspect of high school, from the desire to go out with the "popular" boys to the pressure to go farther to please the boys. MacDougall is at once sympathetic and critical of Snowy's case, portraying her as the typical girl but taking an objective look at her at times. I often felt swept along with Snowy's perspective, but every now and then MacDougall pulled me out of the flow to subtly question the 1950s teen experience and I realized how devastating the "typical" experience really must have been for girls. Though the book is set in the 1950s, much of its substance is still relevant today. As a girl between teenhood and adulthood, I felt that MacDougall was simultaneously writing a retrospective book and questioning my own upbringing, and I could see many parallels between Snowy's experience and my own high school years. As a purely entertaining book, The Cheerleader delivers a full look at the 1950s, but its true value lies in the depth of its devastating portrayal of the high school female experience.

I first read The Cheerleader in high school in the 70's and recently re-read both it and the sequel, Snowy, which I was able to find at my local library. (Note: if you loved The Cheerleader, run- don't walk- to find a copy of Snowy because it was the best sequel anyone could have hoped for. It was a wonderful and poignant continuance of the story of the characters we grew to know and love in The Cheerleader.) I think Ruth Doan MacDougall's writing style is heart-warming and absolutely true to real human nature and emotion. I feel like I personally know her characters and see so much of myself at times in Snowy. Her writing just grabbed ahold of me and roped me in- my favorite time of the day would be when I could join Snowy and the gang in Gunthwaite, and then as Snowy grew older in the sequel, I ached for her in times of difficulty and sadness and rejoiced for her in times of success and happiness. I give this author my highest praise and want to say that The Cheerleader and Snowy have touched my heart in a way very few books have ever done.

I first read this book when I was 13 or 14 and am now in my 30s. I loved this book then and still love it. Oprah should choose it instead of those violent depressing books! I was searching used book stores with no luck but now have a brand new copy. Now, if we could get just get Snowy in re-print!

This book hits the nail on the head! For awhile there, I thought I was ready my diary, and then realized that Snowy had gone through many of the things that I did when I was in high school. A great way to remember those by-gone days and the sweet, simple life of a teenage girl. Now, I want to read the sequel, Snowy. Must know if there is life after high school!