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The Complete History of Why I Hate Her

by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
181p. 978-0-68987-800-8.
COPY ISBN
Gr 7-9 Seventeen-year old Nola wants a break, that's all, from the stress of living with her 13-year-old sister, Song, who has cancer, and a chance to be on her own. On the bus to Maine, where she'll spend the summer waitressing at an upscale resort, she meets Carly, who seems like an ideal BFF-upbeat, confident, adventurous. Unfortunately, Carly is also hypercritical and manipulative, and intent on taking over Nola's life. She reveals her intentions in subtle ways at first, such as copying Nola's hairstyle, persuading her to do things she doesn't want to do, and turning everything into a competition. Nola doesn't realize how dangerous her new friend is until Carly starts to correspond with Song and invites her to Maine. Luckily, Carly's spell over Nola is broken before someone is seriously hurt. This is a well-written story about finding yourself and staying true to that self, an important message for young adults.-"Robyn Zaneski, New York Public Library" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.
En route to a summer destination where she'll be free from the pressures of school and family, Nola meets Carly. Though she's vivacious, Carly's personality flaws become increasingly obvious to Nola, culminating in the endangerment of Nola's terminally-ill sister. Carly's presumed mental illness is not strongly or carefully crafted, and the "history" of Nola's titular hatred proves underwhelming in this otherwise diverting story.

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