Review of “She’s So Dead to Us,” by Kieran Scott

Is young adult chick lit called chicklet lit? Not sure… Anyway, that’s what this is, and I loved it (until the end that is – more of that later). It was great fun traipsing through The Inner Circles of Hell also known as High School Cliques. And the protagonist, Ally Ryan, is very appealing. She’s fun and feisty and has a genuineness that captivates both the fictional boys and the real-life readers at home.

Ally has come back to Orchard Hill High after 18 months absence, during which time she lived with her grandmother. She and her parents moved because her father, a hedge fund manager, lost all their money as well as a good portion of everyone else’s in the tony neighborhood. Slinking away in shame, Dad took them to his mother’s and then took off himself without a word to his wife or daughter. After a while, Ally’s mother longed to get back to the The Lush Life, so she moved herself and Ally back to Orchard Hill, even though they have to live in a cheap condo (gasp!), instead of atop a crest overlooking the city.

Ally had grown up with the other “Cresties” – they had all been her best friends: Chloe, Shannen, Faith, Hammond, Trevor and Todd. Imagine her surprise to find they all reject her now! They feel their lives were ruined by her father’s actions, and take it out on Ally. Besides, she is now a “norm” (from the other “normal” side of town), not a Crestie, and therefore ipso facto socially inferior.

Complicating matters is the new family living in Ally’s old home. Ally feels an instant attraction to Jake Graydon, the boy now sleeping in “her” bedroom. (Ally rides her bike up to the crest to look at the house and sees Jake looking out the bedroom window: “The first thing I thought was, That’s my room. The second? Who are you and why are you not on television?”) Jake is interested in Ally too – he really likes her lack of pretensions and obliviousness to “girly” preoccupations. But he is, after all, now a Crestie himself, and reluctant to cross this powerful in-crowd and jeopardize his status. Jake is even more clueless than Ally about her old friends. They’re so rich and pretty and influential, they must be worthwhile, right? (And all that money doesn’t hurt, either.)

Ally faces similar conflicts. They all used to be her close friends. Now that she’s not one of them, she sees how shallow and mean and dishonest they can be. And yet, they have this allure …

She tries to adjust to her life as a reject. She gets a “norm” friend, and even a “norm” boyfriend, David, who is cute and sweet and cares for her a lot. But the siren song of Jake – her “Jakesession” (for obsession) as she names it – keeps calling out to her.

And what about her dad? Where is he and why hasn’t he contacted them? Is he even alive? Her mom has a new “boyfriend” now – a widower from up on The Crest. Ally feels both hate and love for her dad, and while she likes her mom’s new boyfriend, she hates that he’s there….

The story is told in alternate points of view between Ally and Jake, so we get to see the same events from both sides. The chapters are short and witty and spritely.

But I came to the end and … THERE WAS NO ENDING! It turns out to be Book 1 of a trilogy! GAAAAAH!!!!!!! This book doesn’t even pretend to be over! I had to check the binding to make sure another chapter didn’t fall out. GAAAAH! Unfair practice! Have a little faith, authors or marketers or whoever you are who makes these decisions. If I like the writing and the characters, I will come back and buy another book! You don’t need to resort to writing an installment instead of a book!

Evaluation: Very fun light read, but with a message about social class (somewhat common for this genre, albeit of questionable efficacy). However, you might want to wait for the other parts of the trilogy to be published before you dive in and then get left hanging.

Rating: 4/5

Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010