Review: Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer

Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publicatio Date: March 26th 2013
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 11+
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, High School, Sports, Friendship

BLURB:

Gigi, Bea, and Neerja are best friends and total overachievers. Even if they aren’t the most popular girls in school, they aren’t too worried. After all, real life will begin once they get to their Ivy League colleges. But when an unexpected event proves they’re missing out on the full high-school experience, it’s time to come out of the honors lounge and into the spotlight. The trio makes a pact: They will each take on their greatest challenge and totally rock it.

Gigi decides to run for student rep, but she’ll have to get over her fear of public speaking—and go head-to-head with gorgeous California Will. Bea used to be one of the best skiers around, until she was derailed; it could be time for her to take the plunge again. And Neerja loves the drama club but has always stayed behind the scenes—until now.

These friends are determined to show the world that smart girls really can get what they want—but that might mean getting way more attention than they ever bargained for. . . .

REVIEW:

‘‘You know, why not us? We’re the smartest people in our class, and there’s no reason we shouldn’t be ruling this school instead of being locked up in…’’ She looked around the bare room. ‘‘Here.’’

It was decided. Gigi, Neerja and Bea were going to take over the world.

Well, not quite, but they were getting there!

This is exactly the book I was hoping to read. Smart Girls Get What They Want promotes:

● Friendship
● School & Studies
● Involvement in activities
● The dating of smart boys
● Carpe Diem
● Et cetera.

The list, really, is endless.

Gigi, Neerja and Bea are the perfect daughters: they’re good students, honest, polite, they stay out of trouble and they know what’s most important.

School.

But the girls slowly realize that maybe they should stop thinking about the future and start making the most of their remaining time in high school. As a result, they each decide to enrol in extracurricular activities.

It’s time for them to mingle and make some memories!

As an introverted, sometimes shy and studious kind of girl, I found myself cheering for the three smart girls to explore all that high school has to offer before they have to spread their wings and fly to college.

The story is solely told from Gigi’s point of view but, because she and her two best friends are extremely close, I as a reader felt like I intimately knew Neerja and Bea as well. Their friendship is almost too good to be true. Their closeness nearly made me jealous; we all wish we had friends who would help us get what we desire by neutralizing the enemy.

Just kidding, though that does really happen… Just, in a more of an innocuous way.

There is somewhat of a love-triangle, but it’s subtle enough. It’s not as if Gigi constantly feels like she’s in a dilemma – Who to choose? Who to love?

No. She goes with the flow, and so do the two concerned boys.

It’s a really easy, fast-paced and charming story. Actually, it’s as charming as the cover.

The downside of the story is that it’s slightly unrealistic – as in, some of the characters’ decisions feel contrived. For starters, the school principal and Mr. Buzzard are a joke.

Since when do teachers accuse students of copying, without actually seeing them do it? The whole accusation – Gigi copying on Mike – didn’t convince me. It rather looked like the author needed that to happen in order to carry on with the rest of the plot, but that she didn’t really care about how we would perceive the situation.

Perhaps I’m wrong. Perhaps the world really is a cruel one and that kind of unfairness happens every five seconds, but I choose to believe that there should have been more proof requested. The simple ‘‘you two were standing too close & you both had the same grades’’ isn’t reason enough to ruin good students’ chances at getting into elite colleges.

Other than that, my god did I have fun reading this. And, by the end of the day, that’s what really counts.

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