This Girl Is Different by JJ Johnson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Stranded, hurt, but I can handle it. No freak-outs. No worries. This girl is different.
Three days before the beginning of her Senior year of high school, Evie sprains her ankle hiking along the creek. She refuses to see herself as a damsel in distress, but it still comes as a relief when two local teenagers stumble upon her and help her out. Even better, it turns out that the two teenagers will also be Seniors in a few days, and they’re happy to help Evie get settled in her new school. She’s not exactly new in town, but she has been homeschooled (or, really, “unschooled”) by her mother. With plans to go to Cornell, Evie wants to experience a year of high school before heading off to college.
Once school starts, it isn’t long before Evie’s outspoken nature and commitment to social justice put her at odds with the high school Powers That Be. Her attempts to improve the situation for students, while founded on the best of intentions, risk destroying her new friendships and budding romance. She has always told herself that she is different, but can she stay true to herself and still get through a year in the Institution of School?
Evie’s unique voice is a welcome addition to the YA Lit scene. She is smart, strong, and self-confident, but also vulnerable to the emotional turmoil that comes with being a teenager. Having spent her whole life with her mother and uncle, moving from place to place, following her own interests in solitary study, she is unprepared to deal with the social side of high school. Her outrage at the injustices of school life (Why do the students have gross bathrooms while the faculty have nice, clean ones? Why are the students cooped up inside all day, instead of being allowed in the courtyard during lunch?) and the abuses of power she witnesses ring absolutely true, and her determination to do something about them will have readers cheering her on. Johnson’s debut YA title is a welcome breath of fresh air. Highly recommended.
On shelves April 1, 2011
Book Source: e-ARC via NetGalley, by request
