Confessions of a Not It Girl - Hardcover

Kantor, Melissa

3.6

2,633 ratings by Goodreads

9780786818372: Confessions of a Not It Girl

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786818379 ISBN 13: 9780786818372

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion, 2004

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High school is never easy . . . and when you are suffering from a hubris complex and are convinced that the gods on Olympus have focused their attention on you, things are sure to get even harder. In this smart and sassy debut novel, the spotlight is on Jan Miller-a self-labeled "Not It" girl struggling to find out what and who she wants. From her best friend, who is an It girl, to her parents, who are way too embarrassing to her crushes (who always seem to be in the right place at the wrong time), there is never a dull moment for Jan. With college application deadlines looming and a group of seemingly vindictive gods ready to sabotage her every move, Jan is about to set off on a memorable trip through senior year and prove that being a "Not It" girl has some major rewards. From first-time author Melissa Kantor comes a fresh and witty look at senior year from the perspective of one girl convinced she is everything but "It." Melissa Kantor teaches at a high school in Brooklyn, New York, where she lives with her husband. This is her first novel.

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Review:

Besides being named after an obscure Renaissance painter (turning the name "Jan" into "Yahn,") and having a butt so big that it "belongs in the Guinness Book of World Records," high school senior Jan Miller also has the dubious honor of being best friends with Rebecca Larkin, recently named one of CHIC magazine’s New York "IT" Girls. Add a ridiculously huge crush on new-boy hottie Josh Gardner to this list of woes and sympathetic readers can see why "life would be so much simpler if guys were like mood rings, and they changed color when they liked you." It will take more than just Rebecca’s easy assurances and a few pints of Ben & Jerry’s for Jan to come to terms with her own inner "It" girl (or lack thereof).

Even though she incorporates some pretty clever turns of phrase ("I could not seize the mantle of power. I could not even seize the training bra of power.") high school teacher-turned-author Melissa Kantor doesn't do much else to distinguish her first novel from the hot-pink jacketed reads that seem to giggle loudly from bookstore shelves these days. Female teen readers who want more books like Meg Cabot's Princess Diaries or Jacqueline Wilson's Girls in Love series won't be disappointed in Confessions, but Kantor will need to move beyond the "plain girl who makes good" plot if she wants her witty writing noticed. A passable debut, but the Kantor has the potential to do better. --Jennifer Hubert

About the Author:

Melissa Kantor is a teacher in Brooklyn, New York, where she lives with her husband, the poet Benjamin Gantcher, and their son.

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