Gotta love it when YA fiction MFA students groove on your YA novel.

From the TEEN WRITERS BLOC -
blog and book reviews from MFA students at the New School
read the whole review here:
http://www.teenwritersbloc.com/2011/06/02/book-review-girl-j-j-johnson/

Excerpt: "... Author J.J. Johnson could have taken us in the standard direction with this—mean girls torment our heroine until the handsome jock comes to her rescue. Thankfully, Johnson’s Evie and the world she lives in are much more unique and nuanced. Johnson spreads a message throughout the book about the value of activism and standing by your principles, but it rarely comes across as preachy. Instead, Evie and the other characters, who include a boy, a cheerleader who’s more than pom-poms, and a creepy teacher too many teens will recognize, are well rounded individuals with real-world concerns.

"One of the great things about this book was that it caused me to think about things I don’t normally think about. Evie, in genuine confusion, wonders why she’s not allowed to use her cell phone or go outside during lunch. I have no doubt that these are real restrictions that kids face, and they had me scratching my head, too. (My high school had an open campus, so even hall passes seem weird to me. I’m not sure how I would have reacted to suddenly being locked inside.) ..."

(Posted on TEEN WRITERS BLOC by Mary G. Thompson, June - 2 - 2011)

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