REVIEW: The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin

79. The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin
Publication: Putnam Juvenile (August 4, 2011), ARC paperback, 278pp / ISBN 0399254110
Genre: YA fiction

Read: July 23, 2011
Source: Publisher (thank you!)

Summary from Amazon:

Sixteen-year-old Aggie Winchester couldn’t care less about who’s elected prom queen-even if it’s her pregnant Goth-girl best friend, Sylvia Ness. Aggie’s got bigger things to worry about, like whether or not her ex-boyfriend wants to get back together and whether her mom will survive cancer.

But like it or not, Aggie soon finds herself in the middle of an unfolding prom scandal, largely because her mom, who is the school’s principal, is rumored to have burned prom ballots so Sylvia won’t be elected queen. Aggie’s own investigation makes her wonder if the election could be dirty on both sides.

Review

I said on Twitter that this was like everyone in my high school shoved into a book, and I still stand by that. I knew people like Aggie; I knew people like Sylvia; random secondary and tertiary characters were pretty much like everyone else I knew as well– and that, right there, is the key to this book’s brilliance.

The author

Yes, maybe it’s a bit melodramatic, and maybe sometimes I wanted to shake Aggie and tell her that, like, it’s not THAT big of a deal, but what teenager isn’t melodramatic and annoying? Maybe the prom scandal/cancer/pregnant teenager/boyfriend troubles makes for a messy plot, but it was still weirdly realistic for all that it was also kind of insane. I think that because the relationships between the characters were so true to life, everything else became plausible, too (at least for the duration of the book).

What I liked best about The Implosion of Aggie Winchester was that it never tried to preach anything to the reader. When you’re an adult and miles away from your teenage years, it’s easy to see how silly some things are that seemed, at the time, like A Really Big Deal. When you’re a teen, however, you don’t really have that perspective and so everything is horrible beyond belief. What I think Implosion was trying to do was show that while some things are bad and it’s okay to be upset about the bad things, some things are really good, too, and it’s important to acknowledge both sides of life.

It’s also got some nice themes of standing up for yourself, of doing what’s right even if it’ll hurt people you love, and of not falling into peer pressure. There’s some stuff about bad relationships as well, and about how to get out of them, and– really, it’s kind of like a primer to teenage life.

If you’d rather forget about being a teenager you probably wouldn’t like this book, but if you are a teenager, or if you know a teenager and have forgotten how to relate to them, then you should definitely read this book. It’ll comfort you either way, I think; you’ll know that you aren’t alone and that, eventually, things do get better.

Rating

Liked it a lot, though the furor about the prom queen scandal was a bit too much to be believable.

Buy

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Other reviews

Good Books and Good Wine: “Perhaps my favorite part of The Implosion Of Aggie Winchester is the exploration of identity and morals. We all know being a teenage girl isn’t ever easy. These kids have pressure from school, from parents, from peers, from the media. There are so many influencing factors and so much noise that it is often hard to find your voice. It is only when Aggie loses all that she is able to find her true self and take a stand for what she believes in.”

The Book Nest: “For me, honestly, all the brouhaha over prom felt a little scripted. I wasn’t dying to find out how that part sorted out, but Aggy and her personal life, her relationships were more intriguing.”

Carrie’s YA Bookshelf: “At it’s heart, though, it is still the story of a girl trying to find herself and her own way in the world. It’s wonderfully written and full of great characterization and dialogue. I really loved it and I grew to love Aggie as I read.”

Notes

This Black Metal Book Review cover of Implosion‘s Kirkus review is very entertaining: