I read this book when I was in high school, and I would recommend it for high school audiences. I feel like the writing style would appeal to them, as would the weird character names, and the heavy angst/confusion. Definitely a good "emo kid" book. ( )

Pointless ramblings of a pretentious teenager. I wish I could say “I’m too old for this stuff” but the thing is I probably wouldn’t have liked it even if I had read it ten years ago. I had so many expectations for this book since I’ve been wanting to read it for years, which makes me even more disappointed. Apart from a few decent lines it was a total let down. ( )

I read this book the year it came out and I probably loved it then.

But, it's funny how your perspective changes once you get older, once you learn who the "anonymous" author is and that she wrote about some of your very good friends and said some very untrue things about them.

Zoe Trope (pseudonym, first name is really Zoe, last name is different but I'll grant her the privacy of keeping her anonymity) graduated the same year as many of my friends at a local Oregon high school. She was writing the book while still in school, which she did not graduate early from (as her Wikipedia articles says). A few of the characters in the novel are my friends and they are well aware that it is about them.

I re-read the book last year and couldn't believe how childish it is, which is something it was actually praised for at the time of its release. There are moments of lovely prose and hints of a great author; but she has not produced any books since Please Don't Kill the Freshman's release in late 2003. ( )

I tried. Twice, even.

I couldn't get into it. Perhaps because I'm the mother of a freshman. Perhaps because the style was so choppy. I can't come up with any coherent reason for not liking it, which makes me suspect that it's more about me than the book. ( )

Possibly one of the worst books I've ever read. There is barely anything of interest. There is nothing "authentic" about this book although it is the diary of an actual high school student living in Portland, OR.

I suppose some may give her cool points for writing about queer sexualities and indie rock music, but raising those topics does not make this book any more interesting or relevant.

Luckily, I received an early review copy and did not pay for this.

Seriously, not worth the paper on which it's printed. ( )