Series: High Jinx
Author: Sara Lawrence
Published: 2007
Genre: Contemporary, ChickLit
Rating: 3 out of 5
Jane 'Jinx' Slater is a lower sixth form (that's a junior, or an eleventh grader) at Stagmount, an exclusive girls boarding school, with girls attending from all over the world. Jinx and her friends sneak out and party as hard as they can without being caught- meaning life is well. However, when the super stylish and suspicious Stella Fox arrives from a rival private school, havoc is caused between the girls at Stagmount, most noticeably between Jinx and Stella.
High Jinx involved a large amount of underage drinking. The girls drank so much that I don't think it's possible that they were able to function in a sane manner as written (yes, I know it's fiction, but still). Promiscuity and swearing was also frequent, especially the f-bombs which appeared at least thrice every page. Interestingly, chapters weren't present. The only thing resembling a break between sections would be spacing and a small swirly image. Apart from these points, I liked High Jinx due to the characters. The teachers were comical and the girls were likable, despite their well mentioned flaws. The sisterhood and friendship between the girls is admirable and makes me want to go to boarding school. Jinx's family was also adorable, with a doting mother and father and two lovingly protective older brothers. Although the Slaters were an idealistic family, I appreciated the change where the main character doesn't have family issues.
High Jinx is suited more for upper YA. Although I don't usually mind swearing, I did find it overused just this once. It's a very quirky read which takes time and concentration to get into despite the fact it doesn't actually deal with deep-thinking themes or issues. I actually found it a bit biographical to the author's own time at boarding school, as Stagmount is loosely based on an exclusive British private (surprise, surprise!) school called Roedean School. I felt that Lawrence has written something with inside jokes for her fellow Roedeans to relate to and laugh about.
It's not a must read, but if you like to read about i) quirky British teens ii) boarding schools iii) both, with alcohol, OCD swearing and drug use, look no further (I'm not being sarcastic... honest).
It sounds like an interesting enough book that I might pick it up if I saw it in the library, although it's not my usual thing.
ReplyDeleteSwearing doesn't bother me overly, but it can be annoying when it's overused, I agree. Particularly when it's outside of the dialogue.