Tired of the sexism she sees in every corner of St Mary's, Alex decides to stage the school's first ever production of The Vagina Monologues. Which is going to be a challenge, as no one else at St Mary's can even bear to say the word 'vagina' out loud . . .
Alex Heck from San Francisco was sent to a Catholic boarding school in Minnesota by her dad when she was deemed out of control and needing discipline. Ever since, Alex has been trying her damnedest to get expelled. To no avail. But this time she has the perfect plan. She is going to stage a production of The Vagina Monologues. She’s positive that will finally get her kicked out and maybe give a few of her nemeses (nuns and priests) a heart attack or stroke while she’s at it. Now, if she can just get her bestie, Mary Kate, on board with her idea she’ll be good to go. Yeah, about that…
Ok, I’m just going to come out and say it: I fucking love this book. Alex is bold as brass and not afraid to say or do anything. Pretty impressive for a 16-yr-old. I wish I was that sassy when I was a teen. Mary Kate is quite the contrast to Alex, opposite in so many ways, and yet their friendship is heartwarmingly real. This story has practically everything I love included in it: snappy dialogue, great characters, humor, action, a fast-flowing plot, and judicious swearing. There’s a bit of romance, a lot of sass, and plenty of character growth. If the Iceman ghost had been real then my paranormal quotient would have been filled. Ah, well. And holy fuck, is Father Hughes a saint or what? Alex just can’t seem to rattle the man. Ok, so he does run a co-ed Catholic school with a large student body of horny teenagers, so I bet he’s seen it all. Still, color me awestruck. This book entertained the shit out of me and that’s the highest praise I can give. Read it. Now.
Flynn Meaney grew up in Mamaroneck, New York, ten minutes away from Pelham, home to the fictional Finbar Frame. She graduated from Rye Neck High School, where she participated in every nerdy activity imaginable, including Mock Trial, Academic Challenge, literary magazine and the school band. Flynn's hilarious high school friends and their conversations preserved in letters, emails, and notes passed in class have provided endless inspiration for her YA writing.
Flynn went on to study Marketing and French at the University of Notre Dame, where she spent many Saturdays standing on bleachers in the freezing cold cheering on a losing football team (Go Irish!) and also took her first creative writing workshop courses. She studied abroad in Paris and also at University College Dublin.
After graduating from Notre Dame in 2009 with President Obama as her commencement speaker (and successfully sneaking snacks past the Secret Service under her graduation robe), Flynn moved back to New York to study poetry at Hunter College and hang out with her vampire-obsessed friend Lucila, whose comment "Now that vampires are so hot, we can stop tanning" planted the first seeds of the idea for Bloodthirsty.
In 2012, Flynn finished
her degree at Hunter College and her second YA novel, The Boy Recession.
Loved reading your thoughts on this one, Carol.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gina! This is a favorite. :)
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