About book The Rites And Wrongs Of Janice Wills (2011)
This would be just one more cliched book that didn't need to be written about a less-than-popular high school girl with a crush on a boy, except the author, who seems to be a physician, decided to throw in this gimmicky business about anthropology. One of my elementary school friends who went to med school majored in anthropology as an undergrad, which wasn't a bad idea, I thought. Reading the book, one has to wonder if Pearson ever took an anthropology class. Had she done so, she would understand that anthropology is actually a serious academic discipline and not just a hobby for teenagers. Does she expect us to believe that a girl who has never taken an anthropology class (but has read all the freshman and sophomore level anthropology textbooks) is an expert in the field? Or worse yet, that the girl's mother and classmates would recognize her as such, without ever questioning her qualifications to make that claim? That high school students are competent to review her scholarly work and accept it as passing muster? Not simply to be amused by her youthful conceit but to be all, like, "Well, you know, Janice is an anthropologist"? Is Pearson's next book going to be about Caitlyn Smith, girl astrophysicist, or Emma Jackson, teen cardiac surgeon? VOYA Rating: 5Q4P[return][return]Highly Recommended [return][return]The story starts with a letter written by the main character, Janice Wills, to the Editor of Current Anthropology. Janice wants to be published as an anthropologist. She states that she does not have a PhD yet, but that she is in the National Honor Society and the Beta Club. Her mission is to observe teenagers in her small town high school of Melva, North Carolina. The story is full of her notes about individual students as the various cliques they all belong too. At one point, she loses part of her notebook and is mortified. To make matters worse, they are found by the guy she is totally interested in. Janice and her best friend Margo, decide to enter the Miss Livermush pageant. Margo enters because it is a ritual that most girls in Melva go through. Janice enters the pageant as a way to do field research on the culture and customs of small town girls. There are many laugh out loud moments.[return][return]The format of the book is unique with all the letters and anthropologist notes that set the scene for the story. The story is a fun, quirky, social commentary on small town teen life. Throughout the story Janice has a moment of realization – she needs to start living life instead of criticizing what others are doing. She pushed a lot of her friends away and she needs to work on repairing relationships. I think it’s a great book for teens. It has a positive message and it’s fun to read. Once I got into it, I wanted to finish reading it without stopping. I like that it is a stand alone book. It had a strong ending that leaves the reader satisfied. There is some binge drinking at a party and references to bi-sexuality. But nothing out of the ordinary for the average high school student. I would not hesitate to buy this for my school or public library. I think it would be a good book for a book club. It has appeal to a broad audience. I definitely enjoyed and will be recommending it to my students.
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The concept was fresh but lagging at times.
—Ethen
