she drives me crazy kelly quindlen book review

She was driven to prove herself in any way possible, and she navigated being popular-and also the object of hatred by so many, including true mean girl Charlotte, while also battling homophobia mixed with racist undertones. However, I kinda wish the book had been split into two POVs, because while we had a lot of Scotty and got a solid glimpse of Irene, I really, really wanted to get into Irene’s head. Because there was a solid bullying aspect to the book, and as Scotty slowly develops feelings for her enemy, she has to juggle the aspects of what it means about her, that she falls for people who have hurt her or have the capacity to hurt her. The previous year, after one really awful party where Scotty accidentally spilled a drink on Irene and Irene had Scotty’s car towed as revenge…well. I loved the way the mean popular girl trope was played out. She shoots me a smile that to everyone else probably looks flirtatious, but to me seems to say this is such bullshit and these people are idiots and I might kill you but I haven’t decided yet. Because I wasn’t sure how the whole “I’m going to give you $1000 to cover the copay for your truck so you’re mom won’t get pissed off, but you have to agree to fake-date me to get fans for my basketball team and fuck with my ex) was going to play out. Which made the first part of Scottie and Irene’s relationship really awkward, since there was a solid kinda-not-really-blackmail/I’m paying you for this aspect to it, but I did like how it was resolved in the end. So being dumped (rather harshly), plus teen mind, can make things get. Emotional abuse and manipulation can really put a number on someone prone to codependency, as Scottie is. She kinda knows it, but her ex did a number on her-and she was so wrapped into her ex (I can’t remember her name, but she was awful) that she didn’t realize how fucked up she was. It was more than I had anticipated, as I thought I was getting a fairly standard enemies-to-lovers romance with sports, but instead I got a thoughtful dive into relationships, particularly-the grief process and moving past unhealthy relationships. Too bad feelings weren’t included in this bargain…

Together, the two decide on a fake dating relationship-Scottie gets a fanbase for her team (and gets to sock it to her ex) and Irene gets that extra bump she’ll need to win Student Athlete of the Year and get a scholarship to her dream school. Turns out her enemy (and head cheerleader) needs something too. She needs something to get her groove back. After an epic loss on the basketball court to her ex-girlfriend and her new team, followed by an embarrassing fender bender with her enemy, Scottie needs a win.

She drives me crazy kelly quindlen book review