Title: Smart Girls Get What They Want Author: Sarah Strohmeyer
Published: June 26, 2012
Genre(s): Realistic/Contemporary
Page Count: 368
Rating:
Summary from Goodreads:Gigi, Bea, and Neerja are best friends and total overachievers. Even if they aren't the most popular girls in school, they aren't too worried. They know their real lives will begin once they get to their Ivy League colleges. There will be ivy, and there will be cute guys in the libraries (hopefully with English accents)! But when an unexpected event shows them they're missing out on the full high school experience, it's time to come out of the honors lounge and into the spotlight. They make a pact: They will each take on their greatest challenge—and they will totally rock it.
Gigi decides to run for student rep, but she'll have to get over her fear of public speaking—and go head-to-head with gorgeous California Will. Bea used to be one of the best skiers around, until she was derailed. It could be time for her to take the plunge again. And Neerja loves the drama club but has always stayed behind the scenes—until now.
These friends are determined to show the world that smart girls really can get what they want—but that could mean getting way more attention than they ever bargained for
I turned to Smart Girls Get What They Want in hopes of finding a light read that wouldn’t be too taxing on the brain. And that’s exactly what I got! No, I’m not going to run around singing Sarah Strohmeyer’s praises, and I probably won’t re-read this one, but I did enjoy it, and I thought it was enjoyable, well-told story.
The book follows narrator Gigi and her two best friends, Bea and Neerja, who have dedicated their lives to getting their Ivy League acceptance letters, and little else. Their characters and focus on academics were really interesting for me, as a reader who’s recently graduated high school and is in college. The girls in this book have a priority system that’s based entirely on the college they’ll be attending in the future. I was like that, once upon a time, and for a while I did feel bad that I didn’t get into a “better” university. Then I realized that stuff honestly doesn’t matter in the long run, which was something that the protagonists of Smart Girls Get What They Want also figure out, over the course of the book.
In terms of characterization, I thought Strohmeyer did a good job, though I didn’t necessarily love the protagonists, especially Gigi. I thought that Gigi was excessively judgmental and snobby, always assuming that people were less than what they were because they didn’t fit into her ideal of what a person should be like. But, again, we did see that attitude change over the course of the book (though the truth of how awful she was acting did practically have to land on her head like an anvil). I can definitely say that Smart Girls Get What They Want sees a lot of growth from all three main characters, and that was important.
There is a fair amount of “drama” present in the storyline, though for me it never became excessive or eyeroll-worthy. Strohmeyer managed to keep all of her high school drama believable in the context of the book (if not the context of real life), and because of how well-written the text itself was, I think Smart Girls Get What They Want was able to pull off its more splashy scenes fairly well. That being said, this definitely isn’t my favorite type of plot, because I think it does portray a more made-for-TV image of high school, which is of course okay, just simply not my favorite
Of course, there was a romantic aspect to the book, for all three girls, though it was fairly understated in comparison with each character’s personal growth, which was something I really liked. Gigi’s romantic issues are obviously in center stage, and I did really like the guy she ends up with, even though she treated him like crap for much of the book. If nothing else, I have to admire him for waiting around while Gigi got her crap together and pulled her head out of her butt.
Basically, Smart Girls Get What They Want is a fun, quick YA novel that was enjoyable and entertaining. Gigi and Friends’ adventures in high school were silly at times, but I saw growth over time. I can’t say Sarah Strohmeyer really goes for depth or anything groundbreaking, but for a light read, this was far from awful.
