Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman

Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman
"Charlie Healy just wants a drama-free year, but it doesn't seem like she's going to get it. After surviving a middle school packed with mean girls, Charlie is ready to leave all that behind in high school. But then, on her very first day, she runs into her former best friend, Will, who moved away years ago. Now he's back, he's HOT, and he's popular. And he takes Charlie back into the danger zone of the popular crowd. But when a hazing prank goes wrong, Charlie has to decide where her loyalties lie."- summary from Amazon

First off, the summary is a bit off. The hazing prank doesn't actually happen until like 3/4ths through the book, so it is really more about her freshman year than this prank.

Anyway, this is a pretty good book. It's not an amazing book by any means, but it's decent enough. However, it feels like a debut novel with some flat characters that are either good or evil and it's easily made clear right when they're introduced.

As for the positives, Wiseman does do a good job with the interactions in high school and the social hierarchy, and how adults can sometimes look the other way and the reasons behind it. The book is also pretty funny and a quick read. It's also a satisfying read in regards to the ending, which made me happy because of how powerless I feel sometimes so it's nice to see something work out for the better.

The romance is a bit non-existant, and so it doesn't make sense when it happens but at the same time, it does. It's weird.

Overall, a good paperback read, which will be released Jan. 6. The hardcover is available now.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.