Surviving High School

March 1, 2016
Vine star Pons crafts a high school novel with herself as protagonist. Lele Pons is your typical social media star: pretty, quirky, insecure, and sensitive. She stumbles her way through high school by day and carves out an Internet presence for herself by night. When her parents transfer her from a small Catholic school to a large Miami public school, conspicuously blonde Latina Lele makes the best of things, acquiring a black friend, a mean-white-girl enemy, and a pretty-white-boy crush. Lele does her best to balance her school life with her escalating Internet fandom, one that explodes over the course of the school year. Pons and co-author de la Cruz craft an unremarkable narrative; the characters are all fairly one-note, and nothing really dramatic ever happens. Crushes blossom and wither while friendships deepen, but a new spoke is never added to that tired wheel. Pons uses the quick wit developed by her Vines to move things forward at a remarkable pace, constantly sprinkling in silly asides--as well as hashtags, Webspeak, and references to her Rapunzel-like hair. She puts an inordinate emphasis on the value of physical attractiveness, financial gain, and fame. Lele wants to be a famous actress, emphasis on famous, with little interest in theater or the acting craft, which may play well to her fans but will alienate her fellow aspiring thespians. A by-the-numbers high school story with shallow characters and misplaced values. (Fiction. 12-15)

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June 1, 2016

Gr 10 Up-Vine star Pons, known for her six-second videos on the social media app, writes a semiautobiographical novel that only fans will love. Lele is new to a Miami high school where she does not fit in at first; she's goofy and awkward. Once her brand-new fame as a Vine star thrusts her into the popularity echelons of the social scene, Lele must grapple with faux friends and a new crush in between raves and celebrity parties. This frivolous book is not, as promised, about surviving high school but more about surviving short-lived fame at a young age. Lele, however, comes across as arrogant and unlikable; case in point: "My life is dope and I do dope things. People think I'm cool and want to be around me; I attract crowds like moths to a flame, I am in demand." Due to prolific cursing and sexual situations, this is best for mature teens. VERDICT Dangle this ego-filled carrot in front of reluctant readers and avid fans of the Latina social media guru.-Amanda C. Buschmann, Atascocita Middle School, Humble, TX

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