Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here

May 2, 2016
After Scarlett's favorite TV show, Lycanthrope High, is canceled, the 15-year-old, who is deeply involved in an online fan-fiction community for the series, navigates her frustrations and real-life woes by creating a new spin-off story. She casts her nemesis, Ashley, as a robot drone and her crush, Gideon, as her love interest. Inevitably, worlds collide when Scarlett's fan fiction gets leaked, and she has to face up to reality. Scarlett's voice is smart and witty, laced with snarky pop-culture references and crackling one-liners à la Gilmore Girls ("Even after nine years of torture, though, Ashley's prettiness still stuns me like a manta ray... as if God designed her to provide a believable photo for catfishing people"). Like her beloved Lycanthrope High, Scarlett's story features a "diverse cast of wisecracking misfits" (Scarlett herself has a Jewish and Mexican background), respects its teenage audience, and perhaps cuts off too soon. As in Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, excerpts from Scarlett's fan fiction appear throughout, further highlighting the sharp-edged humor and questionable decision-making that make her such an entertaining narrator. Ages 12âup. Agent: Tina Wexler, ICM.

Starred review from February 1, 2016
A self-described "dorky virgin" from a crushingly boring Central Jersey suburb, Scarlett Epstein feels both socially inferior and intellectually superior to everyone around her. White, Jewish Scarlett's grown up eating subsidized lunches at school, and her mother cleans the bathrooms of other kids' houses, so the chip on her shoulder after years of slights is Montana-sized. She handles it by affecting an often hilarious, sarcastic distance, turning her hand-me-downs into an aesthetic choice, and liberally peppering her conversation with both popular and obscure cultural references. As a prominent member of a fandom obsessing over the recently canceled supernatural teen drama Lycanthrope High, Scarlett's social life mostly takes place online, and she uses her popular fan fiction series to process her feelings and experiences. Though her life is full of good people--her mother, her best friend, Avery, her delightfully vinegary neighbor Ruth--who hold up loving mirrors to her most judgmental, emotionally distancing impulses, Scarlett stubbornly sees herself as an underachieving loner with a uniquely sophisticated read on the world. Thanks in part to glimpses of her autobiographical fics, serialized within the main narrative, readers will quickly see what Scarlett doesn't: that she pushes people away, that her underachievement is a pose, that she's often thoughtlessly cruel and self-absorbed, and that's she's worth rooting for anyway. A sparkling, unabashedly feminist debut. (Fiction. 13-17)

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March 1, 2016

Gr 9 Up-High school junior Scarlett is heavily involved with the Lycanthrope High TV show's online fandom, writing fan fiction and live tweeting the show. In real life, she is mostly invisible, hanging out with her supersmart best friend, Avery, and her elderly neighbor Ruth. When her favorite show is canceled, Scarlett and her online friends are devastated. And then her real life starts falling apart. The teen begins writing new fanfic, set in the Lycanthrope High world but based on events and people in the real world. She does not paint the most flattering portraits of them, so when her writing is discovered by people in her school, there are serious consequences. The initial impression of the book is of a quippy, good-time read. But as Scarlett's life takes a dive, the tone darkens. Breslaw includes Scarlett's fanfic, which is engaging to read, especially when she is stymied and writing in terrible cliches. Unfortunately, while the inclusion of the protagonist's work and Tumblr-speak feels fresh, many of the main ideas do not: a smart, pretty girl hiding her light; a rough-around-the-edges single mom with a heart of gold; an absent dad with a perfect new family; and a mean girl who is not so mean. The book feels uneven and loses steam toward the end, but it is a quick read that is still enjoyable. An abundance of scenes with teens drinking casually make this title more appropriate for high schoolers. VERDICT A fine additional purchase.-Geri Diorio, Ridgefield Library, CT

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2016
Grades 10-1 When Lycanthrope High goes off the air, Scarlett loses more than just an hour of television. Deeply emotionally involved in the cult-hit show, Scarlett was one of its top fanfiction writers. Despite one good friend and one longtime crush IRL, Scarlett lives for her connection with fellow BNFs (Big Name Fans). Now, Scarlett is so devastated that even her fic-writer friends suggest she get a life. In response, Scarlett attempts to talk to her crush, Gideon, who was her childhood soul mate, and . . . it goes all wrong. Instead, Gideon ends up with mean girl Ashley. But Scarlett finds release for her frustrations in creating a new fiction featuring a callow lad, Gideon, who's accompanied by shapely automaton Ashbot. Scarlett is very funny, and her first-person narration is full of snappy literary and cultural references that will endear her to readers. But Breslaw doesn't allow her heroine to hide behind her wit. Eventually, Scarlett begins to truly see the pain and beauty of reality. A perfect match for fans of Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl (2013).(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)