Squad

January 1, 2019
A cheerleader loses her squad but discovers herself in MacCarthy's debut novel.For Jenna Watson, a junior on her high school's competitive cheer team, life is suddenly collapsing around her. After an incident at a party, Jenna's best friend, Raejean, replaced her with another girl on their squad. Without Raejean, she feels alone and left out by the rest of the team. Desperate pleas for Raejean's attention escalate into sabotage and, ultimately, an accident during competition that makes Jenna quit the team. Grief and loneliness take Jenna on an unexpected adventure, reconnect her with her single mom and goth brother, and help her find strength to move on. While the prose is unpolished, overall MacCarthy captures the raw emotions of heartache and betrayal. As a character, Jenna grows by accepting her anxiety and trusting that she will find a way to get back up when it knocks her down. Owning her mistakes sets her free. Jenna's romance with James, a transgender boy, models consent and open communication. As her relationship with James develops, Jenna seeks out information about trans experiences by researching on her own time rather than burdening him with intrusive questions. Aside from background characters the cast is predominantly white.Rough writing but still a story with appeal for its themes of overcoming insecurities and friendship drama. (Fiction. 14-18)

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March 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-Jenna Watson seems to have her high school life completely under control, until she wakes up one morning and feels like everything is different. She is a cheerleader on an elite squad that often gets to compete at Nationals; the squad is a talented group and the reason people attend athletic events. Suddenly, though, Jenna notices her best friend Raejean distancing herself from her, the other girls seem to ignore her or simply give her no attention. These feelings escalate until Jenna pulls a full on mean girl stunt right before a cheer competition, leaves the team, and isolates herself. Eventually, Jenna decides to reconnect and hang out with her brother, Jack and his artsy Goth friends for a little LARPing (Live Action Role Playing). Jenna is drawn into her character for the game and also finds herself thinking more and more about James, who is transgender. As she navigates this new version of herself, she begins to realize some of the repair needed in her life. Jenna's tale of finding herself is engaging, but some characters (like Jack and his friends) felt a little stereotypical and the brief romance with James felt rushed and undeveloped. VERDICT The story line has a lot of promise but the lack of development keeps it from being a better read. An additional purchase.-Megan Huenemann, Norris High School, Firth, NE

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