So I haven't quite finished this book but I'll get there today, and I decided to just write my review now since I have a pretty good grasp on this book - over halfway through and the plot hasn't changed much from what was presented in the beginning, so I can pretty much guess how it's going to end. If anything does change my mind about it later, I'll update this review. Finished. That said...Anderson's niche is young adult novels about suburban, middle-class white girls with dysfunctional families and real-world, pressing issues. She is uncannily good at getting into the minds of this particular kind of adolescent girl, and she tends to present these characters as engaging and true-to-life, even (or especially) when they aren't exactly being the most sympathetic people at the time. And then there's Ashley Hannigan...Ashley Hannigan, a working-class girl with a part-time crappy retail job who somehow manages to come across as a spoiled whiny brat despite having almost nothing materially. How did she manage such a feat? Not sure, but after suffering through the 200-odd pages of her constantly whining and bitching and moaning and shitting on everyone else's attempts to give their lives hope and meaning, I was about ready to slap her. Her inner dialogue about her family was supposed to come across with a kind of good-natured, teasing gruffness, I guess, but instead it honestly read as hateful to me, like she genuinely thought all these nasty things about her family instead of exaggerating her embarrassment for comedic effect as teenagers tend to do. Literally all she does the entire novel is gripe and moan and be a total buzzkill. Ashley is a fun sponge, and furthermore she comes across as a huge bitch about it because it's obvious why all her friends care so much about having a nice prom - because they have NOTHING ELSE going for them. Ashley even acknowledges at several points in the book that she understands why prom is so important to her friends, particularly her best friend, and yet she still won't shut the fuck up and just spend a week (a week! not even a month!) helping them out with it. Then at the last second based on what another reviewer said (view spoiler)[I guess she changes her mind and decides to go after all and turns her life around or whatever. Okay. I could have done without the 200-ish pages of whine whine whine whine whiiiiinnneee that proceeded that. (hide spoiler)]
Ashley and Natalia are best friends. However, Ashley hates the prom and wouldn't be caught dead attending, while Natalia is queen of the prom committee. However, things change fast when the math teacher steals the prom fund, and Ashley is roped into organizing the alternate prom with no money to her name. I like the way Anderson writes in teenager-speak, from the first-person perspective of Ashley, a senior dating a former high school drop-out and falling into detentions without trying. I also enjoyed how the story took place in my own former backyard (Philadelphia, King of Prussia). It was refreshing to read a story about average, low middle class, urban teenagers who lived in simple homes without enough money for their own cars or even cell phones. Sometimes I think "suburbia" takes over young adult fiction. PROM was not life-changing, but it was humorous, down-to-earth, and just plain fun. I would recommend it to young adults who are looking for an easy read and a story they can relate to.Eerily, I have a few of things in common with Ashley. I worked at Chuck-E-Cheese for a summer and have a three-legged dog. And my high school had a non-prom in our school cafeteria- decorated by the students themselves (although not for lack of funds). The book also reminded me of my students. My cyber school students worked very hard last year to put on our school's very first prom, because, despite the lack of a school building, prom is quite simply a magical night, an important rite of passage, and a memory you want to be able to look back on.
What do You think about Prom (2006)?
The narrator of this novel, Ashley, is a self-proclaimed "normal" high school senior who has no desire to go to her prom. However, she gets roped into making the prom happen when her best friend and prom enthusiast, Nat, needs her help when a teacher steals the funding. Ashley is an average kid with average problems, but her wit and insight, along with an eccentric cast, really make this book shine. Don't be fooled by the girly title and cover, this is a book you don't want to miss. I've read it twice now, and its just entertaining.
—Morgan F
One of the few authors that I can recall from my YA days is Laurie Halse Anderson and her powerful novel - Speak. In an attempt to recapture the memories of my love of YA, I returned to Anderson and found her novel Prom to be a lighthearted but still very powerful follow-up. Prom follows Ash and her friends as they attempt to plan a prom after their Advisor is caught stealing from the prom fund. Ash is disconnected from her friends and her family and wants nothing to do with the prom, but by the end of the book, she has come to see the event for more than just a party, but as a time in her life she won't get back. I think one of the most powerful passages in this book comes when Ash must deal with her older boyfriend, and whether or not she wants to settle. A lot of my students, as well as myself, have been in a situation like that, and Anderson effortlessly transports us back to that place. The story may be predictable, and the characters might feel like recycles from previous novels, but the moments between them are real and relatable.
—Emily Gutierrez
Ashley Hannigan, a normal high school senior living just outside of Philadelphia, is not excited about the prom. Don't tell that to her mom, her aunts, or her next-door neighbor and best friend Nat, though -- they could not be more excited if they tried. Nat's on the prom committee, and everything is going well. That is, until Miss Crane, the prom committee chairperson, is busted for taking all the prom money. Just like that, it's all gone. No hotel, no food, no DJ, no security -- no prom. But Nat won't let that happen, and Ash is drawn into it, too. Follow the escapade of Nat, Ash, her deadbeat boyfriend, Nat's grandma who doesn't speak any English, as they do what they can to make prom happen against all odds.Laurie Halse Anderson is my favorite author (well, her and John Green), but I think Prom falls a little flat against what I expect from her. Maybe it's because there's nothing really edgy about this one -- it's simply the story of a normal teenage girl in a normal town with normal problems. Her family's not that well-off, but they're not dirt poor, either. They are all very. . .average. As is, I think, this book. Not bad, but not great, either.I recommend this book to high school girls especially. It's a quick read, and does provide a glimpse into a world that not everyone is privy to. Be aware that it is a bit different than most of Laurie Halse Anderson's books, and there might not be much crossover between those who enjoy this one and those who enjoy her others. Give this one a shot, though.
—Brian
