When I first heard about The Brittanys during a Reading Group Guide Book Speed Dating Event, it reminded me of my own little group of friends in high school, except we didn't all have the same name.
But that's the premise of Brittany Ackerman's first novel: a group of girls who are cool but not that popular at a Florida prep school and they all have the same name. The story is told through the eyes of only one of the Brittanys, and covers the whole gamut of teenage girlhood: boys, friendship drama, learning to drive a car, meeting parental expectations, boys, navigating the social hierarchy of high school, and boys.
What I Liked About this Book
At certain times, the main character's older self pops in and gives a more mature assessment of events or more details about what happened to another character after high school. I found that interesting, and I actually thought it might be leading up to something, like readers meeting the main character in the present and maybe something from her high school years has caught up with her. But that wasn't the case.
I highlighted certain passages in the book because there were times when I found myself nodding along with what the main character or another character was saying. My high school timeline doesn't exactly match up with the timeline of the Brittanys (I think I was already in college when this story is taking place, based on pop culture references), but some things about being a teenage girl will always be true.
What I Didn't Like
So even though the book's premise reminded me of my own friends (birthday balloons at school, thinking Jude Law is hot), the nitty-gritty of the book was NOT my teenage experience at all. Perhaps one day I'll just have to write that story.
I always have a hard time reading about teen girls who only want to impress boys with their looks and who slut-shame other girls while the boys get a pass. I'm sure my friends and I did the same thing because we didn't know better, but I sure hope that today's teen girls are being taught by their strong-ass moms to know better.
I also expected the story to be a little bit more or do a little bit more. If reading about the everyday shenanigans of a teenage girl sounds obnoxious, then you don't want to read this book.
The Brittanys is published by Vintage and comes out tomorrow, June 15, 2021. I received an e-ARC in exchange for a review.
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