MOSTLY GOOD GIRLS

Violet Tunis has always felt like second best, especially when she’s around her particularly smart, wealthy and beautiful best friend, Katie, who seems to effortlessly be the best at everything. Having been friends from the seventh grade (after a brief three-day period when they were "sworn enemies"), by their junior year at their tony Boston private school, Westfield, Violet has come to accept and admire Katie’s success. However, when Katie starts acting in a self-destructive manner by quitting crew, breaking Westfield’s rules and engaging in risky behavior with drugs and alcohol, Violet is torn between her loyalty to Katie and her own internal barometer of right and wrong.  Written as a series of notably short chapters, the names of which provide a fair amount of punch on their own ("Sophistry in Spanish class"), some sections feel abruptly staccato and underdeveloped. Although overall an enjoyable, light read, there are few surprises, and the pat ending leaves this text feeling flat. (Fiction. 14 & up)