NOTES FROM THE TEENAGE UNDERGROUND

Seventeen-year-old Aussie Gem is a huge film fanatic. One summer, she and her two best friends—bawdy Mira and Lo, a cutter—decide to venture into the world of ’60s counter-culture and make an underground film qua Andy Warhol. When the girls have a falling-out over their script, their friendship begins to deteriorate. The apogee for the girls comes during a debauched party where events spin wildly out of control and lead to the eventual undoing of the trio. Through short, episodic chapters, Howell crafts a realistic story that female readers should relate to, specifically the turbulent and volatile nature of the girls and their friendship. Lo, Mira and Gem are sassy, whip-smart characters with interests in art, politics, literature and film—though beneath these erudite endeavors, the girls are superficial and unsteady. Gem comes to the realization that friendships may not last forever somewhat early in the narrative, foreshadowed by a comparison of Jean Negulesco’s “three girl plot.” A befitting contribution to the teen-literature market. (Fiction. YA)