- Hardcover: 208 pages
- Publisher: FSG Kids (Nov 4 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0374329125
- ISBN-13: 978-0374329129
- Product Dimensions: 21.4 x 14.8 x 2 cm
- Shipping Weight: 340 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #993,691 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Review
“The book takes place at an élite prep school, a haven for the children of the rich, but there the similarity to “Gossip Girl” ends; “Headlong” is a closely observed tale of a privileged girl beginning to perceive the constraints of her background, who channels her restlessness into a friendship with an emotionally elusive free spirit.” —The New Yorker's Book Bench Blog
v“Besides reliably recreating the dynamics of teen-girl friendship, Koja (Kissing the Bee) relays this story with her usual insight and, through her lightning-fast characterizations, an ability to project multiple perspectives simultaneously.” —Starred, Publishers Weekly
“This is an excellent character study . . . and an in-depth look at how real friendships demand a soul-searching dive beneath the nature of one’s own feelings while trying to understand the complexity of another’s.” —School Library Journal
“This lovely story portrays friendship—what it is and what it is not. Many teen girls will wish themselves into this book.” —VOYA
“Koja is one of the treasures of fiction, and of young adult fiction especially.” —Cory Doctorow, author of Little Brother, on boingboing.net
“Boarding school stories may not be a rarity, but one that sounds the prep-school caste system with such probity certainly is.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“An engaging, haunting novel.” —Kliatt
“Anyone who has had to make a tough, possibly life-altering decision can relate to Lily’s character and the pressure she feels from the people around her.” —ALAN’s Online Picks
“Koja creates compelling, nuanced characters.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Teen girls passing through a tentative dark and edgy phase will dive in and claim this book as their own.” —Booklist
Product Description
What sets Vaughn apart is the quality of our girls. We do draw from all over, girls from every kind of background, girls for whom Vaughn is a major life experience. And not every girl is the right girl for Vaughn. You can often tell, early on, who these girls are.
The Vaughn School. Home of domed ceilings, gleaming checkerboard floors, and the Vaughn Virgins: the upper stratum of girls who have perfect grades, perfect lives, and perfect friends. Lily Noble is a lifer – she knows all the rules. Then sophomore year, Hazel Tobias arrives as a scholarship student, with her model’s looks and unconventional family, and shows Lily everything she’s been missing. Can you ever fit in someplace you don’t want to be? As Lily befriends Hazel, both girls discover what it means to dive deep beneath the surface – of friendship, of commitment – and to live life with all their hearts, with all they are, headlong.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too,
By TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Headlong (Hardcover)
Lily Noble has been attending the Vaughn School since pre-K as a day student. She has been discontent with her life there. To try to appease her, Lily's parents decide to let Lily be a boarder at school sophomore year. Thinking the change will help Lily's restlessness, Lily moves into the dorm. She is stuck with a roommate that has severe allergies and is overwhelmed with the pressures of life at Vaughn.
Lily notices the new girl, Hazel Tobias, in her Lit class. Hazel speaks out to the teacher in an argumentative tone, something Lily would never think to do. One evening while Lily is hanging out with her friends, Hazel approaches her, looking for a cigarette. When Lily encounters Hazel alone late at night in the dorm common room, the two start a hesitant conversation. From that one conversation, the two form a friendship that the rest of Lily's friends can't comprehend. Lily has gone through the motions of life at Vaughn. Even before Hazel's arrival, Lily was dissatisfied with her current situation. Her mom went to Vaughn and her dad never said much about her schooling. But once she gets to know Hazel, as much as Hazel will let her in, Lily starts to define herself. She questions her relationship with her boyfriend. She confronts her so-called friends. She changes her accessories. Hazel doesn't want to be there, but on the surface, she seems to embrace the world that is Vaughn. But when Lily goes home with Hazel on Christmas break, she gains more insight into who Hazel really is. The book unfolds during the course of the girls' sophomore year. Jumping back and forth from the end of the term to the current month, the reader gets a glimpse of the struggles going on in Lily's head. The reader has to wonder if the changes Lily goes through happened because of Hazel or simply coincided with her arrival. Reviewed by: Jaglvr
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.0 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews) 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good story,
By Kelly H - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Headlong (Hardcover)
Summary: Lily Noble has always gone to private school. In her sophomore year, a misfit named Hazel shows up and makes Lily rethink the way she's been doing things her whole life.
Review: The back-and-forth nature of this book took a little time for me to get used to. The chapters alternate between snippets from the beginning of the school year and the end of the year. A few times, I got confused about whether it was a "later" chapter or a "before" chapter, but I chalk that up to my own work-induced lack of sleep during the week I was reading this one. I liked that this book doesn't hit you over the head with what Lily's feeling. You have to work out on your own what's going on with her. I also liked how Lily--who's always just gone with the flow--finally changes course and questions the ways of her affluent world. Not a standout for me, but still an enjoyable read. 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too,
By TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Headlong (Hardcover)
Lily Noble has been attending the Vaughn School since pre-K as a day student. She has been discontent with her life there. To try to appease her, Lily's parents decide to let Lily be a boarder at school sophomore year. Thinking the change will help Lily's restlessness, Lily moves into the dorm. She is stuck with a roommate that has severe allergies and is overwhelmed with the pressures of life at Vaughn.
Lily notices the new girl, Hazel Tobias, in her Lit class. Hazel speaks out to the teacher in an argumentative tone, something Lily would never think to do. One evening while Lily is hanging out with her friends, Hazel approaches her, looking for a cigarette. When Lily encounters Hazel alone late at night in the dorm common room, the two start a hesitant conversation. From that one conversation, the two form a friendship that the rest of Lily's friends can't comprehend. Lily has gone through the motions of life at Vaughn. Even before Hazel's arrival, Lily was dissatisfied with her current situation. Her mom went to Vaughn and her dad never said much about her schooling. But once she gets to know Hazel, as much as Hazel will let her in, Lily starts to define herself. She questions her relationship with her boyfriend. She confronts her so-called friends. She changes her accessories. Hazel doesn't want to be there, but on the surface, she seems to embrace the world that is Vaughn. But when Lily goes home with Hazel on Christmas break, she gains more insight into who Hazel really is. The book unfolds during the course of the girls' sophomore year. Jumping back and forth from the end of the term to the current month, the reader gets a glimpse of the struggles going on in Lily's head. The reader has to wonder if the changes Lily goes through happened because of Hazel or simply coincided with her arrival. Reviewed by: Jaglvr
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not Your Typical Boarding School Novel,
By E. Kristin Anderson "EKAnderson" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Headlong (Hardcover)
Not your typical boarding school tale of hook-ups and hijinx, Headlong is the story of Lily Noble, a lifer at Vaughn - a school known for its "Vaughn Virgin" social elite. Lily has always fit in with the girls at school - the pretty ones with perfect grades and wealthy families. But then Hazel comes to Vaughn on scholarship, bringing her alternative family, her hot cherry licorice, and punk-rock style. Soon Lily is drifting away from her old friends, and as she spends more time with Hazel, she comes to realize she's never truly known herself.This coming of age story will surprise you, with characters as malleable and honest as real teenagers, and poetic writing perfectly in touch with the experience of finding one's identity. Headlong will stay with you long after you've put the book down, and it is an absolutely worthwhile experience. |
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
