A Match Made In High School [Paperback]

A MATCH MADE IN HIGH SCHOOL was not at all what I had expected, but it was still a really great debut novel! I feel that the summary from the back of the book fit the story pretty well, but it led me to make some assumptions that weren't at all true - which left me a little disappointed. However, the book did have a great plot line and satisfying ending - even if it wasn't what I had expected!

The premise of MATCH caught my attention from the first mention I heard of the novel. I've always been fascinated by the health classes in which students have to take an electronic baby home for the week... And I admit to daydreaming about an assignment in which my crush and I would have to raise a baby together and how much fun it would be. So Walker's novel in which guys and girls are paired and "married," for the entire school year, including having a job together and attending counseling sessions togethe, I was intrigued. And kind of amazed that Walker was the first YA author to sit down and write the story! :) After all, I'd been playing out a similar story in my head all through junior high! I'm happy to report, however, that Walker's version of the story was much better than the one in my head... and had a much better lessons to impart.

The aspect of MATCH that really stands out to me is the focus on stereotyping. In high school I was much like Fiona when it came to stereotyping.... and sometimes I still catch myself writing people off without getting to know them. The marriage assignment served as a great venue for Walker to focus on how often people don't get to know people, settling for just a glance at their exteriors without a second thought for their interior.

The only part of the novel that I didn't really love was the romantic elements. I understood why Fiona fell for the guy she ends up with, but I really didn't see any sparks flying. They are a good match, but I could have used more of something. It just lacked passion... There was another character that I liked as Fiona's match, if only for the dialogue between the two. They really didn't make much sense as a couple, but I really enjoyed their back and forth.

A MATCH MADE IN HIGH SCHOOL is definitely worth checking out! I really liked the premise of the novel - it was something that I could relate to - and I think Walker's story shed some light on how wrong stereotypes can be and how they can limit you. Also, I feel that I must add that this book was released in paperback, which means that it is relatively cheap! So go find it at the bookstore right away!

A Match Made in High School turned out a little differently than I expected. It was a fun, enjoyable read, but there were a lot of sub plots going on that were very important. A lot of my feelings on the characters changed throughout the book. You never knew who was suddenly going to turn nice or who was going to turn around and stab you in the back. I really enjoyed Fiona and Todd's pranks and it was fun trying to guess what they were going to cook up next. At first, when Todd did his first prank on Fiona, I wondered what she would do. I didn't know how she would react at all. I was pleasantly surprised to see Fiona's personality was a lot different than I originally suspected. She could totally stand up for herself! There were so many characters in the book I liked- Todd, Johnny, Sam, and even a bunch of the cheerleaders. On thing that disappointed me was that some of the characters kind of faded into the background- Sam, Fiona's parents, and even Gabe. The ending with Gabe was such a surprise! I'm really glad everything didn't turn out as I expected.

In addition to the characters I also really liked the plot. It was original and something that got me thinking about how kids at my school would react if we suddenly had to do this course. Probably about the same way Fiona's did. I don't think I could deal with being fake-married to someone for an entire year. The course seems like it almost consumes your whole life. Fiona was a super cool main character. Her narration was fresh, fun, and humorous. Her pranks and jokes were fun to read about and her descriptions of everything were really fun. Kristin Walker created a fabulous main character who I would love to read more books about.

Finally, every high schooler should read this book. It shows that anything is possible and not to judge someone from the outside. Also, how what a different a year makes. So much of Fiona's life changed in such short amount of time. She faced losing friends, protesting parents, angry guidance counselors, cute boys, mean boys, surprising girls, and everything in between.


Rating;

Plot: 9/10

Characters: 9.5/10

Ending: 9/10

Enjoyment: 9/10

Cover: 9/10

Overall: 45.5/50=91%

Seventeen-year-old Fiona, along with all the other seniors of East Columbus High School, is outraged when the principle and guidance counselor announce that their participation in a new marriage-education class is mandatory for graduation. Each senior is paired up with a fake marriage partner not of their choosing for the entire school year. They are forced to earn money together, do a budget, participate in a social activity, figure out together how to solve randomly assigned life problems, and meet weekly for marriage counseling with the guidance counselor. Fiona's best friend Marcie doesn't come off too badly. She's paired with the music-mad Johnny Mercer who is a gentle giant and extremely funny. No such luck for Fiona. Not only didn't she get paired with the one guy that would have made this whole exercise worth doing, her long-time, unrequited crush, Gabe, but to add insult on injury, Gabe is placed with Fiona's biggest enemy. Amanda is a beautiful, arrogant cheerleader who's been calling Fiona Princess Pee Pants ever since she wet her pants in public in second grade. And to make matters as bad as possible, Fiona is matched with Amanda's jock boyfriend, Todd, who plays pranks on Fiona that make Amanda's taunts over the years look like friendly hugs. But Fiona doesn't take Todd's inciting actions lying down. She pranks him right back, and the war is on.

This book is repeatedly laugh-out-loud funny. Fiona is a strong, determined heroine, and her sparring with Todd is hilarious. In the midst of the humor, though, is a compelling coming-of-age story line as Fiona learns, through her travails with the marriage-education course, a great deal about her friends, her enemies, and herself that she never realized before.

This is Kristin Walker's debut novel, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next! For those who enjoy this book, I recommend several other YA romantic comedies, including The Oracle of Dating by Allison van Diepen and Tina Ferraro's The ABC's of Kissing Boys, How to Hook a Hottie, and Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress.

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