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What's the secret to surviving your freshman year of high school?
Emily Kessler thinks she has it all figured out. She eats, sleeps and trains for competitive swimming. All she has to do is keep her grades high and swim times short — short enough to live up to her sister Sara's. But walking the crowded maze of unfamiliar high school hallways is like diving headfirst into shark-infested waters. Shark #1: Dominique, her biggest competition on the swim team and all-around mean girl. Shark #2: The adorable and popular Ben Kale... Emily can't resist his smile no matter how hard she tries. When the pressure builds to the point where Emily isn't sure she can stay afloat, she begins to question the strict path her life has always followed.
Maybe there is more to life than studying and swimming. Maybe the secret to surviving high school is just to have a little fun.
The hit mobile game Surviving High School comes to life in an original novel about perfection, failure, and following your dreams.
Andreat78
Posted September 25, 2012
A story that's not particularly lengthy, but full of a wealth of emotion, Surviving High School is proof that size sometimes doesn't matter.
Surviving High School tricked me. When I saw that it was based on a game, and contains a mere two hundred, eleven pages, I thought it would be sort of a "fluff" book. A book that skims the surface, nice, but never digging too deep. Boy, was I wrong.
Surviving High School centers around Emily, a girl who is beginning high school in the shadow of her newly deceased sister. Since her sister, Sara's death, Emily has been pushed into her role: model student, perfect athlete, quiet daughter. She even eats and trains exactly like her sister did. The other girls on the team? They're not Emily's competition. She's competing against her sister's swim times. It doesn't help that her grieving father is also her swim coach. He pushes and punishes Emily to the very edge, not realizing what a loose grip she has. When Emily becomes involved with a boy from school, and realizes she wants a life outside of the pool and the constraints, she begins to unravel. How long will it takes her perfect life to fall completely apart? And does she even want to save it?
Surviving High School was very nicely written. The third person narrative, and the manner in which the story is told gave me the sense of watching the story unfold from above. Sometimes that doesn't work for me, but in this case it was nice. Emily's emotions were conveyed so simply, yet strong enough that I didn't feel disengaged.
I find it very interesting that the story, and subsequent series is based on a game. I'm curious as to how it plays out, and I may even buy it for myself. I would love to talk to someone who has actually played it. The next book in the series, How to Be a Star, is based on Emily's best friend Kimi, who is an absolute riot. I'm definitely interested in reading that book as well.
Surprisingly thoughtful and full of depth, yet fun, Surviving High School is a book that I can recommend to adults and teens.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.LillySS
Posted September 4, 2012
I found this book through the game (I play the Free version on my iPhone). At first I wasn't sure about diving into the world through a new character (Emily), but I was able to really relate to her. She's a sweet girl starting out at a new school as a high school freshman. She holds herself to really high expectations in everything that she does, from academics to her really aggressive training schedule--she's training to be an Olympic swimmer. The pressures on her are really deeply drawn: Her dad is her coach, her sister was on her way to breaking tons of records before she died in a terrible car crash. Emily feels like she needs to live up to her sister's reputation and in a sense, live for her sister now that she's gone.
You might expect a story like that to feel kind of bleak, but it was actually filled with excitement. I think this in large part thanks to the fun characters. Ben Kale, Emily's crush, is a party guy and prankster who isn't afraid of breaking the rules. Emily's best friend, Kimi, is super aware of popularity and has very unique ways of looking at high school, some of which include spreadsheets of how popular or dateable the guys are.
I really loved this book, particularly the ending. I cried when I played the episodes leading up to the novel (for anyone who hasn't played the game, the last few episodes chronologically before the start of the novel show Sara's life and the real story behind how she died) and I teared up at the end of this novel too.
I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next for Emily in the game! It was fun to see everyone from the game in the novel, and now I'm looking forward to seeing the characters from the novel back in the game to see what happens next in their story. I don't want to say any spoilers about the end of the book, so that's all I'll say.
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted January 14, 2013
I really loved this book! I finished it in about an hour and a half, but it was worth it! Cant wait for book two!!!!!!!!!!
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted December 23, 2012
This book was very addictive. I finished in around 2-3 hours. Emily Kessler and Ben Kale are a match made in heaven!! Plus the storyline really teaches about how you want to live your life. Since I'm a freshman in high school as well, I could see what Emily was going through.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 12, 2013
I love this book!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted April 1, 2013
Sample stops at Alicia walking up to the board. She writes he full name, Alicia perez. Thats actually Emily's teacher!!"
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 18, 2012
I love the book and app. Three words: best book ever!!! :)
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted October 7, 2012
THE best book I've read in my life, no lie! Every exciting WORD makes my heart pound. a MUST for anyone who luvs drama. Trust me, Worth EVERY penny. Great job, M. Doty!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted September 12, 2012
Its okay but its totally unrealistic. Not worth $10
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Wisterial
Posted September 4, 2012
Once I started, I couldn't put this book down! I enjoyed following Emily's story. She has a lot of heart, and I felt the author did a good job depicting realistic relationships with her friends and family. Her relationship with her father in particular is one that I could relate really well to; it's hard knowing that someone in your life loves you while they're simultaneously pushing you so that you'll do better in your life. I also found the storyline fascinating because it really gave me a glimpse into how an athlete would train and live. All in all, this is a really great book!
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Posted December 29, 2012
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Posted October 13, 2012
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Posted October 15, 2012
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Posted September 18, 2012
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Overview
What's the secret to surviving your freshman year of high school?
Emily Kessler thinks she has it all figured out. She eats, sleeps and trains for competitive swimming. All she has to do is keep her grades high and swim times short — short enough to live up to her sister Sara's. But walking the crowded maze of unfamiliar high school hallways is like diving headfirst into shark-infested waters. Shark #1: Dominique, her biggest competition on the swim team and all-around mean ...