Review: The View From the Top by Hillary Frank

I'll admit it - I was drawn to View From the Top by the shiny pretty cover. Sometimes I'm shallow. This book though is not. It's packed full of issues from unrequited love to going off to college to infidelity to self-harm. For a book only 232 pages long, it sure is full of really interesting characters who go through a lot.

Often when I booktalk or review I look for a hook, a 'this meets that' or 'action-packed page turner'. This book is just a well-written book, simple as that. Each chapter is told from a different perspective and often they feel like short stories, but each chapter builds on what the previous chapter has told us very cleverly so that you get a new perspective on a character or a situation.

The basic plot in a nutshell: it's the summer after highschool graduation, before everyone goes off to college or university and they're still trying to figure out who they're in love with, who they're not in love with, and where they're going. If it sounds simple, it is but with these characters everything is a lot more complicated than it seems.

If you're looking for good character studies, pick this up. If you feel like a bit of an outsider, pick this up. If you're in highschool, pick this up. I think you'll be able to see a bit of yourself in at least one of the characters.