Book Review: Smart Girls Get What They Want by Sarah Strohmeyer

Smart Girls Get What They Want
Author: Sarah Strohmeyer
Reading Level: YA
Genre: Contemporary
Release Date: June 26th 2012
Review Source: Balzer + Bray
Available: Amazon

Summary: (from goodreads) Gigi, Bea, and Neerja are best friends and total overachievers. Even if they aren’t the most popular girls in school, they aren’t too worried. They know their real lives will begin once they get to their Ivy League colleges. There will be ivy, and there will be cute guys in the libraries (hopefully with English accents)! But when an unexpected event shows them they’re missing out on the full high school experience, it’s time to come out of the honors lounge and into the spotlight. They make a pact: They will each take on their greatest challenge—and they will totally rock it.

 
Gigi decides to run for student rep, but she’ll have to get over her fear of public speaking—and go head-to-head with gorgeous California Will. Bea used to be one of the best skiers around, until she was derailed. It could be time for her to take the plunge again. And Neerja loves the drama club but always stayed behind the scenes—until now.

These friends are determined to show that smart girls get what they want—but that could mean getting way more attention than they ever bargained for....

This story is incredible I recommend it to all high schools girls. Especially the ones mentioned in this book. What a refreshingly amazing book. Again the cover is my favorite part since again I can picture the girl whose point of view i’m reading from as the girl in the cover. Have I mentioned how I love that!

The story is about three best friends, Bea, Neerja and Gigi who have been inseparable since Kindergarten. These girls are smart and have accomplished a lot academically only being in Tenth grade. They study hard, get good grades and are all in AP classes. But all that changes when Neerja’s sister is accepted to Princeton and it’s Neerja’s job to pack up all her belongings. When she finds her sister’s yearbook under her bed after Parad stated that she hadn’t received it, she looks inside and is shocked by what she finds, or in Parad’s case doesn’t find. This brings on a whole new perspective in the girls life as they have always looked up to Parad for being so intelligent.

This story teaches a lot of positive lessons and I loved reading about the girls and was disappointed when the story ended. I wanted to continue reading. I hope the author writes about all the others years in high school and the struggles these girls find to make it to their dream college. It’s a must read for all high school students, girls and boys alike. The characters in this story were amazingly developed and you will fall in love with each and everyone of them. Especially these girls! They are so different among each other but together they bring out the best in each other and I loved that. A strong bond among these three friends that no boy will break and it’s not something you see now-a-days.

We view the story in Gigi’s point of view. She’s a smart, chic and afraid of public speaking. That’s until she’s in the run for Student Body Rep due to a misunderstanding that can only be overwritten if she runs. But she has to go against the new gorgeous guy at school named Will.
Bea is this strong willed, smart mouthed overachiever who is in line to becoming an attorney like the rest of her family. After a ski accident that almost killed her brother, her parents banned skiing from the entire family, including Bea, whose a phenomenal skier. She is convinced to try out for the ski team at school and with the help of her friends, she breaks the news to her family but will they agree or disagree? Then there’s Neerja. She’s best friends with her extremely smart but dorky neighbor, Henry. She’s in love with Justin and has been for a while now but has not had to courage to tell him. That’s until Romeo and Juliet play starting casting actors. Nerrja’s dream was to be Juliet and Justin play Romeo but when she freaks out in the auditions, she lands the role of a prompter and she lands Justin as well. Neerja is as happy as she can be, she’s dating the guy she’s in love with and is set out to be the best prompter she can be. But when she sees that her relationship with Justin isn’t intellectual or exciting as she expects it to be, she’s drawn to a whole new guy who she never believed she would have fallen for.

What I loved most about this story is how Gigi went out of her way to do things with her best friends. After Bea decided it wasn’t a good idea to join the team, Gigi told her that she would join the team with her, although she hasn’t skied in years. When Neerja decided to audition for the play, Gigi told her that she would join the play with her, although Gigi is terrified of speaking publicly. Now that’s a true friend! It’s amazing how the author was able to capture these three girls and write a story that not only captivates you from the very beginning to the very end but also teaches a lesson in trust, loyalty and friendship.

I high recommend this story to EVERYONE!