Prom 
asked by radar on November 15, 2006 3:03 PM
Ages 12 and up. Who would have thought the author of the gritty classic Speak had a gift for comedy? Here she demonstrates her comedic talent in the warm and witty story of Ashley, who is definitely not a prom-type person, and her best friend Nat, who lives for the prom. When the math teacher disappears with the funds just eleven days before the dance, determined and organized Nat goes into high gear to find alternative ways to make the prom happen and drags an unwilling Ashley into the flurry of urgent details.
Ashley has enough problems in her life already, starting with the complexities of her crowded but loving working class family -- her extremely pregnant mother and her three exuberant and prom-crazy aunts, and her cab-driving father and three younger brothers, who think nothing of happily trashing the kitchen in a game of hot dog baseball. Then there's Mr. Gilroy, the evil vice principal of discipline, who has Ashley on endless detention, her awful job at EZ-CHEEZ-E, where she has trouble seeing the customers through the eyeholes of her rat costume, and her good-looking but lowlife boyfriend TJ, who wants her to join him in a future as depressing as the dank one-room apartment he has so proudly rented for them. Not to speak of Nat's loony grandmother, who wears her red bathing cap even when she's not doing the backstroke in a wading pool, babbles at Ashley in Russian, and spits on the floor to show her disapproval.
But in the end it's grandma with her skill at baking (pastries to bribe the custodians) and sewing (a magical prom dress) who saves both the prom and Ashley's belief in herself and her future in this delightful and heartfelt novel. --Patty Campbell
Reviews
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Prom
October 2006
I read Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson. The story takes place in a middle-lower class suburb of New Jersey. At Carceras high school where the population is racially divided, the prom is approaching. Miss Crane the math teacher took most of the money from the prom committee and the main character Ashley Hannigan comes from a lower, Caucasian family where they just get by enough. When they don't, her pregnant mother "fakes" a big contraction in the store. So Ashley gets dragged into the whole thing by her best friend Natalia. They have to come up with a plan to get enough money to save the prom. Then, they raised enough money to have a great party.
The book wasn't as exiting as I thought it would be. But it was a great book to read & funny at parts. I wasn't really able to feel like I was in the book because where a lot of people from around here come from, is very different than the book. We come from good educated schools, big houses; we have a curfew for our town. 98% of the senior class goes to college from the North shore, while only around 5%-10% of the people where Ashley lives go to college. The main conflict interested me because the real conflict was being involved with a group or a committee. I like joining groups to meet new people, so yes, it did interest me. The characters actually seemed real because there are people who are middle-lower class. Yes, I enjoyed the ending because there were cliff hangers throughout the book that were unanswered and the ending brought everything together. So then it all made sense to me.
The author uses the main character's voice. That's why it's told in first person. The author also uses vocabulary based upon an 18 year old high school girl. She uses some cursing here and there, talks about boys & girls in their grade or school that they either hate or love. You can tell by the tome that the author uses in her characters that the person is either; sad, happy, angry, annoyed, or exited. That was one of the things that impressed me was the dialogue and the way the author uses the tone. In my opinion, the author couldn't have done a better job.
I rate this book an 8.5 because it was good, but not one of my favorites. I would still recommend this book to girls and boys.
Prom was a very good book & was different from our life styles and other book I have read. I rated it an 8.5 and recommend it to boys and girls.
October 2006
I read Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson. The story takes place in a middle-lower class suburb of New Jersey. At Carceras high school where the population is racially divided, the prom is approaching. Miss Crane the math teacher took most of the money from the prom committee and the main character Ashley Hannigan comes from a lower, Caucasian family where they just get by enough. When they don't, her pregnant mother "fakes" a big contraction in the store. So Ashley gets dragged into the whole thing by her best friend Natalia. They have to come up with a plan to get enough money to save the prom. Then, they raised enough money to have a great party.
The book wasn't as exiting as I thought it would be. But it was a great book to read & funny at parts. I wasn't really able to feel like I was in the book because where a lot of people from around here come from, is very different than the book. We come from good educated schools, big houses; we have a curfew for our town. 98% of the senior class goes to college from the North shore, while only around 5%-10% of the people where Ashley lives go to college. The main conflict interested me because the real conflict was being involved with a group or a committee. I like joining groups to meet new people, so yes, it did interest me. The characters actually seemed real because there are people who are middle-lower class. Yes, I enjoyed the ending because there were cliff hangers throughout the book that were unanswered and the ending brought everything together. So then it all made sense to me.
The author uses the main character's voice. That's why it's told in first person. The author also uses vocabulary based upon an 18 year old high school girl. She uses some cursing here and there, talks about boys & girls in their grade or school that they either hate or love. You can tell by the tome that the author uses in her characters that the person is either; sad, happy, angry, annoyed, or exited. That was one of the things that impressed me was the dialogue and the way the author uses the tone. In my opinion, the author couldn't have done a better job.
I rate this book an 8.5 because it was good, but not one of my favorites. I would still recommend this book to girls and boys.
Prom was a very good book & was different from our life styles and other book I have read. I rated it an 8.5 and recommend it to boys and girls.
reviewed by bookworks on November 18, 2006 8:55 AM
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This is one of the best books I have ever read in my life.It is very funny and the author can write like she is a normal teenager very well.I recommend this book to any girl over 12 years old!There is some cussing and there is some mmature parts.
reviewed by pits on November 20, 2006 6:13 AM
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I think this book was well written. Even thought some parts of the book seamed shallow, it was a great book. Ashley is not the Prom going type of girl. However, her best friend Natalia is. When their math teacher steals all the prom money, Ashley pulls through for Natalia. In the end, they have a great prom. (At least for a gym prom...)
reviewed by iread on November 27, 2006 2:59 AM
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The things Ashley does may seem immoral at first, but that's the whole point of the story. She starts off as somebody who doesn't really care, somebody who can't quite stand up for the things she wants. But there is really a change in her character by the end.
Ashley goes to prom, which she worked her butt off organizing, even though the principal said she wasn't allowed to participate. It's not so much the breaking of the rules that should be looked at here, but the fact that Ashley stands up for herself.
Ashley wants condoms in the prom goodie bags because let's face it -- the kids in her school aren't all that aware of birth control. She STOPS the girl from "going down on" her boyfriend under the bleachers. She dumps her loser boyfriend. She ends up applying for a community college. She changes herself. Underneath her numerous detentions and library fines, she is a good kid.
Prom is not shallow. It's not as deep as Speak, but it's not shallow. It's a story of character evolvement, and I think Laurie Halse Anderson did a great job with it.
Ashley goes to prom, which she worked her butt off organizing, even though the principal said she wasn't allowed to participate. It's not so much the breaking of the rules that should be looked at here, but the fact that Ashley stands up for herself.
Ashley wants condoms in the prom goodie bags because let's face it -- the kids in her school aren't all that aware of birth control. She STOPS the girl from "going down on" her boyfriend under the bleachers. She dumps her loser boyfriend. She ends up applying for a community college. She changes herself. Underneath her numerous detentions and library fines, she is a good kid.
Prom is not shallow. It's not as deep as Speak, but it's not shallow. It's a story of character evolvement, and I think Laurie Halse Anderson did a great job with it.
reviewed by kmf on November 28, 2006 6:14 AM