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Mostly Good Girls

by Leila Sales (Goodreads Author)

3.52 of 5 stars 3.52 · rating details · 843 ratings · 189 reviews

The higher you aim, the farther you fall…. It’s Violet’s junior year at the Westfield School. She thought she’d be focusing on getting straight As, editing the lit mag, and figuring out how to talk to boys without choking on her own saliva. Instead, she’s just trying to hold it together in the face of cutthroat academics, her crush’s new girlfriend, and the sense that thin...more

Hardcover, 347 pages

Published October 5th 2010 by Simon Pulse

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Oct 08, 2011 Hayden Casey rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: people who read two books a year

Recommended to Hayden by: Terry DeBarger (although I wouldn't exactly say it was a "recommendation")

Shelves: a-travesty, dnf, doesnt-deserve-publication, doesnt-deserve-the-goodreads-rating, dreadfully-boring, expect-the-worst, gave-up, just-couldn-t-take-it-anymore, borrowed-it, funny, mega-sucky-cover, not-even-worth-a-star, they-cut-down-trees-for-this-sh-t, used-for-kindling, ★★★★★

Lauren Oliver called this book "brilliant" and "poignant." At this point, I'm seriously doubting her sanity. It's actually really funny how bad this book is.

The problem with this book isn't that it's stupid -- the problem is that it's stupid. The girls sit there during class and make lists of who is a virgin and who's not and how far they've gone. The first chapter (if you can even call what the book is written in "chapters") is a pointles five-page rant about a dumb teacher who went through col...more

15 likes · like · see review

Apr 14, 2012 Emma rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, disliked, fluff, romance

Ugh. Don't waste your time on this one. I'm serious, not worth it. Sit down, smile, and I shall tell you all my major peeves on Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales. Then you go decide if you still want to read it. 'Kay?

Peeve #5: I'm starting from the back, then you can come down to the worst peeve last! This one was the romance. It's worked up through the book, then KABOOM! You (view spoiler). Yep, it's sad. Honestly, the romance was the only redeeming fe...more Ugh. Don't waste your time on this one. I'm serious, not worth it. Sit down, smile, and I shall tell you all my major peeves on Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales. Then you go decide if you still want to read it. 'Kay?

Peeve #5: I'm starting from the back, then you can come down to the worst peeve last! This one was the romance. It's worked up through the book, then KABOOM! You (view spoiler). Yep, it's sad. Honestly, the romance was the only redeeming feature of this book, until... that.

Peeve #4: Dang Katy dang! She's Violet's best friend, by the way. The girl who scores a perfect PSAT score actually thinks that one person can drink a whole keg of beer, which is about 58.6738827 litres. Puts things into perspective for you? Figured. And so peeve #4 is kinda connected to peeve #3.

Peeve #3: The characters are... ... ... I have no words to describe them. Violet has such a simplistic and shallow mind, takes everything seriously, and has no sense of humour. The other supporting characters are so cliché they make me cringe. Did I mention I hate clichéd stories? I suppose Sales thought (view spoiler)

Peeve #2: I mean, who spends their time in class making a list on who's had sex or not? Maybe they're so smart that they don't need to listen in class, but judging from Violet's PSAT scores, she isn't. So stop writing and start listening already people! And I know this was said by a couple other reviewers, but why the hell would you want to devote a whole first chapter to a male teacher who, as far as could see, didn't serve much purpose in the book anyway? Weird.

PEEVE #1: We are finally here. Ha! Why, why did Leila Sales think that she was writing to a couple of 8-year-olds? I mean, the context was definitely not for that age group, but most of the time sounded like a immature little girl was talking. I will laugh if it's converted into an audio book, because it's going to sound completely ridiculous. 100%. I pity the person that'll need to read it.

And that's it! So if you like to read crappy fluff, try this. Don't expect too much. (less)

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Feb 18, 2012 Nina rated it 4 of 5 stars

I won Mostly Good Girls from Erica at The Book Cellar, and since she had rated it 5 stars and said it's one of her favorites I was very excited to read it. And even if Mostly Good Girls didn't make it all the way up to 5 stars for me, it was still an incredibly funny, cute and easy read, and I really enjoyed it.

This book is very character driven. Violet is such a great lead; just a normal teenage girl with normal teenage problems, but with a fun attitude that makes her an interesting narrator. S...more

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Mar 18, 2012 Sandra Lopez rated it 3 of 5 stars

It’s Violet’s junior year at the Westfield School. She thought she’d be focusing on getting straight As, editing the lit mag, and figuring out how to talk to boys without choking on her own saliva. Instead, she’s just trying to hold it together in the face of cutthroat academics, her crush’s new girlfriend, and the sense that things are going irreversibly wrong with her best friend, Katie.

When Katie starts making choices that Violet can’t even begin to fathom, Violet has no idea how to set thing...more It’s Violet’s junior year at the Westfield School. She thought she’d be focusing on getting straight As, editing the lit mag, and figuring out how to talk to boys without choking on her own saliva. Instead, she’s just trying to hold it together in the face of cutthroat academics, her crush’s new girlfriend, and the sense that things are going irreversibly wrong with her best friend, Katie.

When Katie starts making choices that Violet can’t even begin to fathom, Violet has no idea how to set things right between them. Westfield girls are trained for success—but how can Violet keep her junior year from being one huge, epic failure?

My thoughts: I liked it! Violet was someone I could really relate to, that is, if I were an ivy-league student attending a $250,000 a year all-girl private school, which would cost my parents every dime they had to pay (just like Violet's.) She was smart, ambitious, and studious; and she was not one of those girls who knew about clothes and make-up--she went as casual as could be. She was also rather clueless about boys with never knowing how to talk to them or even breathe the same air as them (we all feel that way, don't we?)

I also liked the friendship between Violet and Katie--true BFFs to the end. But then things start to change with Katie. Suddenly, she wants to drink, steal, blow off school, and even start dating some Starbucks loser like Martin. Seriously, what did she see in that guy? Ewe! I didn't like the riff this guy created between the two friends. But, luckily, Violet had problems of her own with trying to score the perfect grades, edit her school magazine, and get Scott Walsh to notice her. I did think she was a little too obsessed with that guy almost to the extent that it was just plain nutty. It was crazy how many times she thought the guy was "in love" with her and how she thought he was "god's gift to womankind." Oh, please. No guy is that great.

This is a clean YA novel (not dirty like that I want Candy book.) And, even though it's like 400 pages long, you get through it in practically one night. It may have been a little too clueless for my taste, but, overall, good. (less)

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Sep 13, 2011 Reynje rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2011, young-adult, contemp-or-realistic

[Book: Mostly Good Girls] was a bit of a charmer, really. When I took it out of the package (thanks Nomes!) it pretty much winked at me and flirted it's way to the top of my to-be-read pile.

And on the whole, it was worth it. It's an amusing, irreverent story told in snappy vignettes and anecdotes, which gradually become more cohesive and structured as the narrative progresses.

Violet's voice is endearing, and I definitely found it was her (sometimes unintentional) humour and clear characterisat...more

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Aug 11, 2011 Gemma rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

The most fitting title since 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.

Something about being 'mostly good' implies naughty. However, the girls in Mostly Good Girls are actually (wait for it) mostly good. They don't swear frequently, or sleep around, and they're not drug addicts or suicidal. No. They're good girls who do a couple of naughty things along the way, as do most of the other girls who attend their prep school.

As far as preppy rich girl books go, this one seemed the most realistic. I...more The most fitting title since 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.

Something about being 'mostly good' implies naughty. However, the girls in Mostly Good Girls are actually (wait for it) mostly good. They don't swear frequently, or sleep around, and they're not drug addicts or suicidal. No. They're good girls who do a couple of naughty things along the way, as do most of the other girls who attend their prep school.

As far as preppy rich girl books go, this one seemed the most realistic. I've read the Private books, where the boarding school setting seems to be in there just to get the parents out of the way, and the author decides to empahsize the girls' wealth and fortune by trying to cram as many name brands in as possible and adding in the cost with every one of the numerous outfit descriptions. School seems more like an optional pasttime that hardly takes any effort; everyone gets good grades and goes to Harvard, but nobody studies or does their homework.

No. Mostly Good Girls is not one of those books. Some of the girls have money, but they work for their grades. And the only name dropped was Harry Potter, once or twice. The author didn't feel the need to make her characters seem unrealisticly wealthy and/or privileged, gorgeous or brainy.

It was a good book. I feel like it was realistic. At first I was bothered, because there wasn't much of a storyline, but then, it seemed like an accurate portrayal of life. Most of us don't encounter murders and betrayals and the discovery of our birthfather every other day.

And it's funny. That's one of the better things about it; Mostly Good Girls is very humorous, due to Violet the narrator's sarcasm. She was funny, and her tone got across her personality pretty well. She was smart, but no genius, and she wasn't gorgeous and she wasn't popular and she didn't always know how to talk to boys, and the boys in the book didn't fall madly in love with her for no obvious reason. ((view spoiler)). I could relate to her. Her life made sense.

Overall, I would recommend this book to someone looking for something a bit more intelligent than the average Gossip Girl/Twilight wannabe novel out there.(less)

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Jun 11, 2011 Serena rated it 3 of 5 stars

There is no doubt that this book is packed with sarcastic humor and scathing observances of prep-school life. The vignette-style was one of the best parts, because a reader could jump around and read nearly any sketch, crack-up, and not miss an important detail to the plot. It wasn't until the end that the sketches began to connect into chapters and tell the story, so the first three-quarters of the book were snippets of Violet’s life full of humor and poking fun.

My problem with this book was it...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Lillie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc-galley, borrowed, reviewed-for-blog, ya, for-review, simon-and-schuster-and-imprints, readathons

My Review:
MOSTLY GOOD GIRLS takes an irreverant look at one girl's journey through an all-girls private high school. Violet has a very distinct voice that shines throughout the whole book, and had me smiling, laughing out loud, and covering my face with amusement. Luckily, I read it mostly in the privacy of my own room. However, there would have probably been some heavy duty recommending going on, if I had been reading this in public.

Leila Sales provides a deep look into Violet's life, but she d...more

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Dec 16, 2010 Nancy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Leila Sales is hilarious! She has given the voice inside my head a voice on the pages. She's also inspired the voice inside my head to be more clever. Not that I talk to myself or anything because that would be totally weird. Okay, maybe just a little.

Violet attends a pricey prep school where the expectations are to play by certain rules. Dress just so, be just so, and always, ALWAYS strive for success by doing your best. Katie is Violet's best friend. Katie is tired of playing the game. Katie w...more Leila Sales is hilarious! She has given the voice inside my head a voice on the pages. She's also inspired the voice inside my head to be more clever. Not that I talk to myself or anything because that would be totally weird. Okay, maybe just a little.

Violet attends a pricey prep school where the expectations are to play by certain rules. Dress just so, be just so, and always, ALWAYS strive for success by doing your best. Katie is Violet's best friend. Katie is tired of playing the game. Katie wants to feel validation for herself and who she is rather than following rules and adhering to expectations.

Truth is, I hit page 114 still waiting for the conflict or just to answer the question, "What is this book about?" On page 114, I realized that my face hurt. I couldn't stop smiling. The book was Seinfeld - a book about nothing but about everything and it was hilarious. The conflict came but I mostly enjoyed the parts where it was about nothing. As a good blogger knows, a good post is about nothing with a twist be it humor, meaning, or a dangling participle.

Hilarious.

There are mature themes incorporated into the story. Language is not always for mostly good girls. Kind of like watching Seinfeld reruns but knowing the punchline is inappropriate for your children's ears and having to mute while they discuss being sponge - worthy (although sex is only an innuendo in the book).

The chapters are short and succinct which only adds to the humor. One chapter is entitled, "Genevieve is anorexic." The evidence is laid out for the reader as Violet makes the case for Genevieve being anorexic. She's absent. She only drinks Diet Coke. Every couple of weeks she will make some gooey, creamy concoction, like tiramisu, and she will bring it into homeroom, and she will demand in a crazed tone that the rest of us eat it. "All of it!" she will shrill. "As much as you want! Help yourselves! Yum!" etc.

Two chapters later, "Genevieve is not anorexic." In its entirety:

"Genevieve was back in school today. Turns out she just had the flu and was too delirious with fever to let any of her friends know where she was.

"When she found out about the anorexic rumor, she got all indignant and went around complaining, I can't believe you thought I'd been hospitalized!" Though she also sounded a little proud to be so skinny that her classmates had mistaken her for being in advanced stages of a life-threatening eating disorder.

"Whatever, Genevieve. It was a totally rational assumption."

It still hurts. I'm still smiling.(less)

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Dec 09, 2010 Jessica Lawlor rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales tells the story of Violet Tunis, a junior at a private high school, the Westfield School. Violet has many goals for her all-important junior year including getting a perfect score on the PSAT, making her crush Scott fall for her, improving the school’s lit mag, which she’s editor of and more. Along the way, Violet wants to have fun with her best friend Katie.

Junior year isn’t what Violet thought it would be. School is HARD, her extracurriculars are time-consuming...more Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales tells the story of Violet Tunis, a junior at a private high school, the Westfield School. Violet has many goals for her all-important junior year including getting a perfect score on the PSAT, making her crush Scott fall for her, improving the school’s lit mag, which she’s editor of and more. Along the way, Violet wants to have fun with her best friend Katie.

Junior year isn’t what Violet thought it would be. School is HARD, her extracurriculars are time-consuming and Scott isn’t paying any attention to her. To make matters worse, Katie has gone and got herself an older boyfriend and her and Violet’s relationship is quickly taking a turn for the worse.

I couldn’t have been more excited when I learned I won this book from The Book Scout’s giveaway. I mean first of all, the title is amazing. The cover is super cute (I love those shoes!) and I knew the book was going to be great after chatting with Leila Sales during a WriteOnCon chat a few weeks ago. Needless to say, I had high hopes for this book and I was definitely not disappointed.

The best part about this book was how funny it was! During the WriteOnCon chat, Leila Sales mentioned that her agent pushed her to make sure that every page was funny. That tactic definitely worked because the humor was spot-on throughout the book. There are so many laugh out loud moments in Mostly Good Girls and there are other moments where the humor is more understated, but you’ll still notice and appreciate it.

Besides being super funny, every girl can relate to Violet and her friendship with Katie. We’ve all had that best friend that started to change and grow as we got older, even though we wished that it wouldn’t happen. We’ve all had friends that we’ve drifted apart from and I think Sales captured the emotions of those tumultuous times beautifully.

Violet was an incredible main character simply because she is so normal. There is nothing spectacular about Violet. She is your normal run of the mill teenager, just trying to make it through high school. She is both witty and adorable and a good friend to Katie, even when Katie wasn’t being such a good friend. Her intense loyalty to her friendship was admirable.

While the first half of the book moved at a slower pace, providing a lot of back story about Violet and Katie, the second half takes off with lots and lots of conflict. I actually enjoyed the first half of the book- while it moved slowly, I didn’t ever feel bored. Instead, I wanted to know more and more about Violet’s world. I wanted to be her friend too. I loved immersing myself in her head and learning more about her.

A great story about the up and downs and the many intricacies of the relationship between best friends.(less)

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Nov 29, 2010 Sara Grochowski rated it 5 of 5 stars

You could say MOSTLY GOOD GIRLS is about high school and its stresses. Or prep school. Or friendship. Or first loves. But I like to say that Leila Sales' debut novel is about growing up... the growing up that each and every one of does in high school, only more entaining and witty than our own lives.

Violet is definitely her own person, but most girls will relate to her in one way or another. She's competitive, stressed about school, often feels second best, can't help but compare herself to her...more

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Nov 15, 2010 K rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: library

I thought this was an enjoyable book pleasantly devoid of Big Drama. There’s no big angsty issue, or paranormal surprise, or rising up against oppression. It’s a story about best friends and how sometimes two people have to make a concerted effort to stay best friends.

Violet’s a junior in an all girls private school. She and Katie have been best friends since Violet transferred to Westfield. They do projects (harebrained schemes) together, keep half their wardrobes in the other’s closet, and eve...more

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Aug 26, 2010 Ev rated it 4 of 5 stars

I have read quite a few prep school based novels and all focused on devilishly mean rich girls and steamy romances. To be honest I was expecting the same thing from “Mostly Good Girls”. By looking at the cover itself I think anyone would. I was surprised to find this book to be different. The main focus is friendship between two girls, Violet and Katie and their struggles to live up to expectations of life and others. Written from Violet’s perspective we get to experience being not only a teenag...more

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Jun 05, 2010 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars Recommends it for: YA, Chick-lit lovers, good for tweens too

Recommended to Lisa by: Received ARC at Book Expo America

(This review is for an ARC)

Sixteen-year-old Violet Tunis is doing her best to juggle the academic, social and extracurricular stresses of her junior year at an elite prep school. Between snagging the attention of the boy she's been in love with for years and fighting to save the disintegrating friendship with her best friend, Violet's got her hands full.

Mostly Good Girls is a strong debut novel from Leila Sales. Violet and her best friend Katie are self-aware and funny, able to laugh at themsel...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Elizabeth rated it 2 of 5 stars

I really wanted to like this book. And there were some aspects that I definitely enjoyed. Many of the details about an all-girls prep school were dead-on (the obsession with male teachers, the competitiveness, the different types of students).
However, this was one of those dreaded best friend books. You know, stories told from the point of view of the dull (and frequently mousy) best friend. Katie was the one whose personality changed by the turmoil of her junior year, the one who struggled.
Sure...more

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Oct 05, 2011 Lauren rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

There were about 70 pages worth of plot in this 350-page novel, and yet I still found it to be quite engaging and worthy of my time. There was just enough voice and humor to get through the periods of lagging action. The quick pacing also helped -- when you're getting a new chapter every five pages or so, it's hard to complain that some of them are character anecdotes that either don't tie in or only tie in very loosely to the rest of the story. To put it simply, I like that this was published....more

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Sep 21, 2010 Erin rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book when I first picked it up. I will admit first and foremost that I, Erin, am a total cover-judger. I love this cover. Its very fashionista, which I am totally not, but secretly wish I could be so that's what initially, drew me in.
From the very first chapter I was caught off guard by how funny this book is. Katie and Violet are hilarious together and the conversations that they have are beyond comedic. Together they find themselves getting into more trou...more

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Jun 08, 2011 Elizabeth "Liza" rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary, ya

I have heard great things about this novel and I was a little disappointed by it. Maybe I am used to big drama in books about high school and 'Mostly Good Girls' was not about big drama. This novel is a come-of-age tale of Violet and how she deals with change.

Violet goes to a very small and exclusive all-girls school where everyone knows everyone and everything about each other. Where money and prestige talk more than grades or good behaviour. Violet is a good student, a good friend and a good...more

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Nov 29, 2010 Amanda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Mostly Good Girls is a hilarious book about two friends who are growing up and growing into who they each are, while struggling to make that mesh with who they have been to each other. It’s a pretty classic story of two friends growing up and realizing that they can still remain close while finding their own identities. Looking back, it’s easy to remember the friend you had in school when you were young and the plans made to have these parallel lives, how you could finish each others sentences a...more

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Nov 12, 2010 FreakChiq rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: pre-2011-release

If I could I would give this book a solid 3 stars and a big smiley face. It was funny, sappy and I could easily find my sixteen-year-old self in Violet. Especially the "get a ride home" fiasco sounded very, VERY familiar.

It’s crazy (and really funny, when you look back) how delusional teenage girls can be, when it comes to boys and what they might or might not think. The only thing I couldn’t quite relate to was Violet’s perspective on the whole knowledge topic. Knowledge was the essence for h...more

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Nov 12, 2011 Ellie rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. 11-7-11 1hr. 40min. Violet is obsessed with Scott Walsh, a boy who goes to the brother school of her expensive private school, Westfield. She is also obsessed with keeping her grades in the A range, like every girl at Westfield.
11-8-11 1hr. 30min. Violet's friend Hilary invites Scott and his friends to hang out one night with her, Violet, and Katie (Violet's best friend). They go out for ice cream and begin texting each other, trying to make the receiver of the message laugh.
11-9-11 1hr. 20min....more

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Oct 05, 2010 Tara rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: own

I was pleasantly surprised by Mostly Good Girls. I picked it up expecting a light, humorous read, which it definitely is. But it’s also so much more than that. There’s an undercurrent of teenage angst and confusion and all the stress that goes along with being sixteen years old.

Violet is a hilarious and witty character. There were plenty of moments during the course of the book where I literally burst out laughing at what she said or thought. She’s brilliant and lovable and she’s so…sixteen. Whi...more I was pleasantly surprised by Mostly Good Girls. I picked it up expecting a light, humorous read, which it definitely is. But it’s also so much more than that. There’s an undercurrent of teenage angst and confusion and all the stress that goes along with being sixteen years old.

Violet is a hilarious and witty character. There were plenty of moments during the course of the book where I literally burst out laughing at what she said or thought. She’s brilliant and lovable and she’s so…sixteen. Which is perfect because I can easily remember myself three years ago when I was sixteen and think, yeah, wow, I felt exactly like that. And Katie – I can easily see where she was coming from too, because my best friend went down the same path Katie did.

Leila Sales did a brilliant job at creating her characters and the world they existed in. I went to a small private school when I was in middle school, and I can see the similarities between my school and Westfield. Her writing style was effortless to get into. Her writing is amusing and real, much like her characters.

For the first half of the book, I kind of felt like not a lot was happening. There were a lot of hilarious moments and events, but the main story arc didn’t really occur until about halfway through. The beginning was mostly backstory, I guess? It was all build up to the main story arc. But that was okay because the first half of the book was really, truly funny. It was more of fly-on-the-wall view of Violet’s world and all the things that happen to her and how she feels about it. The second half that starts to get more serious and delve into the more deeper issues of being a teen. There was still the hilarity of the first half of the book, but it began to focus more on how people grow up and grow apart.

I really enjoyed Mostly Good Girls. It was extremely easy for me to relate to nearly everything that happened to Violet and around Violet. I had silly crushes on boys, I stil fail at cooking, I had issues with friends and their choices, and so it goes. The ending wrapped up a little too neatly in my opinion, but I think nearly anyone can read this book and be able to identify with the situations.

So yes! Definitely pick up a copy of this book. I really enjoyed it – it’s a great young adult debut, and I can’t wait to see more books from Leila Sales :)(less)

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Dec 09, 2012 Sarah M rated it 2 of 5 stars

Bestselling author, Lauren Oliver said Mostly Good Girls, by Leila Sales, was "Brilliant, poignant, and straight-up hilarious.” I agree and disagree. Readers are taken into success-driven Violet’s mind. Violet attends Westfield School, an all girls academy that has a reputation for being nothing but the best. Of course, everything from drama to GPA’s come into play, just like every other book about female young adults. I feel that Violet and her best friend Katie’s humor and sarcasm are the only...more Bestselling author, Lauren Oliver said Mostly Good Girls, by Leila Sales, was "Brilliant, poignant, and straight-up hilarious.” I agree and disagree. Readers are taken into success-driven Violet’s mind. Violet attends Westfield School, an all girls academy that has a reputation for being nothing but the best. Of course, everything from drama to GPA’s come into play, just like every other book about female young adults. I feel that Violet and her best friend Katie’s humor and sarcasm are the only things keeping the plot entertaining. I found the chapter titles to be quite funny, such as: “It’s a day party! We’re not invited,” “Like a triple date. Kind of” and, “Katie’s boyfriend (is probably not a serial killer)” (115, 53, 175).

But, humor in itself is just not enough to make a book a real page turner. The plot is used over and over again in countless novels. The main character and her best friend fight over a boy, get in trouble, argue, and eventually become friends once again. The whole first half of the book is simply sharing stories about Violet and Katie. While they were mildly laughable, I found myself wondering what the point was. Until page 175, it has no conflict except Katie scoring higher on her PSAT’s than Violet. Is this a big deal in their friendship? I don’t think so.

“Katie has gone and gotten herself a boyfriend. Just. Like. That” (175). That is how the conflict is introduced. Katie’s boyfriend, Martin, is the main reason Violet and Katie start to stray away from each other. So, the best friend does not like the boyfriend. I’ve heard this story a million times.

In a last ditch effort to save their friendship, Violet agrees to writing a parody of Westfield School for the school newspaper. Basically, everyone gets offended and Katie and Violet are forced to apologize. In the end, they realize they need to apologize not only to their class, but to each other for fighting over something that shouldn’t have torn them apart to begin with.

Overall, the story was cute but just too predictable for my likings. Obviously, in an all girl school, there’s going to be problems with drama.
(less)

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Dec 06, 2010 Lisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was a cute, light read. I've read other prep school novels where they seemed to be focused on the trouble students got in, the 'stuck-up' rich kids or the romances with the all boys school nearby. This had some of those aspects but it was mostly a book about friendship. I don't come across many of those books anymore. Sure there are elements of friendship in every novel but not many that focus purely on that.

I really enjoyed the author's character development of Violet and Katie. Both of t...more

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Dec 05, 2011 Bunker rated it 4 of 5 stars

Violet and Katie have been inseparable for years, but their junior year at their private, all-girls high school tests their bond. Privileged, smart, athletic, and beautiful, Katie lives a life and has successes that seem so effortless to Violet, who must work hard for every accomplishment. Despite their school's attempts to minimize academic competition by neither ranking students nor disclosing GPAs, junior year, the PSATs, and the looming college applications increase the stress these driven y...more

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Oct 23, 2010 Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books) rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-debut, ya, contemporary, humor, read-in-2010, own

Leila Sales is absolutely hilarious. Violet’s travails through prep school are refreshingly witty and unabashedly honest. Violet is the type of person that you can’t help but want to befriend. She’s kind, funny, and smart. She knows who she is and what she wants and she’s also completely loyal to her best friend Katie.

Violet and Katie go through a lot in their junior year. From Harry Potter tours to getting drunk for the first time, these two are the picture of best friends. Their ups and downs...more Leila Sales is absolutely hilarious. Violet’s travails through prep school are refreshingly witty and unabashedly honest. Violet is the type of person that you can’t help but want to befriend. She’s kind, funny, and smart. She knows who she is and what she wants and she’s also completely loyal to her best friend Katie.

Violet and Katie go through a lot in their junior year. From Harry Potter tours to getting drunk for the first time, these two are the picture of best friends. Their ups and downs are the backbone of the book, not their romantic adventures or the insane pressure from school. The two girls carry the story together, living, learning, and growing up.

Violet is well-developed and impossible not to like. Katie is almost the complete opposite of Violet, but they make quite the pair. Violet and Katie don’t interact too much with the male species, so when they do, it is more than amusing. That, and Violet’s obsession with Scott Walsh, the hottest boy at their brother school. Violet and Katie’s banter had me cracking up laughing and wishing I had been so witty in high school.

Mostly Good Girls
Opening line(s): Poor Mr. Thompson. Mr. Thompson is my precalc teacher, and he is also the only male at the Westfield School. ~ pg. 3

Favorite lines(there are so many to choose from – Here are two passages):
Half of me was like, I will say two words to these boys, and then I will obviously trip over a backpack and knock myself unconscious and be the laughingstock of the entire Westfield School.

But then the other half of me countered, Sometimes, you must take the bull by the horns! If there are boys in need of a school tour, then by God you must get your act together and go and give them that tour. You must make it happen. ~ pg. 212-213

And this one:

If I were Julia, I would have been like, “So sorry, family, the death of Grandpop is really sad – but I’m sure he would have wanted me to stay in Boston this holiday season, with Scott Walsh.” And the ghost of my grandfather would have appeared just to confirm, “Yes, my dear granddaughter. Stay with Scott Walsh. For he is God’s gift to womankind.” ~ pg. 245(less)

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Aug 04, 2011 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-really-liked

This book was so good. I don't usually read realistic teen fiction, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't want to read anything with a sugary romance like Meg Cabot, or over-the-top drama like Lurlene McDaniel. I grabbed this book because it was one of the only ones checked-in at the library during summer reading and I liked the cover. Inside was a refreshingly told story full of laugh-out-loud dialogue and completely realistic heartache. I swear, Leila Sales wrote scenarios straight out of...more

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Dec 27, 2011 Marisa rated it 4 of 5 stars

Review From: http://thewritingdancer.blogspot.com/...

Mostly Good Girls is a story about Violet Tunis, the ultimate overachiever. If I got a dollar every time she says "I have to study," I'd be rich. It was a light, quick read for me, and more at once it had me having laughing out loud. It was definitely the fun read I was expecting it to be.

I feel like every teenage girl would be able to relate to this book in some way. I know I did. Some of the things Violet did, or said, or felt, were just so...more Review From: http://thewritingdancer.blogspot.com/...

Mostly Good Girls is a story about Violet Tunis, the ultimate overachiever. If I got a dollar every time she says "I have to study," I'd be rich. It was a light, quick read for me, and more at once it had me having laughing out loud. It was definitely the fun read I was expecting it to be.

I feel like every teenage girl would be able to relate to this book in some way. I know I did. Some of the things Violet did, or said, or felt, were just so me. I loved her voice, it was witty and very casual, as though I was having a conversation with her. She was definitely annoying and judgmental, but I could relate to her on the respect that she puts way too much pressure on herself academically. I did feel like by the end Violet had grown and learned from her mistakes. And I loved her relationship with her best friend Katie. The two of them together produced some of the funniest scenes. Like, there's this one scene where they're having a sleepover and they try to get drunk, just to see what it would be like, and it was just so good.

It's easy for books set at private schools with rich kids to get unrealistic. But Mostly Good Girls is a realistic portrayal. Not necessarily concerning the actual school or the administration--but in how the students act. Their parents wealth may have bought them into the school, but they don't buy their children's grades. The girls have to work for them. And not all of them are even wealthy to begin with. So that entire aspect of the novel was done well.

While I liked the voice of the writing, sometimes I didn't really care for the way it was written, concerning chapter breaks. Sometimes it felt as though each chapter was it's own mini-story, and it didn't always flow as one coherent novel. There wasn't enough of a plot or storyline, it was more just a book documenting the life of an overachiever. There were points when I was just waiting for something more.

Bonus points for setting! Love when books are located in Massachusetts. And Leila Sales incorporated many common locations and events into the story. It just made me like the book that much more. Also, I liked that there was practically no romance in this novel, concerning the main character. That's so rare in young adult novels, and I'm glad this was just a story that focused on a girl in a coming-of-age type scenario.

Overall, Mostly Good Girls was a solid, light read. I feel like in some way, shape, or form, any teenage girl would be able to relate to this book. I wish there was some more substance to the plot, and it had more of an emotional pull on me. But it's a quick read that will have you laughing out loud, or at the very least cracking a smile.
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Feb 28, 2011 Jeff Raymond rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-own, read-ya-contemporary

I don't even know fully how to describe this. It's like Diary of a Wimpy Kid mixed with the Carter series in a private Boston all girls school. Sounds like a good idea at the time, right?

Either I've blocked out a lot of high school, or teenage girls are really vulgar. That's really all I could take out of this - privileged girls being catty and terrible to each other in only occasionally funny situations. Not really the best way to line things up.

Yeah, it's a story about friendship. About being...more

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Dec 01, 2010 Clementine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, ya, fiction

Violet's junior year is supposed to be full of SAT prep, lit magazine editing, learning how to talk to boys, and hanging out with her best friend Katie. But as the year progresses, Violet finds her world changing. She struggles with the pressures of her academic career at the exclusive and rigorous Westfield School. She laments the new girlfriend of her crush to end all crushes. Most of all, though, Violet worries about the growing distance between herself and Katie. As Katie's actions become mo...more

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About Leila Sales

Leila Sales grew up outside of Boston, Massachusetts. She graduated from the University of Chicago in 2006. Now she lives in Brooklyn, New York, and works in the mostly glamorous world of children's book publishing. Leila spends most of her time thinking about sleeping, kittens, dance parties, and stories that she wants to write.

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“Look, the light turns yellow before it turns red, so if you see a yellow light, you might want to consider slowing the hell down.” — 8 people liked it

“The next time some desperate parents beg me to take care of their children," I raged, sawing at my slice of chicken breast, "I will ask them for a full accounting of all the boxes of cereal in their pantry. And if they don't have at least three types of sugary cereal, then I will say no. No, I will not babysit for your whiny children in your cereal-deprived sham of a household.” — 2 people liked it

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