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Neighborhood Girls
When Wendy Boychuck’s father, a Chicago cop, was escorted from their property in handcuffs for his shady criminal practices, she knew her life would never be the same. Her father gets a years-long jail sentence, her family falls on hard times, and the whispers around town are impossible to ignore. If that wasn’t bad enough, she gets jumped walking home from a party one night. Wendy quickly realizes that in order to survive her father’s reputation, she’ll have to make one for herself.
Then Wendy meets Kenzie Quintana—a cigarette-smoking, Catholic-school-uniform-skirt-hiking alpha—and she knows that she’s met her savior. Kenzie can provide Wendy with the kind of armor a girl needs when she’s trying to outrun her father’s past. Add two more mean girls to the mix—Sapphire and Emily—and Wendy has found herself in Academy of the Sacred Heart’s most feared and revered clique. Makeover complete.
But complete is far from what Wendy feels. Instead, she faces the highs and lows of a vapid, toxic friendship, the exhaustion that comes with keeping up appearances, and the only loss that could hurt more than losing herself.
Then Wendy meets Kenzie Quintana—a cigarette-smoking, Catholic-school-uniform-skirt-hiking alpha—and she knows that she’s met her savior. Kenzie can provide Wendy with the kind of armor a girl needs when she’s trying to outrun her father’s past. Add two more mean girls to the mix—Sapphire and Emily—and Wendy has found herself in Academy of the Sacred Heart’s most feared and revered clique. Makeover complete.
But complete is far from what Wendy feels. Instead, she faces the highs and lows of a vapid, toxic friendship, the exhaustion that comes with keeping up appearances, and the only loss that could hurt more than losing herself.
368 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 12, 2017
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October 11, 2017
“The world breaks everyone and afterwards, many are strong in the broken places.” –Hemingway (and this is the book’s epigram)
“This [Chicago] was a city that beat inside me like blood.”-Wendy
(There might be a spoiler or two in here. I’ll try not to give too much away.) The author came to my YA class today; I know her and am a fan, but I also genuinely liked this book a lot. Jessie’s a former student in my teacher education program, and has been a high school English teacher for ten years. Her first book, The Carnival at Bray, which I loved, is set in Chicago and Bray, Ireland in the grunge rock nineties, and is a Printz Honor book. Neighborhood Girls is set only in Chicago, in a Catholic girls school in the Jefferson Park neighborhood on the north side, featuring Honors student Wendy Boychuck, who was named by her father after the Wendy in Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” The difficulty, which we learn about fairly early on, is that Wendy’s Dad, a former cop, is no longer living with the family; he’s in prison for his involvement in a torture case that echoes actual real events here.
Wendy seems like a canvas on which everyone adds their own paint. She’s not really that distinctive in her own right for much of the book, but after all, she is persona non grata, the daughter of a rogue cop. At one point one of her father’s victim’s daughter and a couple of guys beat her up, so she makes a decision to kind of leave her old life behind, make herself anew, choosing to leave her smart girl friends such as Alexis, and align herself with the mean popular girls in her small school, such as Kenzie, as a kind of protective mechanism. This aspect of the book feels to me fairly typical YA, about the need to make good and ethical choices. And Wendy, pretty passive, makes the wrong choices through a great majority of the book. She’s just us, she’s a normal girl faced with huge moral dilemmas about who and what she will align herself. As she says, “I’m not into anything. I mean, I’m into my schoolwork. Getting good grades. Getting a scholarship and getting the hell out of Chicago.” In order to truly grow up, Wendy (like Peter Pan’s Wendy) must be her own person, think and feel for herself, and Do the Right Thing, though: “The right thing is always the hardest thing.”
The thing that sings in the book for me is what sings in Bray, the great and distinctive writing of Foley that makes Chicago come alive. And it’s ultimately a kind of spiritual book, maybe even a Catholic one, though not super religious. I just read another Catholic one, The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene, which depicts a flawed priest who is forced to strip off the vestments of his material and religious life, to take on the cloak of humility, in order to get to the core of important spiritual values. This book is like that. Wendy, who uses popularity and a group of mean girls as her shield, must find another shield, her own moral commitments, signified by a tattoo of Our Lady of Lourdes, an image of which was also painted by her mother and is hung just above her locker. In this way Wendy aligns herself with her family and the aspects of religious tradition that make sense to her spiritually. Though she also aligns herself with her new age, Millennium Park Chicago-area Aunt Kathy, who hunts ghosts in old Chicago places. She’s painting herself anew using her own distinctive colors; not her Mom or Dad or anyone else.
There’s a range of belief here: the painting of Our Lady is known to have wept, after the death of a couple of Kathy’s friends, which is either a miracle or the runoff from a leaky air conditioner, you choose. What are your talismans, where are the emblems of your commitments? Her Dad, in prison, learns to paint. Aunt Kathy takes Wendy to the Chicago Art Institute. Alexis is a classical violinist. What kind of art will Wendy align herself with? Thanks to a boy, Tino, who becomes a love interest, who sports two tattoos, one of Michael Jordan, the other of Shakespeare, it increasingly becomes literature, and especially a book Tino gives her, Chicagoan Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, a romance that features a young (and pretty superficial) guy who changes profoundly when he falls in love.
Neighborhood Girls features lots of references to literature I appreciated: Pride and Prejudice, Othello, (Chicago’s) Native Son. Judas, Iago, figure in. I also laughed aloud several times, especially at the references to bodies, and the sometimes edgy language. I loved it as a Chicago book—“jagoff” is a Chicago word I learned when I moved here—and I love it that it features A Farewell to Arms, one of my favorite books. I like the fact that most of the characters speak like real people. I like the fact that it is a book about morality, religion, spirituality, a contemplation about the nature of belief, superstition, and even miracles—“Kissing is a miracle”—and redemption. I like the feel of the school in the book from teacher Foley. I like that activist nun Sister Dorothy and the teacher I see in the author Foley.
I like all the fun (and serious thought) she has with weeping paintings, which is a long Chicago tradition:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/lo...
Religious imagery in food:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/phot...
A link to a piece of writing from Foley about how the book got its start:
http://harperstacksblog.harpercollins...
This book does not focus on race, but it would be a good book to read in conjunction with The Hate U Give, which I also just read with my YA class and reviewed, and which also features a kind of suburban-urban class struggle with moral choices.
“This [Chicago] was a city that beat inside me like blood.”-Wendy
(There might be a spoiler or two in here. I’ll try not to give too much away.) The author came to my YA class today; I know her and am a fan, but I also genuinely liked this book a lot. Jessie’s a former student in my teacher education program, and has been a high school English teacher for ten years. Her first book, The Carnival at Bray, which I loved, is set in Chicago and Bray, Ireland in the grunge rock nineties, and is a Printz Honor book. Neighborhood Girls is set only in Chicago, in a Catholic girls school in the Jefferson Park neighborhood on the north side, featuring Honors student Wendy Boychuck, who was named by her father after the Wendy in Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run.” The difficulty, which we learn about fairly early on, is that Wendy’s Dad, a former cop, is no longer living with the family; he’s in prison for his involvement in a torture case that echoes actual real events here.
Wendy seems like a canvas on which everyone adds their own paint. She’s not really that distinctive in her own right for much of the book, but after all, she is persona non grata, the daughter of a rogue cop. At one point one of her father’s victim’s daughter and a couple of guys beat her up, so she makes a decision to kind of leave her old life behind, make herself anew, choosing to leave her smart girl friends such as Alexis, and align herself with the mean popular girls in her small school, such as Kenzie, as a kind of protective mechanism. This aspect of the book feels to me fairly typical YA, about the need to make good and ethical choices. And Wendy, pretty passive, makes the wrong choices through a great majority of the book. She’s just us, she’s a normal girl faced with huge moral dilemmas about who and what she will align herself. As she says, “I’m not into anything. I mean, I’m into my schoolwork. Getting good grades. Getting a scholarship and getting the hell out of Chicago.” In order to truly grow up, Wendy (like Peter Pan’s Wendy) must be her own person, think and feel for herself, and Do the Right Thing, though: “The right thing is always the hardest thing.”
The thing that sings in the book for me is what sings in Bray, the great and distinctive writing of Foley that makes Chicago come alive. And it’s ultimately a kind of spiritual book, maybe even a Catholic one, though not super religious. I just read another Catholic one, The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene, which depicts a flawed priest who is forced to strip off the vestments of his material and religious life, to take on the cloak of humility, in order to get to the core of important spiritual values. This book is like that. Wendy, who uses popularity and a group of mean girls as her shield, must find another shield, her own moral commitments, signified by a tattoo of Our Lady of Lourdes, an image of which was also painted by her mother and is hung just above her locker. In this way Wendy aligns herself with her family and the aspects of religious tradition that make sense to her spiritually. Though she also aligns herself with her new age, Millennium Park Chicago-area Aunt Kathy, who hunts ghosts in old Chicago places. She’s painting herself anew using her own distinctive colors; not her Mom or Dad or anyone else.
There’s a range of belief here: the painting of Our Lady is known to have wept, after the death of a couple of Kathy’s friends, which is either a miracle or the runoff from a leaky air conditioner, you choose. What are your talismans, where are the emblems of your commitments? Her Dad, in prison, learns to paint. Aunt Kathy takes Wendy to the Chicago Art Institute. Alexis is a classical violinist. What kind of art will Wendy align herself with? Thanks to a boy, Tino, who becomes a love interest, who sports two tattoos, one of Michael Jordan, the other of Shakespeare, it increasingly becomes literature, and especially a book Tino gives her, Chicagoan Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms, a romance that features a young (and pretty superficial) guy who changes profoundly when he falls in love.
Neighborhood Girls features lots of references to literature I appreciated: Pride and Prejudice, Othello, (Chicago’s) Native Son. Judas, Iago, figure in. I also laughed aloud several times, especially at the references to bodies, and the sometimes edgy language. I loved it as a Chicago book—“jagoff” is a Chicago word I learned when I moved here—and I love it that it features A Farewell to Arms, one of my favorite books. I like the fact that most of the characters speak like real people. I like the fact that it is a book about morality, religion, spirituality, a contemplation about the nature of belief, superstition, and even miracles—“Kissing is a miracle”—and redemption. I like the feel of the school in the book from teacher Foley. I like that activist nun Sister Dorothy and the teacher I see in the author Foley.
I like all the fun (and serious thought) she has with weeping paintings, which is a long Chicago tradition:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/lo...
Religious imagery in food:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/phot...
A link to a piece of writing from Foley about how the book got its start:
http://harperstacksblog.harpercollins...
This book does not focus on race, but it would be a good book to read in conjunction with The Hate U Give, which I also just read with my YA class and reviewed, and which also features a kind of suburban-urban class struggle with moral choices.
December 17, 2017
I'm not one for the whole catholic bad girl trope, or the whole mean girl storyline, so not my cup of tea coffee.
I was hoping for more of a game of wits in this book, but yeah, that didn't happen.
And it was pretty crude, not to mention some swearing here and there. Where are all the actual catholic girls in these schools in YA??? Beats me.
Overall, saying this book was a disappointment despite it's beautiful cover (which is why I picked it up, don't judge my bookish superficialness Xd) is a HUGE understatement.
So yeah, disappointing.
I was hoping for more of a game of wits in this book, but yeah, that didn't happen.
And it was pretty crude, not to mention some swearing here and there. Where are all the actual catholic girls in these schools in YA??? Beats me.
Overall, saying this book was a disappointment despite it's beautiful cover (which is why I picked it up, don't judge my bookish superficialness Xd) is a HUGE understatement.
So yeah, disappointing.
November 9, 2018
One theme that I found in Neighborhood Girls is "Treasure the people around you". It also reminds me to be grateful for the people around me. Sometimes I take my parents for granted. I forget that they could just leave me if they wanted to but they don't, and i am very thankful.
June 11, 2018
Do not miss this realistic contemporary YA gem! Neighborhood Girls is full of wit, charm, and empathy, written by an author who clearly knows working-class Chicago neighborhoods, Catholic girls' schools, and the ups-and-downs of teen cliques. Jessie Ann Foley's humor and warmth came though on every page; while I rooted for the protagonist, Wendy, searching for acceptance and protection after her police officer father's incarceration, I was really drawn to the antagonist--or maybe antihero?--Kenzie Quintana, the bad girl queen bee who Wendy befriends in an attempt to escape her painful past. Kenzie was brash, coarse, and occasionally "awful," as she's described pg. 87--and completely real to me. She reminded me of the cool girls I knew in middle and high school, the girls you walked on eggshells around and treated with a sort of terrible awe, yet who showed occasional moments of vulnerability and kindness, who you could never write off completely. This is a thoroughly engaging read, with a gripping and skillful narrative, pitch-perfect dialogue, and an ending that leaves you a little misty and totally satisfied.
Read
August 27, 2017The book's description on the back says there's a "touch" of "magical realism," and that's not true in the least. It's a straight contemporary YA. . . and one that, unfortunately, needed a really strong edit. It could have been great had it been better focused, with a character who was more than a lover of Dr Pepper and girl who had a reputation because of her father. Alexis's storyline and Kenzie, resident mean girl, has nothing to her except that.
We get so little of the issues surrounding her father's arrest and imprisonment and yet, we know as readers that THAT was a pivotal thing for Wendy. But the story is framed around her Catholic school's closure at the end of the year and barely touches on her father's acts upon her reputation.
It's weirdly uneven and while there are moments which certainly sing -- Foley really captures what it's like to be a girl who lives in one of Chicago's neighborhoods and dreams of something more than that place -- the bulk of the book left me wanting so much more.
We get so little of the issues surrounding her father's arrest and imprisonment and yet, we know as readers that THAT was a pivotal thing for Wendy. But the story is framed around her Catholic school's closure at the end of the year and barely touches on her father's acts upon her reputation.
It's weirdly uneven and while there are moments which certainly sing -- Foley really captures what it's like to be a girl who lives in one of Chicago's neighborhoods and dreams of something more than that place -- the bulk of the book left me wanting so much more.
May 19, 2021
Beautifully heartbreaking
A modern day tale of growing up and finding your place in high school. With all the hardships of friendships, family and loss.
I found the ending very sudden and anticlimactic unfortunately! Otherwise I would of given 5 stars
A modern day tale of growing up and finding your place in high school. With all the hardships of friendships, family and loss.
I found the ending very sudden and anticlimactic unfortunately! Otherwise I would of given 5 stars
September 16, 2017
I rated it 5 stars because it is a book I will read again, because I loved the location (Chicago), the characters, and especially that it really centered on a Catholic High School. Having grown up Catholic, and having attended Catholic grade school, and then college just outside Chicago, it was fun for me to reminisce about certain times in my own life as I read the book. I also just generally enjoyed the main character, as she seemed like someone I'd get along well with in real life. I also loved all the music and literature connections.
November 2, 2017
Neighborhood Girls is an unusual, interesting and emotional book. It tells the story of a girl Wendy, who lives with her mom in Chicago. Her dad was arrested for being violent with suspects while interrogating them. She has to survive without a dad and has to learn how to deal with a toxic friendship. This story isn't just a generic story about a girl friendship, it's so much more. The author makes each character relatable even in an unusual situation, even when you thought you couldn't relate to them (like Kenzie for instance).
Overall, this book is really detailed and interesting. I would recommend it if you like realistic fiction.
Overall, this book is really detailed and interesting. I would recommend it if you like realistic fiction.
August 24, 2017
Note: I read the uncorrected proof and not the final version.
The author did a great job of describing the angst that can sometimes be the life of a teenager. Issues from fitting in to bullying, love and forgiveness all made a debut in Foley's novel about a teen remaking her life on her own terms.
The author did a great job of describing the angst that can sometimes be the life of a teenager. Issues from fitting in to bullying, love and forgiveness all made a debut in Foley's novel about a teen remaking her life on her own terms.
Read
September 27, 2017Jessie is a friend, and this is a wonderful book for young women in particular. Everyone in high school struggles with peer pressure and this novel goes beyond the cliche to demonstrate how difficult it is to resist that pressure. It is definitely set in Chicago, but all can relate. It will be a gift to my granddaughter!
Read
November 18, 2017I really like Jessie Ann Foley's style. While I didn't love this at the level I loved Carnival at Bray (which captured the same time in the 90s that I first lived in Ireland), this was so so good. There's something very **human** in her characters, they're flawed and realistic and sympathetic.
January 2, 2018
A novel with particularly good dialogue.
January 10, 2019
I really liked the book it is a very sad though, and it is mostly about friendship but has a slight bit of romance and miracles in it anyways you should read it if you like that kind of stuff.
July 21, 2021
I'm pretty sure I read this two or three times, yet I remember little to nothing about this novel 🤭. welp, it is now on my list of "books I must reread".
June 2, 2025
This book made me realize how low my bar was for YA novels.
Realistic fiction is not a genre I gravitate towards often or really ever. I wouldn't have even read this book until my friend recommended it to me, and I'm very grateful she did.
Neighborhood Girls is nuanced and feels real in a way I haven't felt with other books. The characters are flawed - some even despicable - yet still so human. They feel like authentic high school girls instead of some caricature of them. Our main character Wendy is so interesting because of her unique POV. How often do we follow the child of a convict and actually delve into the conflicting emotions of having such loving memories with someone so awful?
I have mixed feelings about the ending and what seems to be the climax of this book.
I enjoyed this book nonetheless and will be looking into more realistic fiction - it's definitely better than many popular YA books these days.
Realistic fiction is not a genre I gravitate towards often or really ever. I wouldn't have even read this book until my friend recommended it to me, and I'm very grateful she did.
Neighborhood Girls is nuanced and feels real in a way I haven't felt with other books. The characters are flawed - some even despicable - yet still so human. They feel like authentic high school girls instead of some caricature of them. Our main character Wendy is so interesting because of her unique POV. How often do we follow the child of a convict and actually delve into the conflicting emotions of having such loving memories with someone so awful?
I have mixed feelings about the ending and what seems to be the climax of this book.
I enjoyed this book nonetheless and will be looking into more realistic fiction - it's definitely better than many popular YA books these days.
October 10, 2017
"I understood now that forgiveness was like letting go of a deep, long-held breath, or like stepping out into the city on the coldest day of the year. It didn't make you feel better. It just made you feel live."
This was recommended to me by a patron who comes into the library that I work at. She bugged me enough about this book until I picked it up. I'm glad that I listened to her because this has a great message. Just because you want your life to be perfect, doesn't mean that's how it will play out.
As we all know, I'm far from being religious. You have your views and I have my own, but I thought with the addition to Wendy going to a private Catholic school added a little bit more flare to her story. When she rebels and sticks up for what she believes in, it makes it that much more important. We all know that I was cheering her on with that tattoo.
What really drew me in was how Wendy's life dropped in an instant and she had to pick herself up and dust herself off. Her character grew so much from the beginning to the end and it was commendable. I enjoyed watching the growth as her life spiraled out of control. And I loved it even more when she overcame her issues.
There were a few things that dropped my rating down a bit. Her so called friends and how they communicated towards each other. At times, I wondered why anyone would hang out with bitches like that? But peer pressure can make us all do some horrible things.
Another thing was all the tiny side stories to go along with Wendy's life. There were a few too many and most of them get left up in the air and you're left to decide what happened.
And I think what happened to Wendy's friend was too harsh after all she's been through. Can't anyone catch a break?
The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places.
This was recommended to me by a patron who comes into the library that I work at. She bugged me enough about this book until I picked it up. I'm glad that I listened to her because this has a great message. Just because you want your life to be perfect, doesn't mean that's how it will play out.
As we all know, I'm far from being religious. You have your views and I have my own, but I thought with the addition to Wendy going to a private Catholic school added a little bit more flare to her story. When she rebels and sticks up for what she believes in, it makes it that much more important. We all know that I was cheering her on with that tattoo.
What really drew me in was how Wendy's life dropped in an instant and she had to pick herself up and dust herself off. Her character grew so much from the beginning to the end and it was commendable. I enjoyed watching the growth as her life spiraled out of control. And I loved it even more when she overcame her issues.
There were a few things that dropped my rating down a bit. Her so called friends and how they communicated towards each other. At times, I wondered why anyone would hang out with bitches like that? But peer pressure can make us all do some horrible things.
Another thing was all the tiny side stories to go along with Wendy's life. There were a few too many and most of them get left up in the air and you're left to decide what happened.
And I think what happened to Wendy's friend was too harsh after all she's been through. Can't anyone catch a break?
The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places.
October 3, 2017
I really enjoyed the author’s first book, Carnival at Bray, with its Irish romance and 90s music references. I was so glad that it was a Morris Finalist and a Printz Honor Book. This one focuses on the harsh realities of high school life in Chicago. Wendy’s dad, a former cop, gets arrested for torturing suspects in the interrogation room. (Similar events occurred IRL in Chicago a few years ago.) After that, her family loses their house and has to move into a cheap apartment in Jefferson Park. Her brother joins the military, so it’s just Wendy and her mom, a nurse who works long shifts to pay the bills. Wendy gets jumped by some girls on her way home from an 8th grade graduation party because one of the girls was a victim of Wendy’s father’s abuse. After that, Wendy decides to befriend the toughest girls at her Catholic high school to shield herself from any more unwanted attention related to her dad’s crimes. And so she finds herself part of a Heathers-like clique of mean girls led by ruthless Kenzie. Wendy distances herself from her former best friend Alexis, a nerdy gifted violinist destined for Julliard. After Alexis tattles on Kenzie for pulling a prank in gym class, Kenzie bullies Alexis relentlessly and smashes her violin to bits. For Wendy, it’s the last straw. She knows she must break away from Kenzie and her cruel ways.
I know this little corner of the world well. I went to a Catholic high school near Jefferson Park. I knew a lot of kids who lived in that area and had parents who were Chicago cops. The Polish deli where Wendy works captures the spirit of the neighborhood. A former teacher at Taft High School and Loyola Academy, Foley vividly describes both the Catholic all-girls school and the public school. I know what a JUG is, Jessie Ann Foley. My husband set a record for them at the Academy! I’ve never seen this area of our city, in all of its boring glory, brought to life. It warms my heart. It probably won’t surprise readers that Wendy finds a way to redeem herself. She also learns that there’s a life outside her neighborhood and finds romance with avid reader Tino. She even visits her dad and realizes that she still loves him, although of course she doesn’t condone any of the terrible crimes he committed. I did wonder why she never sought out any of her dad’s victims, but perhaps that’s another story. This is Wendy’s coming of age story and it provides a unique glimpse into life on Chicago’s northwest side.
Added thought 10/3/17: I'm very curious to see readers' reactions to this book in the year of The Hate U Give. Comparing the two books would make a very lively book discussion.
I know this little corner of the world well. I went to a Catholic high school near Jefferson Park. I knew a lot of kids who lived in that area and had parents who were Chicago cops. The Polish deli where Wendy works captures the spirit of the neighborhood. A former teacher at Taft High School and Loyola Academy, Foley vividly describes both the Catholic all-girls school and the public school. I know what a JUG is, Jessie Ann Foley. My husband set a record for them at the Academy! I’ve never seen this area of our city, in all of its boring glory, brought to life. It warms my heart. It probably won’t surprise readers that Wendy finds a way to redeem herself. She also learns that there’s a life outside her neighborhood and finds romance with avid reader Tino. She even visits her dad and realizes that she still loves him, although of course she doesn’t condone any of the terrible crimes he committed. I did wonder why she never sought out any of her dad’s victims, but perhaps that’s another story. This is Wendy’s coming of age story and it provides a unique glimpse into life on Chicago’s northwest side.
Added thought 10/3/17: I'm very curious to see readers' reactions to this book in the year of The Hate U Give. Comparing the two books would make a very lively book discussion.
May 24, 2017
After her father abuses his police privileges and ends up in prison, Wendy is attacked by a group of girls on the street and decides to reinvent herself the best way she can to become fearless. She ditches her best friend Alexis and befriends the popular clique at the Academy of the Sacred Heart. Kenzie, Emily, Sapphire, and Wendy attend the best parties, gossip about the latest fashion and boys, and ultimately rule over the remainder of their all girl school. They make fun of those less fortunate, including Alexis. When an incident involving Kenzie and Alexis gets out of hand, Wendy discovers a breaking point and slowly starts to drift away from the popular clique, but not all friendships result in a clean break.
This novel was basically Mean Girls (a little less on the mean part though) in a Catholic high school setting. The clique completed dares, regularly got in trouble with the nuns, and treated each other toxically through harsh words and backstabbing. It took a while for Wendy to separate herself from the clique, and she only managed to do so at the end.
One of the issues were the run-on sentences that could have easily been split in two. Another problem was that the novel kind of seemed all over the place with everything happening. The chapters where Wendy spent time with Aunt Kathy could have been condensed into one, and the passage where Wendy stupidly decides to wander out into a blizzard for a Dr. Pepper could have been removed.
I also would have liked to see a reconciliation between Wendy and Alexis, but instead they rarely interacted with one another after Wendy broke away from the clique. A big deal was made about Wendy reinventing herself so she wouldn’t be teased or bullied over her dad’s wrongdoings, but besides the first chapter explanation and a flashback, there wasn’t any teasing or bullying or comments besides one interaction in the past.
I enjoyed the mentions of saints decorating ASH’s halls. That was pleasant to read about regarding the ample descriptions.
I received an ARC of Neighborhood Girls from Edelweiss.
This novel was basically Mean Girls (a little less on the mean part though) in a Catholic high school setting. The clique completed dares, regularly got in trouble with the nuns, and treated each other toxically through harsh words and backstabbing. It took a while for Wendy to separate herself from the clique, and she only managed to do so at the end.
One of the issues were the run-on sentences that could have easily been split in two. Another problem was that the novel kind of seemed all over the place with everything happening. The chapters where Wendy spent time with Aunt Kathy could have been condensed into one, and the passage where Wendy stupidly decides to wander out into a blizzard for a Dr. Pepper could have been removed.
I also would have liked to see a reconciliation between Wendy and Alexis, but instead they rarely interacted with one another after Wendy broke away from the clique. A big deal was made about Wendy reinventing herself so she wouldn’t be teased or bullied over her dad’s wrongdoings, but besides the first chapter explanation and a flashback, there wasn’t any teasing or bullying or comments besides one interaction in the past.
I enjoyed the mentions of saints decorating ASH’s halls. That was pleasant to read about regarding the ample descriptions.
I received an ARC of Neighborhood Girls from Edelweiss.
November 7, 2017
I was pretty floored by how much I enjoyed this. Wendy's voice is SO strong, and her desire to re-make herself in the wake of the scandal that engulfs her family made her extremely relatable--even, or especially, when she makes choices that the reader might not agree with. The setting is practically its own character, and the generalizations Wendy made about Chicago and what living there is like really resonated with me, even though I grew up in the suburbs and not the city proper. Plus, the story itself is compelling. I hesitate to use the word 'breakneck,' but once I started reading I couldn't stop.
There are a handful of issues that keep this from being a five star book for me, namely the lack of real attention paid to the recent sentencing of Wendy's father. From the moment his crime was introduced--using his police authority to brutalize false confessions out of suspects--I was eager to see how its ripple effects would impact his family. Instead, they were barely explored except in flashback, which removed most of the emotional urgency from the present narrative. I was also incredibly infuriated by the death of a major secondary character, which seemed to serve no real purpose beyond extending the book another 40-50 pages.
Mis-handled tragedies aside, I'd still recommend NEIGHBORHOOD GIRLS for its depictions of friendships, and the ways in which friends can either build you into your best self or tear you down. completely. If you're looking for relationship-focused contemporary YA, then you should definitely give this a shot. But if you're looking for an issue-driven book, I'd probably recommend looking elsewhere.
There are a handful of issues that keep this from being a five star book for me, namely the lack of real attention paid to the recent sentencing of Wendy's father. From the moment his crime was introduced--using his police authority to brutalize false confessions out of suspects--I was eager to see how its ripple effects would impact his family. Instead, they were barely explored except in flashback, which removed most of the emotional urgency from the present narrative. I was also incredibly infuriated by the death of a major secondary character, which seemed to serve no real purpose beyond extending the book another 40-50 pages.
Mis-handled tragedies aside, I'd still recommend NEIGHBORHOOD GIRLS for its depictions of friendships, and the ways in which friends can either build you into your best self or tear you down. completely. If you're looking for relationship-focused contemporary YA, then you should definitely give this a shot. But if you're looking for an issue-driven book, I'd probably recommend looking elsewhere.
April 28, 2018
I received this as an eARC through Edelweiss.
Wendy Boychuck's story is one of endings and redemption. The school that all of the women in her family have attended will be closing at the end of the year. Her father is serving time in prison for crimes he committed while he was a police officer. His crimes have tarnished Wendy's name and she is constantly fighting against those who want to punish her for his actions. Wendy found the most basic girls in school, so she could have a surface level relationship with them and protect herself. These coping mechanisms are no longer working, when Wendy begins to reflect on her life with the closing of AHS. Wendy begins to take the steps to become the person she wants to be, instead of what she has become.
The writing, characters and overall development of this novel make it one of the few on my shortlist for this year's award winners. I was taken in by the realness of this story and character interactions. I found Wendy's adventures through Chicago to be something I want to replicate.
Wendy Boychuck's story is one of endings and redemption. The school that all of the women in her family have attended will be closing at the end of the year. Her father is serving time in prison for crimes he committed while he was a police officer. His crimes have tarnished Wendy's name and she is constantly fighting against those who want to punish her for his actions. Wendy found the most basic girls in school, so she could have a surface level relationship with them and protect herself. These coping mechanisms are no longer working, when Wendy begins to reflect on her life with the closing of AHS. Wendy begins to take the steps to become the person she wants to be, instead of what she has become.
The writing, characters and overall development of this novel make it one of the few on my shortlist for this year's award winners. I was taken in by the realness of this story and character interactions. I found Wendy's adventures through Chicago to be something I want to replicate.
March 3, 2021
I expected a lot more from this book, but unfortunately I was let down. The concept was there, but the execution lacked the punch that I was hoping for. It felt as though I was reading a book written in 2010 but in reality it was published in 2017. The way that the author was portraying high school was inaccurate to the time when this was actually published. The story was engaging though, and the ending even made me shed some tears, so I do still think it's worth the read, but definitely won't be making it into my favourites of 2021.
September 13, 2017
Kenzie belongs to the most respected and feared group of girls at the Academy of the Sacred Heart. Her best friend Wendy is feeling like a nobody since her father, a corrupt police officer is sentenced to prison. When Kenzie invites her to join the group, Wendy is elated. Thankyou Goodreads for this free book!!!!
November 9, 2020
I'm always so interested in Mean Girl Reform stories and I liked the different complications here. I was also interested to read a book from the POV of a character who actually likes her single-sex Catholic school since almost always YA characters do not like that. This is the kind of YA novel that can be a hard sell because it doesn't really have a good hook, it's just kind of a meandering realistic coming of age story with a dose of weepiness. But I liked it, and so will a certain kind of reader looking for this kind of thing.
October 31, 2017
I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. In the beginning I thought it was only about teenage girls who are mean to each other. Once I got into the book, however, I realized that the book was really about a teenage girl trying to deal with the harsh realities of her broken family life. At first I thought the main character was only a coward who refused to stand up to her friends, but then I saw how complicated her thought process was and how she was trying to protect herself. There are lots of twists and turns throughout the book and each one made me like the main character more and more. At the end I could see how much she had grown and how strong she was all along. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to root for a character to do the right thing.
January 14, 2018
The Carnival at Bray was one of my top ten favorite reads of 2015 so when I heard that Jessie Ann Foley was finally releasing her second novel, I was excited to read it. Neighborhood Girls did not disappoint. Foley packs a lot of plot in this 360 page book and it’s all riveting from start to finish. Wendy Boychuck (named for the Wendy in Springsteen’s Born to Run - oh, how I love Bruce Springsteen!) had a very normal Midwest upbringing - house in the suburbs, hardworking mom and dad, Catholic school, older brother, best friend. She was comfortable, knew what to expect from life from day to day. She took her life for granted. No one was more shocked than she when a group of police officers (family friends) pulled up to her house to arrest her father - her police officer father - for his extreme mistreatment of suspects. He was tried, found guilty, and imprisoned out of state, and Wendy’s life would never be the same. Big brother escaped to the military so now it’s just Mom and Wendy forced to deal with the reality Dad left behind. Their suburb of Chicago is a small neighborhood where everyone knows about the corrupt Boychuck cop. Wendy feels forced to find a way to reinvent herself to make her bulletproof against the judgment of others - especially after she is attacked (her deep, dark secret). She drops her longtime BFF, Alexis, without a word of explanation and becomes one of Queen Mean Girl, Kenzie’s, posse. Together, they are the terror of the school. Wendy achieves the armor she so desperately desired but at what expense? When Kenzie finally crosses the line, Wendy is forced to consider going back to being herself, which will mean defying Kenzie. Again, at what cost? Helping Wendy make her decision is her faith in Our Lady of Lourdes, her budding friendship (maybe more than friendship) with Tino, and her strong sense of what’s right (even though she hasn’t used that sense much lately). Readers will be rooting for Wendy to do the right thing. The ending will leave readers equally happy and devastated but also with that hopeful feeling that makes me so passionate about YA lit.
Check out the rest of my review on the LibrariansLitBooks blog! https://www.librarianslitbooks.com/si...
Check out the rest of my review on the LibrariansLitBooks blog! https://www.librarianslitbooks.com/si...
September 20, 2017
Oftentimes when I start reading a book, I don't like to read the description because I don't want to "spoil" myself on what the book is going to be about. So while I did read the description before I requested this book, by the time I actually got around to reading it, I had no clue what it was about. Which is exactly how I like it.
Wendy has had a tough life in recent years, and she hasn't exactly tried to make it any easier on herself. I think that there is so much character growth throughout this novel, not only with Wendy, but with a lot of the other characters as well.
Perhaps one of my favorite things about this book was the way that Jessie Ann Foley captures the strange ways that teenagers (and people in general, lets be honest) act. Sometimes its as if there is no reasoning behind certain decisions, but to whoever is making the decision, it just "feels" right. I can't even remember how many times I've thought something would be a great idea, only to look back or be told by someone else how stupid it was. It's just a part of life, but it is a part that Jessie Ann Foley captures in the most realistic way.
I am not a religious person, so the fact that religion plays a big part in the main character's life had me a little hesitant to read this. I don't really like it when things feel preachy, and like they are trying to push certain beliefs down your throat. A lot of this book takes place within a Catholic high school, and focuses around religious themes. But religion was handled so tastefully in this book, that I found myself almost forgetting it was even a factor.
Some of the pacing of this book felt a little off to me. At times, random stories or memories would be thrown into the main story arc, and it was a bit jarring, leaving me wondering how or why it fit into the overall arc. But overall, I enjoyed the story a lot, and give it 3.75/5 stars.
Wendy has had a tough life in recent years, and she hasn't exactly tried to make it any easier on herself. I think that there is so much character growth throughout this novel, not only with Wendy, but with a lot of the other characters as well.
Perhaps one of my favorite things about this book was the way that Jessie Ann Foley captures the strange ways that teenagers (and people in general, lets be honest) act. Sometimes its as if there is no reasoning behind certain decisions, but to whoever is making the decision, it just "feels" right. I can't even remember how many times I've thought something would be a great idea, only to look back or be told by someone else how stupid it was. It's just a part of life, but it is a part that Jessie Ann Foley captures in the most realistic way.
I am not a religious person, so the fact that religion plays a big part in the main character's life had me a little hesitant to read this. I don't really like it when things feel preachy, and like they are trying to push certain beliefs down your throat. A lot of this book takes place within a Catholic high school, and focuses around religious themes. But religion was handled so tastefully in this book, that I found myself almost forgetting it was even a factor.
Some of the pacing of this book felt a little off to me. At times, random stories or memories would be thrown into the main story arc, and it was a bit jarring, leaving me wondering how or why it fit into the overall arc. But overall, I enjoyed the story a lot, and give it 3.75/5 stars.
March 10, 2018
“Outside was the Bean and the Pritzker Pavillion, cold and steely in the snow, the blinking red march of cars down Lake Shore Drive, the gray line of water and then the dark nothingness of Lake Michigan’s horizon. It was hard to believe that this place of culture, of sophistication, of Miro and Matisse, was the same city I’d lived in all my life. Chicago was where I was born and raised, where my parents and grandparents were born and raised, where my great-grandfathers had slaughtered pigs in the stockyards a couple miles to the southwest. This was a city that beat inside me like blood, but in that moment, looking out at the park and the street and the water, I felt like I was seeing it for the first time.”
This was a shameless personal read for me. Because Chicago.
And yes, Chicago is one of the best characters in this book. As is the budget-deprived Catholic school that Wendy Boychuck and her friends attend.
Set against these developed and memorable backdrops are some interesting characters like Wendy’s dad, a disgraced cop, is in prison for torturing suspects. Wendy’s friend group includes Kenzie, a steely bad girl one step away from a residential home, and Wendy’s ex-friend, Alexis, a studious violinist.
As much as I loved the setting and the characters, the plot kind of sat above the story. In other words, for the careful attention to setting and character, I was expecting a much more subtle and open-ended story. Instead, I saw brisk character transformations and sudden flashes of insight that felt unearned.
Could I give this book 20 stars for setting and 3 stars for plot?
This was a shameless personal read for me. Because Chicago.
And yes, Chicago is one of the best characters in this book. As is the budget-deprived Catholic school that Wendy Boychuck and her friends attend.
Set against these developed and memorable backdrops are some interesting characters like Wendy’s dad, a disgraced cop, is in prison for torturing suspects. Wendy’s friend group includes Kenzie, a steely bad girl one step away from a residential home, and Wendy’s ex-friend, Alexis, a studious violinist.
As much as I loved the setting and the characters, the plot kind of sat above the story. In other words, for the careful attention to setting and character, I was expecting a much more subtle and open-ended story. Instead, I saw brisk character transformations and sudden flashes of insight that felt unearned.
Could I give this book 20 stars for setting and 3 stars for plot?
September 23, 2017
Although I didn't love this one as much as The Carnival at Bray (hard to compete with 90s grunge and Ireland!), Neighborhood Girls continues in Foley's same strong, observant voice.
Wendy Boychuck is trying to find herself after her father ruined her family's lives—the man she thought was a gruff-but-fair policeman turned out to be Chicago's most crooked cop. Her brother has left for the Navy, her mother is working herself to death to support them, and Wendy's aligned herself with her Catholic school's resident mean girls to protect herself.
Foley's writing continues to be raw and honest, whether it's about searching for little miracles in Catholicism and the world at large, or searching for meaning in a time where everything has turned upside down. I love her prose, and the way she's able to make the mundane seem magical. (Although the description says this book has tinges of magical realism, I disagree.)
There were a few quibbles I had with the plot—certain parts left me wanting more, certain parts seemed out of place until much later, certain things don't really get answered—but my sheer enjoyment of her writing makes this a solid 4 stars in my book.
Full review to come to FYA soon!
Wendy Boychuck is trying to find herself after her father ruined her family's lives—the man she thought was a gruff-but-fair policeman turned out to be Chicago's most crooked cop. Her brother has left for the Navy, her mother is working herself to death to support them, and Wendy's aligned herself with her Catholic school's resident mean girls to protect herself.
Foley's writing continues to be raw and honest, whether it's about searching for little miracles in Catholicism and the world at large, or searching for meaning in a time where everything has turned upside down. I love her prose, and the way she's able to make the mundane seem magical. (Although the description says this book has tinges of magical realism, I disagree.)
There were a few quibbles I had with the plot—certain parts left me wanting more, certain parts seemed out of place until much later, certain things don't really get answered—but my sheer enjoyment of her writing makes this a solid 4 stars in my book.
Full review to come to FYA soon!
January 25, 2018
Wendy Boychuck is friends with the three most popular girls at Chicago's Academy of the Sacred Heart, an all girls' Catholic school that is closing its doors after Wendy's junior year. Wendy's popularity provides her with a wall of protection after she is attacked walking home one night. Her attack was spurred by her father's conviction for crimes he committed as a cop. Wendy and her family were left reeling after her father was suddenly arrested and convicted for torture and abuse. Wendy decides to become friends with queen bee Kenzie Quintana and her friends Sapphire and Emily in an attempt to outrun her father's reputation by creating a reputation for herself. But when defiance and pranks become hateful and illegal, Wendy is caught between her facade and being true to herself.
Characters in this novel are realistic, and Wendy remains a likable character throughout the story even though she makes bad choices. The number of tragic events are definitely high, but the novel is overall compelling and relatable.
Characters in this novel are realistic, and Wendy remains a likable character throughout the story even though she makes bad choices. The number of tragic events are definitely high, but the novel is overall compelling and relatable.
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