Surviving High School by Lele Pons is one of the most difficult books I have had to review to date.
The whole story is written by the perspective of Lele. Although Lele Pons is apparently a big internet personality via her astonishing and record breaking success on the Vine platform, I had never heard of her or of the Vine. To make matters worse, we are told that this volume, although closely linked to Lele's rise on the Vine, is not an auto-biography but rather a fictional one, which means that at the end of it all I could not really understand what I had read or why. Was I getting a glimpse into the world of Lele and getting an accurate idea of who she is as a person or was this all fiction? I still do not have an answer to this fundamental question.
This book presents Lele as a 16/17 year-old sensible catholic girl from Venezuela who was made to move to Miami and attend a much larger/cosmopolitan high school in an attempt to broaden her interpersonal skills.
Lele has been brought up by very open and supportive parents who taught her to be herself and embrace her own uniqueness. Her unique traits did remind me of my own situation growing up; I was bright, yet not academic; I was different from my peers; I had difficulties expressing myself verbally; I had a very heightened sense of fairness and justice, and to top it all off I was clumsy. Lele had to develop other ways to express herself, and in particular she learnt to make fun of herself. At the same time she was lucky in that this new social media platform, the Vine, gave her an outlet to express herself.
I also fully understood and smiled at many references to being of Latin origin - the reference to Gasolina and the soap operas cracked me up, even though I am Italian rather than Venezuelan and Lele and I are nowhere near the same age group. By a long shot - seriously, I could literally and amply be her mum!
**A ella le gusta la gasolina. (Dame mas gasolina!) Como le encanta la gasolina (Dame mas gasolina!)**
The writing style is individual and comes across as honest. Yet we are told this is a fictional piece. I just could not figure our what to make of this tome. I kept asking myself what I was actually getting out of it.
Although some bits were entertaining on a very personal level, on many other occasions Lele came across as a rather spoilt child. But then again .... she is meant to be 17, hence it is hardly surprising.
With regard to the title, Surviving High School, this is in no way intended to be an advice manual on HOW to survive high school at all. This is a fictional biographical account of what Lele faced in her first year at a new high school, new found fame and how she coped with it. It is all about her struggles, insecurities (yep, if you have seen Lele you will know that she is gorgeous, yet she did not seem to know that for quite some time) and her own personal growth as a 17 year old girl.
Truthfully I cannot judge Lele or her fictionalised character, as I ended up often empathising with her.
Still the question remains; did I actually get anything from reading this book? I am not sure I did. I often found myself wondering why I was even carrying on when there are so many other stories I wanted to get to.
Would I recommend this book? Probably only to young teenagers, in particular if they are interested in Lele Pons and her Vine clips.
On a personal note, whilst reading Lele's story, I could not help but wonder (if the events do actually reflect reality at all) if she, like me, might be dyspraxic as many of the traits described were absolutely uncanny.
Dear Lele, I wish you all the best, and as you have heard a million times before fame and beauty are fleeting. Cover your own back - it is easier to do so when you are young.