Paige works on her high school newspaper, she enjoys the idea of being a reporter but struggles with the fake school garbage that surrounds her. not only that, she's been asked to work on the school yearbook. Attached to this are some awfully mean students, Grace & Laura for example. These two make a point to highlight the embarrassing moments of others, they want these toxic moments put in the yearbook, making Paige's life even harder. In addition, Paige's home life is a mess. Her father is a monster, the entire family has to walk on eggshells around him. Her brother, Adam, is the one the family adores, but he's gone off to university, leaving the brunt of her father's insecurities and outrage on Paige and her mother. Paige's only solace is her aunt Polly and someone else, a mysterious stranger in her school who leaves messages written in red ink in her assigned reading. Desperate to find out who it is, Paige tries to find out who she is at the same time, because nobody in her immediate life seems to care. The Yearbook is a searing look at the toxicity of high school, the social pressures that pile up along with the educational ones. In addition, it has some very real moments regarding family tensions. Her father is a brutal ogre but his sinister nature isn't all yelling and breaking things, it's the subtle ways the family must dance around him, creating prepared statements for him, readying the house before he gets home. This is how people must deal with a true narcissist, and true narcissism is a very, very scary thing to behold. Holly Bourne is a master at writing for the teenage heart in all its broken glory. I highly recommend this for ages 13 and up!
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