Anatomy of a Misfit

Starred review from June 9, 2014
As the third most popular girl in school, 15-year-old Anika Dragomir worries a lot about her precarious social rank, which means tolerating the casual cruelties of Becky Vilhauer, who rules their Nebraska high school with an iron fist. Morally conflicted, Anika surreptitiously tries to undo some of Becky’s damage (such as dismantling an invented pregnancy rumor), but Anika’s secret relationship with geek-turned-hottie Logan McDonough only adds to her problems. This nascent romance is further complicated when Jared Kline, “the biggest stone-cold fox in the city, possibly in the state,” unexpectedly starts courting Becky and she gets disturbing glimpses of Logan’s home life. In this YA debut, adult author Portes (Hick; Bury This) serves up a self-deprecating and highly memorable heroine whose bawdy, laceratingly funny narration makes her instantly endearing while also revealing her flaws, uncertainties, and ethical quandaries. Throughout, Portes hints that tragedy is in the cards, and while the final chapters flirt with melodrama, the novel will leave many readers dwelling on missed opportunities to take a stand in their own lives. Ages 14–up. Agent: Katie Shea Boutillier, Donald Maass Literary Agency.

September 1, 2014
Anika Dragomir is the third most popular girl at her Lincoln, Nebraska, high school, ranking just below sweet but naive Shelli Schroeder ("She's my best friend even though she's kind of a slut") and miles behind uncontested queen bee Becky Vilhauer ("aka the dark side of the force"). Anika looks the part of the blonde, blue-eyed All-American girl-next-door, but "nobody knows that on the inside I am spider soup." On the first day of school, "nerd-ball turned goth romance hero" Logan McDonough rides up on a moped and fixes his smoldering gaze on Anika. They begin a secret, confusing courtship that gets even more complicated when God's gift to Nebraska, Jared Kline, asks Anika's mom for permission to take her daughter out on a date. A dramatic climax is foreshadowed by sections in italics that hint at tragedy. Anika's observations are razor-sharp, especially when she is describing other people (and especially when she's ragging on her own family: "My dad is Romanian and looks like Count Chocula. Seriously. He looks like a vampire"; "My oldest sister...looks, dresses, and acts like Joan Jett and teases me endlessly for having boobs 'cause she is flat as a board, so fuck her"). An introductory note says the story is based on the author's ninth-grade experience. What a year. elissa gershowitz

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