The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills

By: Joanna Pearson

Narrated by: Emily Janice Card

For anyone who's ever survived a rite of passage or performed a mating dance at Prom . . .

The Japanese hold a Mogi ceremony for young women coming of age. Latina teenagers get quinceaneras. And Janice Wills of Melva, NC ... has to compete in the Miss Livermush pageant.

Janice loves anthropology--the study of human cultures--and her observations help her identify useful rules in the chaotic world of high school. For instance: Dancing is an effective mating ritual--but only if you're good at it; Hot Theatre Guys will never speak to Unremarkable Smart Girls like Janice and her best friend, Margo; and a Beautiful Rich Girl will always win Melva's annual Miss Livermush pageant.

But when a Hot Theatre Guy named Jimmy Denton takes an interest in Janice, all her scientific certainties explode. For the first time, she has to be part of the culture that she's always observed; and all the charts in the world can't prove how tough--and how sweet--real participation and a real romance can be.

Funny, biting, and full of wisdom, this marks the debut of a writer to watch.

I couldn't relate, NOT the author's fault

Hurray! I won this one on GoodReads, First-Reads. Looking forward to this new adventure!

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The print in this book is so light that I have had a hard time reading this. Therefore, I downloaded the Audible version to help me along.

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This book has taken me months to read. My biggest problem with it was the print. These old eyes just can't read well on white, white paper and it seemed the ink was also light in color. Once I got the Audible version to help me I found a nice book. The writing was fun and presented in a cool vehicle of anthropological notes.

I feel badly in that I feel I am NOT the audience for this book. If I weren't old I still wouldn't be. I wasn't a girlie girl. I would never go to a prom. I thought they were silly. So at first I felt a link with Janice. But as the story continued I knew I couldn't relate anymore. I couldn't even relate to her mother. I don't remember the Pony. So out of it all my life!

But then the last straw of related-ism: I am from Southern California. The only thing I had in common was Southern but not related in this universe.

That being said, I liked the presentation and the lessons learned as Janice matures.