Remember high school? Remember that one person who got under our skin? Who just knew our weak spots and how to taunt us? Those little digs? Well, in Meredith Schorr’s debut Young Adult novel, Kim Vs The Mean Girl, you get to go back to those days and live vicariously as Kim tries to best her nemesis, Hannah.

If you’re a fan of Meredith Schorr, you will remember Kim and Hannah from Blogger Girl and Novelista Girl, but you don’t have to read those to read and enjoy this one.

From the Publisher’s Summary:

High school sophomore, Kim Long, is no stranger to the “mean girl” antics of Queen Bee Hannah Marshak. When Hannah steals Kim’s diary and in front of the entire class reads personal (not to mention humiliating) entries Kim wrote about her crush, Jonathan, Kim vows to enact revenge.

Kim and her loyal best friend, Bridget, come up with the perfect plan to put the evil Hannah in her place once and for all. But will their scheming have the desired effect of getting even, or will Hannah emerge more celebrated by her peers than ever?
Kim vs. the Mean Girl can be read as a young adult standalone novel, set in 2000, but is also a prequel to the popular Blogger Girl adult romantic comedy series. Told in the dual perspectives of teenage Kim and Hannah, fans of the series will get an inside look into Kim’s early passion for reading, writing (and Jonathan), and find out why Hannah is so darn mean.

Writing for young adults is obviously different than writing for adults, and it  isn’t something I think all authors could do.  I think Schorr manages well, perhaps because it is a glimpse of characters I already know and it’s cool to get their backstory.  This is more throwback to Sweet Valley High or The Girls of Canby Hall than Thirteen Reasons Why and I was glad to have something more lighthearted to read.

As all of us who survived high school know, there are some relationships that leave an impact on us long into our adulthood. If we are lucky, we  all grow up and get past it, but the seeds are there. And we see how Hannah set the seeds to make Kim’s high school life miserable.  While funny from Kim’s perspective, her attempts at revenge are almost cruel to a point because innocent people could find themselves hurt as part of the shenanigans.  I thought that was an important takeaway- in our youth, we don’t always take stock of how our actions can impact other people.

Like her other books, Schorr creates some terribly authentic moments here.  I felt my stomach drop and my face burn as I saw coming one of Hannah’s mean girl skewers- and I’ve been out of high school for a while now.  I think it’s a talent that Schorr could still take me back to that mortification that can only happen at that age.

My biggest criticism of the book is that I felt it ended a bit abruptly. But it’s a fun read and would make a great addition to your summer vacation reading list.  If you’re new to Meredith Schorr’s books and a fan of chick lit, do yourself a favor and check her out.