Playing Nice - Rebekah Crane

Playing Nice

Rebekah Crane

Martina "Marty" Hart is really nice. At least, that's what people think. 

It's Marty's junior year at Minster High. Minster's a small town where making great grades, smiling pretty, helping old people, running the new-student Welcoming Committee, and putting up decorations for all the dances--including the totally awful Hot Shot fall hunting celebration--gets you ... what? Marty's not sure. Instead of dreaming about a sororities-and-frats future at nearby University of Michigan, she's restless, searching for a way out of the box her controlling mother and best frenemy Sarah have locked her in. When Lil--don't call her Lily!--Hatfield transfers to Minster, Marty gets her chance. Lil's different. She smokes, wears black, listens to angry punk records, and lives in a weird trailer with her mother. Lil has secrets--secrets that make her a target for all the gossiping and online bullying Minster can muster. But so does Marty. And Marty sees something different in Lil. Something honest. 

Something real. 

PLAYING NICE is the achingly true story of a girl who's been following the rules for so long she's forgotten who she was when she started. It's about falling in love with the wrong people and not seeing the right ones, about the moments in life when you step out of line, take a chance ... and begin to break free.

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First off I love the cover!  The font and the use of colors really makes this book stand out on a bookshelf.

There were a lot of things that irked me about this book and it seems like Crane never went to high school or knew anyone who went to high school.  For example:

1. Band kids do NOT wear their uniforms to school
2. There seemed to be all of these stupid 'rules' in this town/school that make no sense for example "Once you date someone in Minster, you're off-limits for the rest of your high school career.... It's unwritten dating law."   You're kidding me right?
3. She seems to think kids can't text in class whenever they want.

Some of the situations in the book are believable particularly the whole teenage 'Who am I?' crisis but others... eh not so much.  There was one particular thing Marty's mom said I think people could really relate too about how you could love somebody but not always like them.  I also found Marty's view on her and her best friend's relationship changing extremely relatable!  I have been through that myself and I am sure plenty of others have too.

I really thought Marty was an idiot for following Lil outside to sit with her while she smoked and then she was paranoid about people smelling it on her, well Honey if you didn't want anyone to smell it you shouldn't have been sitting next to someone who is smoking illegally.

"And then Matt winks at me. A deliberate, slow, super-sexy wink that makes his hair fall in his face." This just makes me go "What?"  I really wish someone would do this for me as an example because in my mind it just looks weird and how does just eye lid movement make your hair fall in your face?

I hate to say one of the most popular things used in my notes was 'Really!?'

Now lets address the main protagonist Marty!

I did not like her.  She seemed to have an obsession with sex and her virginity.  Some of the thoughts she has about a rocker boy who she has a crush on was just a little too much at times (and keep in mind I am young so this isn't coming from some middle-aged woman) and I was thinking 'What is this?  50 Shades of Teenagers?'.  She keeps referring to her 'rotten and stinky virgin vagina'  (not an exact quote) and I was getting really irritated/tired of it it.  Here is a quote from the book "I'm surprised at how steady my voice sounds and the fact that his leg is touching mine isn't sending my mind into a crazy montage of sex scenes"  reeeally!?.  You know how in some books with angst-y teens they always go on and on about something or how people fish for compliments and it gets really annoying? This was Marty's version of that. 

I understand teenagers have angst and disagreements with their parents but at certain parts of the book Marty was downright disrespectful, immature and overreacting.

She says at one point "It makes me want to tear off my skin and crawl into someone else's. Someone like Lil, who says what she wants, who can sleep with any body and not care and smoke cigarette after cigarette out in the open for the whole town to see.  Who can say you smell like a virgin and I want to get laid and 'Shot through the heart is a terrible theme because no one cares about Bon Jovi anymore!'"  why would you want to be somebody like that?

But what's up with her obsession to become friends with Lil?  Does she not understand that some people might not like her?  Does she think she's that amazing and perfect?   The answer to that is yes.  Through out the book you notice that she's not nice she's actually pretty rude immature and conceited.  She doesn't do things to be nice or helpful she does them for self gain and benefit. 

She seemed to judge and assume things about EVERYONE whether it was Lil when they first met or her mother.  At one part of the book she thinks "I touch my black jelly bracelet.  I was overreacting about Meghan. Matt's busy with guitar and school.  His pothead mom probably doesn't have a computer" did she ever think that Matt's mom feels the same way Lil and her mom do when it comes to stereotypes and people assuming things?

She has these ridiculous rules about dating boys!  For example  "But he's a jock, and I just can't date a jock. I hate the smell of sweat."   Has she never heard of showers? She also went to a party as one boy's date just so she could talk to another guy she even thinks "I'm not supposed to leave with Alex I'm supposed to be with Matt."  Who does that?

I got really tired of her always 'Because it's the nice thing to do' or 'Because that's what a nice person does' now when you just read it it doesn't seem that bad but it's all about context.  You shouldn't have to think about or remind yourself to be a nice person if you really are a nice person.   I also thought the fact that she used curse words was a little out of character for a character who has such high expectations from her parents and is just all around supposed to be perfect and nice.

She has no idea what humility is.

At the beginning of the book I thought I could really relate to Marty but I learned really fast that that was not the case.

I'm glad that Marty finds out who she really is inside and she does grow up some in the last chapter or two but she still has A LOT of growing up to do.  I was glad that she finally understood her mom at the end.

Now it's Lil's turn.

I did like that she seemed to be the voice of reason at certain parts but I found her pretty cliche a lot of the time.
That is all.

The book features quite a bit of poetry written by 'Marty' and I will be honest after the first few poems I started skipping over them.  I understand she write poetry but do we really have read everything she writes?  I found it unnecessary but I'm sure someone out there liked it.

I feel like the only person who would enjoy with book would have to be 13 years old but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under 16.  I wouldn't consider this a coming of age novel because I don't think this shows Marty or Lil's transition to adulthood. Marty still has A LOT of maturing and growing up to do.   I ended up reading it just to see what happened not because I wanted to (thank goodness it's short!).

Pages:  270

P.S  I actually had to stop about half way through writing this review because It brought up all of my frustrated feelings I had while reading the book!

P.P.S  There is a huge spoiler for West Side Story in this book that I was not pleased about.