Author: M. Doty
Release Date: September 4th, 2012
Publisher: Little Brown
Pages: 211
Age Group: Young Adult
Source: Publisher

Rating: ★★★★★

What's the secret to surviving your freshman year of high school?
Emily Kessler thinks she has it all figured out. She eats, sleeps and trains for competitive swimming. All she has to do is keep her grades high and swim times short -- short enough to live up to her sister Sara's. But walking the crowded maze of unfamiliar high school hallways is like diving headfirst into shark-infested waters. Shark #1: Dominique, her biggest competition on the swim team and all-around mean girl. Shark #2: The adorable and popular Ben Kale... Emily can't resist his smile no matter how hard she tries. When the pressure builds to the point where Emily isn't sure she can stay afloat, she begins to question the strict path her life has always followed.
Maybe there is more to life than studying and swimming. Maybe the secret to surviving high school is just to have a little fun.

Books based on games are things that have been done before. But I feel like Surviving High School takes that idea to a whole new level. I will admit that I have never played the game the book is based off, but I did think it was a pretty fun idea, especially how younger teens. When you think of books based around games however, you expect to see them based around something Sci-Fi or at least a similar genre to that. You don't really expect to see a contemporary created around one.

I really, really enjoyed this book though. It was just what I needed. At the start, it deal with a tough issue but soon after it really mellows out and turns into this really cute and fun story of a girl trying to make it through High School. I am sure we all know how rough of a place High School can be, no matter your "Social Ranking" but it can also be a really fun experience. And I feel like that is what Emily tries to make it into, she deals with a lot throughout the book and while I don't think she handled it all in the best way, I guess that is because I wasn't trying to think as a teenager. And I think that shows that the author did a really great job capturing that teen voice and projecting it onto the pages.

For the most part, all of the characters had the vibe you would expect to get from reading a book about High School Freshman. Granted some of the kids are older, it's most about the Freshman. I really loved how the voice was captured, and it wasn't really in a negative way like I have seen in the past. There was angst, but it wasn't really the negative type you see associated with younger teens in other books. I thought it was all written in a really tasteful and enjoyable way. There was some great character building, I liked the friendships and relationships too. When it comes down to it though, there was really nothing I was disappointed about when it came to the characters.

I really think this is a great book. It's a contemporary, yes. But the idea behind it is pretty unique seeing as it was inspired by a game. If you look at it in terms of just being a contemporary novel based on High School it isn't the most unique, but it's still a very fun and enjoyable book. It's got a fantastic story, and extremely well written characters that really fit their parts. I just honestly can't think of many complaints that I would actually have in regards to the book.

I hope you all will make sure to check this one out though. It's a light and cute read, so if that is what you're looking for I would highly recommend it. I usually tend to get somewhat annoyed with books that involve High School simply because a lot of the times the characters don't seem to really be portrayed like people that are actually that age. But I feel like the author did an amazing job really capturing that essence, and crafting some wonderful characters that led to an even better story.

Thanks to Little Brown for providing me with a copy of this book for review.