I read The Little Sisters series before I read the Babysitters Club. Little Sisters is a spinoff of Babysitters Club and is about Kirsty's seven-year-old stepsister, Karen. So, that was my background on Ann Martin's writing. I had no idea she wrote this dark YA novel or was...even inspired to. It took me awhile to reconcile that. I wanted to reconcile my emotions before looking for this book. Many talked about how dark this book was, and how her writing changed so much between this and Babysitters Club. It...uh...sort of. The style is similar but that's it. The content, setting and POVs are definitely not what she got into later on.

TW: completed suicide; attempted suicide; bullying; grief.

A girl dies because the bullying is so bad, is how I will gently describe it. Someone else tries to die as a result, and I was -not- impressed. The attempt did not seem out of guilt, but...like she was trying to escape consequences of her mean-spirited prank. Cold hearted of me, but these are fictional characters. Anyway the attempt is not completed. Martin's writing is so lackluster and vague that I couldn't really feel any alarm. I felt mild curiosity and reread a few pages until I felt I fully understood. She skims over her own plot lines and is scant with details in her own book, for her own writing. I didn't expect anything grand but c'mon, I know she writes normally with more detail.

And you're telling me that Slam Books wouldn't be all over the whole school, with multiple kids making multiple books for themselves? Slam books used to be huge. There would be more than one! They would be hidden or traded or whatever. It's easy to make and circulate them. Not only for kids in your school, but also kids in your neighborhood could have separate notebooks for you. It wouldn't be just one book in one school, I think. "Mean Girls" kiiiiind of touched on this with their Burn Book, but that was somewhat different and had -wildly- different consequences. Judy Blume's character Sheila makes slam books for each of her friends at a sleepover. One girl cries but stays the night, and that's it. Nothing sinister or tragic like in this book. I didn't...really care about what anyone was going through. The funeral and everyone's grief felt...off. This was Martin's writing. I -wanted- to feel sad and shocked, but did not really.

I'm glad I read this so I could learn what else Martin was capable of. ( )

I mean, there were some issues with the book, some race comments, etc. - but the overall theme was great - how bullying truly is and how sad ( )

Anna is concerned about her popularity as she transitions from junior high to high school. She finds inspiration in her cousin's use of a slam book and decides to use one in her school. Predictably the slam book brings more trouble to the high school and Anna's already troubled friends than anticipated. Despite this predictability, Martin still manages to create a story that is realistic and engaging. Given the nationwide focus on bullying in schools, this book could find a place in classroom discussions on the subject. However, the novel is dated and a bit shy of being excellent. Before purchase for a classroom or school library, other more contemporary or better regarded books on the subject should be considered. If it is already part of a collection, the subject matter is worth keeping the book in the collection despite age. ( )

I remembered this book after hearing about the recent MySpace suicide case. After rereading this, I found the two stories eerily similar. This story, told from several points of view (including the victim's), shows the sobering power of cruelty. ( )