And the body is an important theme throughout – the punishment the girls put themselves through, the intimacy of their physical reliance on each other, the underlying sexuality and sensuality of these girls on the brink of womanhood. She describes wonderfully what the girls are prepared to put themselves through for a coveted place on the team – the physical pain and endurance, the extreme dieting to stay light enough to ‘fly’. Not knowing much about cheerleading (being a Brit), I found watching some of the stunts on youtube gave me a real sense of the risks, commitment and reliance on the team that Abbott weaves through the book. Throughout the book, she uses the physicality and danger of the cheer stunts to heighten the sense of tension and fear at the heart of the story. Megan AbbottĪbbott’s use of language is innovative, imaginative and often poetic. Manipulated by both Beth and Coach, Addy struggles to keep faith with both as their mutual antipathy and jealousy starts a chain of events that will take them all to some very dark places. The story is told in the first-person by Addy and we see her loyalties to her oldest friend Beth being tested by Addy’s new friendship with the young Coach. When a new coach arrives to lead the cheerleading team, she will prove to be the catalyst for a dangerous reassessment and realignment of friendships that have lasted for years. Another stunning journey into the mind of adolescent girlhood from the author of the wonderful The End of Everything.
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