[Review] E. Lockhart - Fly on the Wall

Title: Fly on the Wall (Goodreads)
Author: E. Lockhart
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Published: December 2008
ISBN13: 9780307495532
Pages: 192
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Format: ebook
Start: 31 March 2015
Finish: 1 April 2015


Synopsis:

At the Manhattan School for Art and Music, where everyone is  "different" and everyone is "special," Gretchen Yee feels ordinary. She's the kind of girl who sits alone at lunch, drawing pictures of Spider-Man, so she won't have to talk to anyone; who has a crush on Titus but won't do anything about it; who has no one to hang out when her best (and only real) friend Katya is busy.

One day, Gretchen wishes that she could be a fly on the wall in the boys' locker room - just to learn more about guys. What are they really like? What do they really talk about? Are they really cretins most of the time? Fly on the Wall is the story of how that wish comes true.

Review:

This is the first book that I read from E. Lockhart. The rating on Goodreads is so-so, not bad but not so good either. And I was quite surprised that I liked it. However, the cover bugs me a lot. I HATE flies. I just hate them so bad. Why can't she be a butterfly or something else? 

I love the idea of the big life - the life that matters, the life that makes a difference. The life where stuff happens, where people take action. The opposite of the life where the girl can't even speak to the boys she likes; the opposite of the life where the friends aren't even good friends, and lots of days are wasted away feeling bored and kind of okay, like nothing matters much.

The book consists of 3 parts. The first part is about Gretchen's life before she became a fly. The second part is about her life as a fly on the boys' locker room, while the last part is when she become a human again. 

I think the first part is 'okay' because I don't really like Gretchen's attitude before she become a fly. Too shallow and insecure for me. The second part is slightly better. I kinda like it but I can't shake the feeling that when she become a fly, she's suddenly become an expert on fly's anatomy. It's just so weird and very text book for my taste.

However, the second part is also the most interesting part because there are a lot of things that Gretchen witnessed in the boys' locker room. From the bullying, the insecurities of her classmates, a boy that has a crush on her, and even the unfair treatment that the boys' locker room is bigger that the girls'.

The last part is my favorite one. After spending some time as a fly on the boys' locker room, with deeper understanding of what actually happen to her friend Katya and also Titus, Gretchen seemed to get better at handling things. Basically this is the part where she make amends and try to do good things as much as she could.

I think it is a pretty good book. I like E. Lockhart's writing style and the issues that she mentioned in the book is something that I can easily relate to. I definitely will read more of her books in the future. For now, I'll give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars.