Features, Reviews

Blind Reads Review: It’s Our Prom (So Deal With It) by Julie Anne Peters

Title:  It’s Our Prom (So Deal With It)
Author:  Julie Anne Peters
Series:  None
Publisher:  Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication Date:  April 24, 2012
Pages:  342
Format/Source:  Hardback/Borrowed from Library

Age Group/Genre:  Young Adult/Contemporary, LGBT

When Azure’s principal gives her the chance to turn the school’s traditional (and boring) senior prom into an event that will appeal to everyone, not just the jocks and cheerleaders, she jumps at the opportunity. Soon Azure manages to convince her best friends, Luke and Radhika, to join the prom committee as well.

Facing heavy opposition and admittedly clueless about prom logistics, the three friends are nonetheless determined to succeed — if Luke’s and Azure’s secret crushes on Radhika don’t push the committee members, and their friendships, to the breaking point first.

Told in two voices and filled with comical missed connections, It’s Our Prom (So Deal With It) explores the ups and downs of planning an alternative prom — while dealing with an unrequited crush on your best friend — and shines with National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters’s unmistakable wit and insight.  (From Goodreads)

**I read this book as a part of my Blind Reads feature.  Go here to see my post from before I read the book, where I list the (very few) things I knew going in and my theories on what the book would entail.**

A Great Start for My New Feature…

I have to admit, I was a little worried going into this new Blind Reads feature that I would end up not liking the books that I randomly picked off of my library’s shelves.  We all know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover and that’s basically what I’m doing with this feature.  I see a cover I like, and I decide to read it, based on the cover alone.  Well, and the fact that it’s in the teen section of the library.

Anyway, I was worried they’d all turn out to be duds and I’d be tanking the feature right away.  I didn’t need to worry.  It’s Our Prom was a great start for my feature:  it had a cute cover, a great plot, complex characters, and lots of humor and high school drama.

Were Any of My Theories Correct?

Well, yes and no.  I knew the book was going to be about a prom, so I was pretty sure that they were going to have complications with their prom.  And boy, did they have complications.  Of course, I had no idea that the story revolved around students on a prom committee who were trying to make an alternative-style prom, so that was a welcome surprise.  And I thought it would have some humor because of the title, and I found myself laughing out loud quite a lot!

It was a contemporary novel, so I was right on that one.  Unfortunately that means that my going-back-in-time-to-the-80s theory was incorrect.  In fact, my whole ’80s thing was completely wrong.  Which was a bummer, because I like books and movies that are set in the ’80s, but I still enjoyed the story anyway.  I think there was one reference to the 1980s in the entire book, and that made me feel a bit better, but it really had nothing to do with the plot at all.  And yes, this book dealt with the prom so you could maybe say it had some Pretty in Pink stuff going on in there, but really, it’s a big stretch. At least, if I’m remembering that movie correctly.  Definitely not Footloose, either.  So fail on those.

One drawback to this whole Blind Reads feature was that, with a name like Azure, I wasn’t sure if the character I was reading about was a male or female, until several pages into the book.  I thought it was a female, but I wasn’t sure.  And since I hadn’t read the synopsis, I didn’t know before reading the book.  It was kind of cool, trying to figure it out, but at the same time, it really distracted me from the book itself.

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Review…

I knew that the author was a National Book Award Finalist, so I was pretty sure it was going to be well-written, with compelling characters and an interesting plot.  I wasn’t let down in that regard at all.  

I love it when characters have flaws, even if they annoy me.  But if they annoy me, they’d better make some changes by the end of the book, or they’d better have lots of redeeming qualities for me to still really enjoy the book.  I think Peters did a great job with the characters in It’s Our Prom, because at the beginning, I really wasn’t a big fan of any of the three main characters.  I thought Azure was immature and Luke was a stereotype, and I thought they both were seeing Radhika through rose-colored glasses.  And Radhika seemed to not value their friendships as much as they valued hers.

But the beauty in what Peters did with this story was she did start out with these flawed characters, but she made them incredibly endearing by the end. Azure reminded me a lot of myself, Luke reminded me of Tiny Cooper from Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and Radhika reminded me of Margo Roth Spiegelman from Paper Towns.  In fact, I think one of the main messages from Paper Towns, which is that you never really can know a person, and that you can’t treat them as more than a person, is also conveyed in It’s Our Prom.  And the fact that these characters all really started out as annoying or extremely flawed to me, yet eventually I came to see them as complex, compelling characters, is really summed up in this great quote from page 233:  Whatever my affirmation for today was, I’m rewriting it to read: ‘Once you get past the dark side of a person, you might just find the light.'”  I think Peters used these messages somewhat intentionally, and she executed them flawlessly.

And can I just say I really wish my prom had been anything like the prom in this book?  Seriously.  Mine was just round tables surrounding a very empty dance floor with a DJ who played Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” WAY too many times.  I mean, I know it was our class song (Who voted for that anyway???) but seriously dude.  Once is enough.  But the prom in this book was so much better.  I don’t want to mention any details, because I hate spoilers no matter how small, but just believe me, it was awesome.

Favorite Quotes…

Here are a few of my favorite quotes from It’s Our Prom:

“Can you go Duh without sneering?”

“I say to myself in the mirror what my religion means to me:  ‘You are a beautiful creature of God.  Now get out there and kick butt.'”

“‘Don’t look at me,’ he says. ‘There’s no telling what’s in her purse.  Weapons of mass destruction.'”

“Seriously, why be on Facebook if you don’t read it two or three times a day?”

I used to completely be the kind of person who would check Facebook multiple times a day.  Now I’ve got way too many other things to be doing, but that last quote still makes me laugh!

One Last Thing…

I haven’t even really mentioned the fact that this book is LGBT.  But that’s because really, it’s not about that.  Yes, it does highlight some of the hardships that LGBT youth have to go through, and yes, it talks about girls having crushes on girls and guys having crushes on guys.  But when I’m truly thinking about what this story is about, I’m thinking about teens who want to have the prom that they want to have.  Teens who fall in love, in lust, and have fights with their friends.  Teens who have great home lives, who have complicated home lives, who have really not-so-great home lives.  And really, without trying to get too political, that’s what the world is.  We’re all human, we’re all the same in a lot of ways.  And while yes, this book is about LGBT kids, it’s just about kids.  Period.
My rating for It’s Our Prom (So Deal With It) by Julie Anne Peters:
4 huge stars.  It was a great kickoff for my Blind Reads feature and I’m looking forward to reading more by Julie Anne Peters.
Find it:  Goodreads │ Amazon │ Hachette Book Group

You may also enjoy:  Paper Towns │ Will Grayson, Will Grayson Boy Meets Boy 
Disclaimer:  I borrowed a copy of this book from my library.  I was in no way compensated for this review.
Be sure to check out my His Dark Materials Readlong & Giveaway, going on now!  We’d love for you to join us!

14 Comments

  1. Jen Ryland/YA Romantics

    September 3, 2012 at 6:32 pm

    Loving the new Blind Reads idea. Maybe I'll join you some time!

    1. Andrea @ The Overstuffed Bookcase

      September 4, 2012 at 2:51 am

      Thanks, Jen! Yeah, I thought if enough people were interested in participating, I'd turn it into a monthly meme, kind of like Random Reads over at I'm Loving Books. I think it would be fun to have more people join in! :D

  2. Adriana

    September 4, 2012 at 12:46 am

    Oh good! I'm so glad you liked it because I've liked two of her books before. I've never seen this book until I saw it on your new feature.
    Your right with the name Azure. It could have gotten either way especially since the author does LGBT.
    http://shesgotbooksonhermind.blogspot.com/

    1. Andrea @ The Overstuffed Bookcase

      September 4, 2012 at 3:08 am

      I'm definitely going to have to read more of her books now! Which ones would you recommend?

  3. Kimberly @ On the Wings of Books

    September 4, 2012 at 1:40 am

    "Can you go Duh without sneering?"

    No, you cannot (and yes, I just tried)

    I'm glad you really liked it, but I'm bummed it was not about the 80's, cause the 80's are awesome.

    I really like this Blind Reads feature. I'm not a big fan of knowing a lot about a book before I read it, but I usually know a little bit.

    I'm not sure I'll ever read It's Our Prom, but I'm so glad your first Blind Reads was a success.

    1. Andrea @ The Overstuffed Bookcase

      September 4, 2012 at 3:12 am

      I agree, I don't think you can go "Duh" without sneering.

      Yeah, I was bummed it didn't have anything to do with the '80s either. Hmm, maybe my NaNoWriMo novel will be about someone going back in time to the '80s to go to a prom…. The wheels are turning! :D

      I'm thinking about making this into a monthly meme where others can participate. But I probably won't do that until after November, because I'm so busy this month and next month with the readalong and Austin Teen Book Festival and other stuff, and then I'll be busy in November with NaNoWriMo. So maybe December, or at the start of the new year, I'll make it into a meme and you can participate too, if you want! :D

  4. Bittner

    September 4, 2012 at 4:12 am

    I am so happy that your new feature is starting out so well! You are bound to come across some books that you wont like later on, but starting out with one that you loved is so great for you!

    I kind of figured the book was about GLTB stuff because of hearing all those stories about homosexual couples not being allowed in.

    1. Andrea @ The Overstuffed Bookcase

      September 8, 2012 at 9:47 pm

      Thanks, Courtney! I'm really pleased that it turned out so well, too!

  5. fakesteph

    September 4, 2012 at 3:39 pm

    I totally love this feature and I think it is hilarious how 80s the cover is when there is not any 80s actually happening in the book. And I love your comment about it being LGBT.

    1. Andrea @ The Overstuffed Bookcase

      September 12, 2012 at 6:11 pm

      Thanks, Steph! Yeah, I wish there had been an 80s thing going on with it. But my theories on the book actually inspired my plot for NaNoWriMo this year, so that's cool! :D

  6. Jessie Marie

    September 5, 2012 at 11:43 am

    Hooray! The first Blind Reads was a good one! So happy of that. I, too, love 80s references, even though I was really a 90s kid. But the mention of Facebook kind of nipped that one, eh?

    I'm glad it was good and I really liked your LGBT conversation. "…it's just about kids. Period." : )

    1. Andrea @ The Overstuffed Bookcase

      September 19, 2012 at 4:02 pm

      Thanks, Jessie! Yeah, I wish it had had an 80s twist. But that prediction gave me an idea for my NaNoWriMo novel for this year, so that's exciting! :D

  7. Andrea @ Cozy Up

    September 5, 2012 at 5:16 pm

    This is an awesome feature that you have going. I love the idea of reading a book you know nothing about because then you can't have huge expectations. I'm glad that you enjoyed this (though I'm disappointed to hear that there was nothing about the 80's). It sounds like a really great contemporary read.

    1. Andrea @ The Overstuffed Bookcase

      September 20, 2012 at 8:40 pm

      Thanks, Andrea! It was a great book, and a wonderful start to this new feature of mine! I hope the other books I read as Blind Reads will be as good as this one!

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