A YA fairy tale. Liz Lighty is a musician looking to go to her dream school on a scholarship. But when she doesn't get the scholarship, the only way to get to school is to run for and become Prom Queen, which comes with a $10,000 scholarship. Let the drama ensue. As with most fairy tales, this is completely predictable in how the protagonist underdog overcomes all odds to win the prize. But in this case, the story checks off all possible modern underdog-isms: Race, Sexuality, Class, Social Status, Health, Wealth, Family Status, etc. etc. etc. It is almost like Johnson tried to say 'Let's do all of this at once so that when we talk, all cards are on the table'. That said, knowing that this is a fairy tale, the middle section is remarkably engaging. The setup almost lost me, and the finale was unnecessary. But the journey kept me. It could be interesting as a discussion piece, but know that you will have to spend time discussing the silliness first, before you can dive into the important issues.
3 stars (out of 4)
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