The Best Night of Your (Pathetic) Life (Tara Altebrando)

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         Graduating high school senior Mary has always been a goody two-shoes at school.  She's done everything she could to get into her dream school, Georgetown.  Her college dreams haven't worked out (while the dreams of classmates like jock and bully Jake Barbone, on the other hand, have).  But none of that matters now, because the annual Senior Week Scavenger Hunt is on and Mary is determined that her team will win.  If they do, it will prove that your social status in high school doesn't define you for the rest of your life.  But as the games begin, the drama that has plagued Mary throughout high school is running rampant.  She and her friends will have to rise above it all if they're going to have any chance of winning.

         This book was good, but not awesome.  Mary had her flaws as a character, but could have had more in the way of redeeming qualities to balance things out.  I'm glad I read this book this year (as opposed to the same time next year) because I think I would have become thoroughly depressed by the conclusion if I were a graduating senior.  Mary starts out feeling so determined to win, and so self-righteous, that it takes a while before she realizes that she's not the super-nice girl that she thought she was.  In the end, Mary discovers that she has wasted her life up until now obsessing over social drama and judging others without thinking about what she has done to them.  This reflection over her personality and relationships gets you thinking, and Mary does come out better in the end because of it.  For me, however, it was frustrating that most of the book was spent listening to Mary's whining.  Many of the other characters were also annoying.  To be fair, though, it was a pretty neat scavenger hunt and everyone seemed to learn a good lesson about themselves and becoming adults.

Rating: 3/5
Completed: May 26, 2013

P.S. - Sorry about my little rant there.  I usually try to give a fair review, get the whole picture, and all that . . . But sometimes books can be so annoying!  And it's funny, once there are two months between you and a book, how selective your memory can be.  I know I didn't hate this book (I did give it three stars at the time; I always try to rate a book right away) but I can't remember for the life of me what I liked about it!  Sorry, Tara Altenbrando.
Has a book ever been ruined for you by some annoying character trait or other little thing you couldn't get your mind off?  Which book, and why?  Post in the comments.