The List

Nice read. I see a lot of people were unhappy that the book ended where it did, but the point of the book was to talk about how these characters reacted to the list, and the culmination was homecoming.

Margo realized the homecoming crown was cheap plastic, that this thing that seemed important and that Jennifer and Margo wanted so much was shoddy, as the principal tried to tell Jennifer. We find out just how damaged Jennifer is, and how she took her pain and inflicted pain on others. Bridget cannot see herself as beautiful, because she is in the grip of her disease. Sarah learns that she really is loved, and hopefully puts aside her need for self-destruction. Abby moves closer to appreciating her sister and got to see through Fern how painful the list could be. Danielle valued herself not to stay with a boy who was not ready to stand by her side, and began to see her strength was beautiful and sexy. Lauren made steps to try to separate herself from her over-possessive mother, but struggles with a desperation to be liked. Candace became kinder, because she realized she'd alienated her friends and saw that Lauren's kindness was a lot of what made her pretty.We also get to see that the list was largely arbitrary -- one person's prejudiced opinion treated like truth.