GERT GARIBALDI’S RANTS AND RAVES

Up until about the 100th page, Kizer’s YA debut feels like just about any other young-adult chick-lit novel. Savvy, snarky sophomore Gert Garibaldi futzes over guys, body image, tough classes, her family, her gay best friend and more with good, clean, girl-o-riffic aplomb. But when Gert’s sex-ed teacher sends them home with a self-actualization assignment, complete with a mirror, Gert’s story takes off with an orgasmic bang. Suddenly, Kizer’s language shifts from speculative to spicy, from awkward to aware, and teen girl readers will appreciate Gert’s newfound sense of confidence, freedom and self-acceptance. That said, Kizer doesn’t veer too far into Gossip Girl territory, and Gert’s newfound sense of self-assuredness commands her every move. Readers will be cheering her along as she learns to follow her instincts instead of her illusions. A shot in the arm of an otherwise tiresomely formulaic genre. (Fiction. YA)