Of All the Stupid Things (review)

Tara, Whitney Blaire, and Pinkie never imagined that their lifelong friendship would dissolve before high school ended, but when Tara unexpectedly falls for the new girl in school, the motley trio seems to have met their match. Each girl in turn describes several months of the school year, with the combined story offering three voices and perspectives into the events that broke apart the friends. Although Pinkie has a too-old boyfriend, Whitney Blaire creates drama wherever she goes, and Tara trains for a marathon and tries to resolve her feelings about her father who left years before, the major plot point is Tara's new relationship and the havoc it wreaks. Sporty Tara, wealthy but neglected Whitney Blaire, and obsessively nurturing Pinkie aren't quite reliable witnesses, even to their own lives, as their personal quirks and insecurities have them describing the same events with wildly different takes. While at times the alternating narration results in a choppy, disjointed narrative that distracts rather than informs, this format also adds a fresh perspective on these otherwise predictable characters. Unfortunately, teens along the GLBTQ spectrum are unlikely to find much inspiration in what is ultimately a tepid (at best) stance on being gay (Pinkie vomits the first time she hears about boys making out, Tara accepts her mom's suggestion that men have hurt her and that's why she likes a girl). In spite of the issues, the three protagonists each deserve much better things than they've been dealt, and readers may find the girls' quests for happiness compelling.