Trapped: Caught in a Lie by Melody Carlson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
GraceAnn's parents graduated from USC and are prestigious and wealthy doctors. She's well on her way to an acceptance letter from Stanford by the end of her senior year. But when her boyfriend, Clayton, breaks up with her, accusing her of being too demanding and high maintenance, her grades plummet for one week, a single week, and in only two classes. Unfortunately, the bell curve for grading results in an F for both exams and GraceAnn's dreams of Stanford grow dim. Until she catches a classmate cheating and suddenly a possibility open before her. Ask to retake the test, using the confiscated answers from her classmate, or just accept the bad grades. the good Christian girl is faced with a choice and before she knows it, GraceAnn is caught up in a web of lying.
I don't get the whole pressure to excel in school. Cheating as a homeschooler was impossible since there was no one to cheat off of other than myself. My folks expected me to go to college, but there was never the pressure to attend a higher-end university. They knew I would go to college when it was time, and I would pick the school that worked with my finances because I would be paying for it. No academic pressure from them, ever, which was awesome. So I don't get GraceAnn. I really don't. And the more she lies, the harder it is for me to connect with her. I get making a mistake that first time and feeling guilty. That's when you come clean because you just can't keep the lie inside. So when she's always talking about wanting to turn back the clock and make different choices, I roll my eyes because she could start making different choices now.
Anyway, despite my lack of empathy with GraceAnn, I realize that her issues are issues that plague high school students everywhere. So this is a very real topic of concern and therefore I think Melody Carlson captured it sufficiently. Even though GraceAnn's story didn't move me, it will impact others, and that's what counts.
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