Jenny Green's killer book

Ah, there's nothing I like better than a nice book about a nice Jewish girl from a nice town who grows into a nice serial killer. Many, many thanks to Michelle Fadlalla of Simon & Schuster for the review copy of Jenny Green's Killer Junior Year by Amy Belasen and Jacob Osborn.

Whodunit: Jenny Green, self-proclaimed JAP (Jewish American Princess), is so over her high school on Long Island. Sophomore year was a hellish journey that ended with Veronica Cohen taking Jenny's date to the prom. Jenny decides that instead of facing her problems, she's going to run from them...all the way to Canada. She convinces her indulgent parents to send her to Molson (like the beer) Academy in Canada, where no one will know her, or about the MySpace debacle with the picture of her huge zit. Enrolling late means she ends up in a house full of hippies who barely clean the bathroom. She gets herself into AP Calculus but can't understand a word the teacher said. About the only bright spots at Molson for Jenny are her new BFF Chloe, Edgar, who helps her with her math homework, and adorable, sweet Josh Beck, who Jenny knew in Long Island. Problem is, once Jenny finally gets her hands on Josh, he turns out to be not as sweet as she thought he was. In fact, when Josh attacks Jenny, she defends herself by breaking her roommate's glass bong and stabbing him to death with the pieces.

It's not like she meant to kill him! Everyone knew he was suicidal anyway. And her new boyfriend, Dizzy D, is turning out to be kind of scummy. Ugh, wasn't Canadian boarding school supposed to get her away from scummy boys? Jenny might be the new girl, but she's not about to put up with any boy's crap. And the boys that do her wrong are in for a lot more than a little crying and a MySpace page dedicated to how bad a boyfriend they are.

And how: When I booktalk this book, I always compare it to Dexter. Jenny's no forensic scientist but the concept of the book and the show is very much the same: A person who keeps up a normal appearance murders those s/he considers evil. Jenny's voice is delightfully sociopathic, sort of a combination of blasé and outright, total panic at what she's done. The more murders she commits, the more she's able to justify her actions. She does acknowledge, sort of, that murder is wrong, but she just has sooooo many other things to worry about. In an effort to make herself into a better person, you know, the kind that doesn't murder, she tries to work and get involved with school activities. Problem is, school plays can't change the fact that Jenny still wants revenge on the boys who scorn her. It's hard to express how much I like this book, because it's so hard to talk about without making the book sound completely heinous. Jenny is a really unique character who reminded me a little of Kathy from Never Let Me Go, the way she could be so rational about such heinous acts. Through all the crazy things she does, Jenny remains true to her JAP self, still focusing on the superficial. I think she'd be a fascinating character to discuss in a group.

Also, the cover is awesome, yes? Normally I hate those covers that have models with half a head but this shot is terrific. I love the knife against the preppy clothes. It really captures the juxtaposition of personality that makes Jenny interesting to read.