Books like Tell Me If the Lovers Are Losers

I hate the cover of this book. It’s got three girls on it with bad hair, bad clothes (one of them has a sweater tied around her neck), and the caption below the picture says, “Sometimes you learn more in college outside the classroom….” Ugh. It’s screaming for an update. I decided to give it a second chance because Cynthia Voigt is an excellent author and I’ve really liked other things she’s written.In this book, Ann, Niki, and Hildy are three girls rooming together at Stanton College. It’s their freshman year and they’re all really different. Niki is strong and headstrong and a bit wild, but always herself. Hildy is quieter, and stubborn, too, but in a softer way. She doesn’t attack others so much as hold her ground and *know* things without a doubt. Ann is intelligent and scholarly, but she doesn’t have as strong a sense of self as the other two girls. Somehow, they do become friends. The tie between all of the girls is the freshman volleyball team, which Hildy ends up coaching. They really become a team and make the best of their strengths and weaknesses. There are several upheavals – getting Hildy to accept what she perceives as charity and is actually friendship, getting Hildy to get glasses, Niki’s using ideas of Ann’s in her final paper (plagiarism?). Finally, Hildy is killed by a car while riding her bike back from the observatory. Ann and Niki are devastated.This story is mainly about the relationships between the young women. Sometimes they have really insightful things to say. And they’re constantly working to understand one another. The way that their team plays together is really interesting, too. Girls who play team sports will likely find this part resonating with them. I liked it, but feel like it might not have a really wide audience.