Everything Sucks: Losing My Mind
and Finding Myself in a High School
Quest for Cool
by Hannah Friedman

    EVERYTHING SUCKS by Hannah Friedman
    Category:  Non-Fiction
    Age Recommendation:  Grades 9+
    Release Date:  8/3/09
    Publisher:  HCI Teens
    Reviewed by:  Amber Gibson
    Rating:  5 Stars


    EVERYTHING SUCKS is the blasé and brazen memoir of Yale graduate Hannah Friedman, recounting those
    awkward childhood and teenage years when everything truly does suck.

    Imagine being a first-born human child only to live in the shadows of a monkey. Thus begins Hannah’s life, with
    Amelia the monkey as an older sibling of sorts who can get away with anything. Hannah’s mother saved Amelia from
    an opium withdrawal death and adopted her into the family. Amelia repaid the favor by garnering a Hollywood movie
    role that bought the Friedmans’ house. While there might be a few pros to having a monkey at home, ultimately it just
    really sucks. Hannah becomes known as The Monkey-Girl Freak at school and, try as she might, she never can quite
    integrate herself into public school social circles.

    When her father uproots the family to the United Kingdom for a whirlwind music tour to promote his new album,
    Hannah balks at the idea. No, her father – Dean Friedman – is not a rock star, rather a one-hit wonder from the
    1970s. Hannah is dragged along for the ride, witnessing a colossal bust of a tour, though there are some fun Twinkie
    dinners and eccentric people to brighten up the rainy days.

    Back in middle school, Hannah is determined to reinvent herself. Perhaps with her newfound worldliness she can
    charm her way into the upper echelon of popularity. Alas, her dreams are shattered when she finds herself even lower
    (if that’s possible) on the totem pole than before.

    Imagine Hannah’s surprise when she transfers to a private boarding school and finds herself inadvertently in the midst
    of the most popular and glamorous clique there is. Unfortunately, the world she now finds herself in is more
    complicated, bitchy, superficial, and ugly than she ever would have guessed from its glossy appearance. The constant
    battle for supremacy is consuming – everyone strives to be the sexiest and thinnest while backstabbing anyone who
    gets in the way. The drama takes its toll on Hannah, whose values and self-esteem are easily molded by those around
    her. Eating disorders and drug problems aside, Hannah is finally becoming the girl she always imagined she could be.

    Translation: This sucks way more than being Monkey-Girl Freak ever did.

    Friedman successfully recaptures her teenage angst and desperate need to fit in, reliving some of the most
    embarrassing and difficult times of her life thus far. For most young college graduates, writing a memoir is out of the
    question. The result would be a dreadfully boring, typically short-sighted narrative. Friedman, on the other hand, can
    already reflect thoughtfully on her experiences of the recent past and provide a heartbreakingly honest voice of the
    teenage girl.

    While EVERYTHING SUCKS occasionally harmonizes with Mean Girls, Friedman’s autobiographical foray is
    unique in its approach. Simply put, she tells it like it is.