Hazing Meri Sugarman

HAZING MERI SUGARMAN by M. Apostolina
Category: Contemporary
Age Recommendation: Grades 9+
Release Date: 12/20/05
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce
Rating: 5 Stars

Cindy Bixby has always been a loser. There may be kinder ways to say it, but that's just the way it is. All through high school,
she was tormented by her classmates. At home, her sister Lisa has always gotten all the attention from her pretty, former-
cheerleader mother who just can't seem to understand how she ended up with a daughter like Cindy.

Now, though, Cindy wants to change that. She's going to college at Rumson University, her parents' alma mater, and she's
going to change her life! She's optimistic (rather annoyingly so, actually) about her chances of having friends (maybe even being
popular), and even getting a boyfriend!

How is she going to do it? Cindy has a plan. Her mother says joining a sorority is the only way to go, so Cindy's pledging
Alpha Beta Delta, the sorority of which her mother was once the president.

To her surprise, Cindy makes it. Her life is looking up; she's a member of an influential sorority, and she actually has a couple of
friends! Even Alpha Beta Delta president, Meri Sugarman, seems to like Cindy. She helps Cindy to become beautiful and
confident. Cindy's life is going great!

That is, until she invades Meri's territory. She was amazed when popular, handsome Keith Ryder actually liked her. It really
was too good to be true. See, Keith is Meri's. Sure, they're broken up, and Meri doesn't want him, but she certainly doesn't
want former-loser Cindy Bixby to have him. And just as easily as she was able to make Cindy's life fabulous, she makes it even
worse than before. Meri has that power; the power to destroy anyone's life. Unfortunately, she is something of a psychopath.

So now Cindy and her new friends Patty, Lindsay, Keith, and even Bud Finger from high school have a mission. They're going
to bring Meri down.

HAZING MERI SUGARMAN is a fantastic page-turner! M. Apostolina is a brilliant new writer. Cindy's character
development is remarkably realistic; as she writes in her journal, you can see her change from an overly optimistic, naive, and
often annoying character to one who, after seeing and experiencing something of the real world plus dealing with psychopath
Meri Sugarman, actually knows more of what the world really is--and she can use that to her advantage, to stop Meri.

If you're put off by her bubbly, annoying tone in Cindy's first few journal entries, keep reading! That's just part of who Cindy is
at the beginning. Honestly, even the nicest person would just want to slap her a few times. Soon, though, she becomes a much
more likeable character.

HAZING MERI SUGARMAN is full of great characters! Even (or perhaps especially) the less-likeable characters had me
wanting to read more and more about them. This novel is funny (at times laugh-out-loud hilarious), absorbing, and, well,
fantastic! I've read a few other reviews of the book, and reviewers kept calling it unrealistic. I highly doubt it was supposed to
mirror the lives of actual college students; in fact, I'd be quite frightened if it did! Suspend disbelief for awhile; you will
absolutely love this book!