Jess Hill and Peyton Brentwood are at war. Although they were once the very best of friends, things have changed, and now the two spend their days figuring out how to make the other the laughing stock of the school with prank after prank. But a good prank begets an even better prank, and over the years, things have begun to escalate, with the whole school waiting to see what the duo will come up with next. However, Jess and Peyton are now in their final year of school, which means that the consequences of getting caught are high stakesPeytons dreams of Harvard could easily end up circling the drain, and Jess could well end up flunking out and expelled.
Told in a dual perspective format, Getting Caught'offers both sides of the Jess/Peyton situation and gradually reveals how the two ceased being best buddies and turned into foes instead. At its heart, the novel is about miscommunication and the risk of making assumptions about another persons position and motivations, and the authors arent shy in making sure this point gets across. Jess is the emo bad girl type, while Peyton has straight As and a membership in every club at school. Its easy to make assumptions about their backgrounds even from this, and the authors note this by reversing the presumed backgrounds of each of the girlsits Jesss family whos better off than Peytons, for example.
The entire prank war, too, is the result of a miscommunicationeach feels slighted by the other due to certain events that occurred years agoand its escalation is similarly the result of the two making assumptions rather than getting things out in the open. And now, after several years of the war going on, neither can stop: its simply expected of them to continue the war and forever up the ante, even though neither girls heart is much in it at this point.
Its a great set-up, but I cant help but feel that the book doesnt quite live up to its promise. Its a tremendously slight read on many levels: the prose is overly voicy, and the'characters so deliberately diametrically opposed that they necessarily lack nuance. Perhaps Im in the minority here, but I find it tough to get into a book thats heavily reliant on voice to carry it, and feel that voice does not a character make.
The plot, too, becomes quite predictable, particularly when the pretend to date this girl and dont you dare fall in love with her element comes in. Given that the finish line is, of course, prom night, we can all see where this is going. Unfortunately, there are so many aspects here that feel as though theyve been amped up for maximum effect: pitting two opposite characters against each other, finding out those characters greatest passions (for Peyton, Harvard, and for bad-girl Jess, um, a guy?) and stomping on them, and having everything come to a head during an event where humiliation can be multiplied time and time again (Side note: whats with those hideously floofy prom dresses? Do Americans really get all dressed up in organza and tulle and those flowery corsage things? Really?). I also found myself wondering how the school could have no idea that this war was going on given how overt some of their pranks were.
I did like that there was never a clear indication of whose side we should take: both girls feel wronged by the other, and though they wont admit it, theyre both a little over the whole pranking thing. Perhaps this is because of the hazy way that the prank war emergedseemingly out of very little at all, and not something I could imagine would cause an all-out battle. Unfortunately, all of Getting Caught'felt like this to me: a little hazy and thin and not entirely believable.
Rating: 
(not bad)
Getting Caught'is available exclusively from Amazon
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