Girls on the Verge: Debutante Dips, Drive-bys, and Other Initiations

Less about social science and more about the author herself, this book was nonetheless an interesting read. It was somewhat akin to reading a tourist's travel-journal in which the writer is a newcomer in a foreign location, sharing with fresh (but often culturally biased) eyes the strange new world around her. Still, Vendela Vida is not a bad tour guide at all, she's very thorough in her observations, and gives the reader a glimpse into cultural rituals and traditions one may never otherwise have access to.

I unfortunately found this book to be very disappointing. The author has an interesting premise, but with her experiences and interviews she only reinforces the stereotypes the readers come in with--sorority rush is superficial (though she completely bought into it by the end, and would have died if her made up persona didn't get into her chosen sorority), debutante balls and quinceneras are just for the moms who want to be princesses, young couples marrying in Vegas are leaving broken homes to do better, without realizing they have no foundation for marriage--and doesn't add anything substantial to the narrative. The little analysis that does come into each scenario is provided through multiple paragraphs quoted in their entirety from show more other people's books on the various subjects. show less

This book was horrible. It was a great idea, and could have been a fascinating read, but the product fell short. Her "findings" were cliched. Her assumptions about the people she made were completely stereotyped and 'on the surface'. She seemed unable to go beyond the surface appearance of the 'rituals' and the people that were involved. Instead, it seemed she was merely trying to tie them together in a way that seemed 'nice, neat, and tidy' and in doing so was unable to write anything of substance about any of the girls involved.

2.00