Let's face it, high schoolers can be real assholes. Not all of course, but with the pressure to be in, sometimes the only way of being cool is by bringing others down. Girl on the Other Side by Deborah Kerbel is a short, gut-punch of a book featuring the intertwining of characters Lora Froggett and Tabby Freeman, two girls who lead drastically different lives. Tabby is basically a queen bee, think Mean Girls. Lora is a social outcast. Basically all of the kids at school would make it their mission to pick on Lora, they would trip her, call her Frog Face, make fun of her clothes. I should mention, Lora is not your average YA girl. She comes from a family with no money at all, her mom has MS, I think, so Lora has to basically take care of her siblings while her dad is working. Oh my god, let me just tell you I cried like a small child during the majority of Lora's chapters because I could relate. I was never as big of a victim as Lora was, but I dealt with mean kids when I was in high school, I come from a humble background, and yes I did babysit my sisters while my parents were at work. It's really, really hard, so I definitely love that I could relate so much to Lora.Onto Tabby, basically Tabby is a ring-leader in let's pick on Lora. Well, Tabby gets a dose of her own medicine. I loved seeing Tabby's character development, to see how her character changes. I liked Tabby, she showed me that while being rich definitely has it's perks, girls like her have their own troubles too. I feel like too often we think the grass is greener on the other side, yet never stop to think what sort of private struggles one might have.I felt this book was incredibly relevant, as so many teenagers are bullied. I hate that fact, hate it. No child deserves to have their self-esteem assaulted on a daily basis. I thought Girl on the Other Side was an emotionally-charged read. It had such a powerful message for such a short book. Unfortunately, though, I think those who could learn from the message aren't really the type who read books for fun. It is my opinion that this book has a place in all middle/high school libraries, as it's one I feel most teenagers should read, and perhaps get the message that we should treat all with kindness, because you never ever know what sort of shit they may be going through.While reading this book, I recommend grape juice, as grape juice is bitter sweet, and Girl on the Other Side had a few sweet moments interspersed with the heartbreak bitter moments. ( )

This story is told in alternating chapters; the stories of two very different girls who meet in a very unexpected place - the stalls of the girls washroom where they are each seeking a place for a private breakdown. They have a moment where they console each other, without knowing the identity of the girl in the adjoining stall. When they emerge from their respective stalls they are horrified to discover that the two girls are at opposite ends of the social spectrum; Lola a.k.a Frog-Face, a girl constantly the victim of cruel pranks and snide remarks, and Tabby, the queen bee among mean girls and the popular elite of the school. The remainder of the book tells the inside story of each girl, and the end of the novel has them coming, once again, into contact with each other, this time at a fire where Lola's dad, a firefighter, saves the life of the person most important to Tabby. I enjoyed the descriptions of Lola's life; the exhaustion she must endure as a result of being the caregiver to her brothers and sisters. Pages 25 to 35 which both involve baths would be an excellent read aloud to show the extreme differences between the two girls and their situations.
Read this for the Peel Fiction Review Committee April 2010 ( )