Rating: 
Summary: A room with too many beautiful views.
Review: I've been reading Zoe trope's "please don't kill the freshman". Wow it was refreshing. She conjures up an image of a teenage cyndi lauper and madonna morphed together into a literary punk instead of musical, but with better lyrics. She could easily slip into the cast of Sarah, jt leroy's book, as one of the lot lizards and give another angle of hope and love in her own special way. Maybe when i was younger i used to love as many people as zoe does but now i am a bitter 30 year old who looks for the worst first instead of the best. I don't think i will ever be asked to be a best man. I loved it!
Rating: 
Summary: A Waste of Time
Review: I've read through these reviews, and I've noticed one constant theme: this book portrays an honest look into the life of an outsider. Uh, no. I'm sorry, but I HAVE to disagree. I don't care how much people rave on about how this book is "shocking," but it's written "beautifully," I am still sorry I wasted my money on it. Honestly, throughout the whole book I kept waiting for a story. Yes, OK, there was a story I know. But...The whole book is one big steam of consciousness, loosley strung together. I know many of you are thinking "she's just not sophisticated enough to comprehend a different style of literature!" Well, OK, but when I read a book, I still want some sort of plot to follow. Otherwise, the book just becomes boring. I mean, how much randomness can I handle without picking up a different book? The next thing that bugged me was the girl herself. I'm 14, and I sure as heck am not like this girl. Before anyone rants about how I don't know what's it like to be an "outsider," let me tell you that you are wrong. I am one of the biggest outcasts in my entire school. Zoe Trope is just a loser, obsessed with petty banalities, namely sex, sex, sex, which gets VERY, VERY DULL after a while. I know teenagers ARE obsessed with sex, but please, cut out some of it when putting it into book. And the constant cursing gets on my nerves. I don't care if that's a hallmark of high-school life or not, it just sounded stupid to me. I mean, can't you find a better adjective than certain four-letter words? And there's the fact that I felt the book tried way too hard to be "artsy." I understand this is *literally* a glimpse into a girl's mind, but there's a reason it's in your mind and not on print. This book just...bored me, and made me sick at the same time. When I buy a book, I don't want to read the random thoughts of a fourteen-year-old lesbian girl who's obsessed with sex,I want a book that has a story, a plot, and some form of construction. While I realize some people would want a book that's very raw and honest, I want a STORY. On the other hand, this book IS very raw and honest. Despite it's lack of storyline, I guess it portrays this girl's thoughts and feeling in a raw, uncensored fashion. Some people probably WOULD like the random-thoughts format as well. All in all though, I did not enjoy this book, but others might. I reccomend checking this book out from the library, if anything. See if you like the story, and then go from here.
Rating: 
Summary: Not to Be Taken for More Than it Actually Is.
Review: It is necessary to remember that this book is a memoir -- not a novel, not an autobiography. That being said, however, it is written much more as a personal journal than a memoir. (I'm not arguing that the two are mutually-exclusive, but I expected more of a story format than was presented.) In reading this book, you won't receive a play-by-play of Zoe Trope's high school experience -- which is appropriate for a memoir. However, as previously stated, there is too little focus on the story-telling aspect, and instead are pages of overly-done metaphors, similies, descriptions, associations, fragments. The point of reading "Please Don't Kill the Freshman" is not to relive high school or become intimately aware of all of the author's daily activities. Nevertheless, what is presented to the reader is often so vague and esoteric that it becomes difficult to follow. This kind of esotericism has its place, but this isn't it -- at least not to the degree which it is used. I understand that the author is young and desires a certain level of privacy and anonymity, but I think this book would have proved more successful had her descriptions of events and happenings not been so vague. Overall, this book deals with fairly typical teenage material. To the author's credit, however, she is evidently more mature than your average teenager. She is honest and open-minded and intelligent. Furthermore, she does have interesting and more informed insights and opinions than most college graduates. And while her writing is not absolutely amazing (I had plenty of high school classmates who wrote simliarly/at a similar level), she does show talent. Though it is sometimes difficult to tell because the book is so filled with flowery wording, short phrases, and tangential thoughts and statements, that it seems like a layer of fluff over her real writing; I think her "showy" writing often detracts from her story-telling or descriptions. And it is easy to confuse a writing style that is different with one that is good. (Again, they're not mutually-exclusive, but it almost seems as though the author tried too hard to phrase things exactly so -- and became more concerned with word-pairing than her overall writing ability.) I would call this book a "fun" read -- I enjoyed reading it. It's not horribly fascinating, though I doubt most people have that interesting of lives. Plus: the format in which it is writen (back to that vague and esoteric thing) is not conducive to having an "edge of your seat" page-turner. The key is to not expect more from this book than it actually is. Overall, the book did not leave me wondering how long I would have to wait for Zoe Trope to write again, but more so it left me with the desire for a chance at conversation with her.
Rating:
Summary: Not terribly well written, but interesting.
Review: Ms. Trope is a talented young lady. I felt I had to give this book a rather poor score largely because from my point of view it simply isn't terribly well written. At times it sounds nice, but the book largely seems written more from a standpoint of voice rather than of actual writing. What I mean by this ambiguous statement is that the book simply is not well crafted. It seems to make no attempt to be well crafted. Instead it is written to sound a specific way. A way I assume Ms. Trope is associating with her voice and her life. While reading such a thing might be interesting, it simply does not from my point of view make good literature. It takes no effort to have a unique voice. A unique voice, in fact, is not terribly unique. Everybody has a unique voice. A work created solely because it contains a unique voice might be entertaining, but without craft does not create enduring art. So, I might encourage this to my niece to read, but not because it's terribly good, but because it's a bit entertaining.
Rating: 
Summary: Glittering insight
Review: Strange, funny, raw, weird, crackling, plucky, intense, acerbic, sparkling..... so many ways to describe this one-of-a-kind book. I've never read a book like this, one that takes so many risks, and one in which the writer is clearly 100% committed to tell her truth. Props to Zoe Trope. (...)
Rating:
Summary: An interesting reading experience.
Review: The dedication page at the beginning of Zoe Trope's latest work reads, "For my parents: This is all your fault." Feelings of dark humor and teen angst are apparent on this single page, and that is what PLEASE DON'T KILL THE FRESHMAN is all about.
Following the first few pages, the reader quickly realizes that this is not a typical memoir. It is in fact a story within a story within a story. First, it is the story of a girl's first three years in high school --- featuring her motley crew of friends, her feelings toward high school, and her newfound yet uncertain sexuality. On this touchy topic, Zoe basically discovers that she can't help but fall in love with everyone, whether or not they are in love with her.
Second, this is a guide to the world of book publishing and promotion. While Zoe deals with high school, she gets her book published. She also goes on weekend book tours and learns that many people like her book. This discovery unnerves Zoe and creates growing uncertainty. Readers soon find themselves wondering if this uncertainty will continue to plague Zoe for the remainder of the book.
Third, this is a story about the beginning of a girl's awkward and sometimes dark journey through life. Zoe makes some shocking confessions and twisted, yet occasionally true, observations about life. There seems to be many questions as to whether this book is indeed a true account of a person's life or a parody of an alternate universe. It is up to the reader to decide.
I found PLEASE DON'T KILL THE FRESHMAN to be weird and shocking, which made for an interesting reading experience. I strongly recommend however that only a mature audience read this book, as it contains strong language and sexual references.
--- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle (...)
Rating: 
Summary: Embarrassing.
Review: The reviewer from School Library Journal thinks dorks will be empowered if they see that the flower poet Z scored a major wad of cash from the NY publishing world. How sad is that? Sad for the NY publishing world, sadder still for the reviewer at SLJ who thinks this is a reason to praise a book. Ms. Trope's book should have been left as the chapbook it was originally published as. That was indulgent enough. Midway through the book, Ms. Trope expresses the concern that she may some day be embarrassed by some photos of herself and a lover. Nahh. What will be embarrassing, if she does continue to write and publish, is this book. Hopefully, she'll get that education she passed up to go on book tour before writing #2.
Rating:
Summary: So ugly, But so Beautiful.
Review: There is no way to describe this book. Its ugly, its beautiful, its a piece of turd some girl stooled out after eating to much mexican food, its a heaven sent relief that we all can relate to. Maybe me more than others.
Being a teen isn't easy. Being any age isn't easy. But being a teenager I do believe is a bigger challenge that, oh say 30 when you go bald and pigeons find your head good enough to stool on.
This girl is a guenis, she is insane, she is lovely, this book is her piece of art. Her 15 minutes of fame. We embrace her because she is so open about the every day adventures and misfotunes that come upon us all. Her writing is a signature of hope and loss.
The book at times made me cry, made me want to kill myself, made me want to write, me me want to kill her so her hands could bleed rose petals once more, but I'm not a psycotic serial killer.
It made me laugh and cry some more, it scared me when she wrote things I thought in every day life. I'm on the outside looking in at the other people. Or maybe a mirror. I can't decide. The only problem was that she never clearly states if she is a boy or girl. For half the book I thought she was a boy. Oh well. Now you know. It was confusing even when I thought she was a girl. Then I realized she liked girls. ahh now it makes sense. Love it or hate it, you'll HAVE to put it down every couple pages and laugh and cry till you pass out and decide to continue. THanks.
Rating:
Summary: Okay.
Review: There's nothing groundbreaking or mindblowing in this book. Trope's writing "style" is similar to that of many, many other teen girls (see Livejournal and Diaryland for examples); occasionally she'll say something interesting, but by and large this is exactly what it looks like. It is the diary of an intelligent teenage girl who just happened to get a series of breaks and thus a book deal. You might like it, you might not. Whatever.
Rating:
Summary: The empress is scantily clad.
Review: There's something maddening about people who embrace their flaws and cryptically dismiss their would-be detractors as a way of immunizing themselves against criticism. Zoe Trope could very well earn her next book deal for writing the textbook on those devices. Both her memoir and its promotion (part of it, paid, by HarperTempest; the rest supplied free by her fans), play up the fragmentedness of the author's writing, as well as its many inconsistencies, and its "rawness" - qualities that most writers strive to avoid - all while suggesting that anyone who prefers their writing more refined just doesn't get it. I'm not exaggerating: in a Salon.com interview, Trope praises her mentor, Kevin Sampsell, for introducing her to "experimental writing - writing that doesn't have to be coherent or make sense". Sure enough, _Please Don't Kill The Freshman_ is incoherent and doesn't make sense, but that's part of its charm, see? Sampsell even said so himself. The book is a cacophonous mess of images and contextless remarks which, we're told, are brilliant precisely _because_ of how contextless and cacophonous they are. Despite the author's constant insistence that she's _different_ from everyone else her age (no other fourteen year old, she ridiculously postulates, reads political magazines), on the back cover of this book she melodramatically proclaims that the writings inside are actually about you - yes, YOU. But that contradiction isn't a flaw - it's a glimpse into the headiness of being fourteen. It's also a subtle suggestion: if you're special, like her, then this book is about you, too. If you don't see yourself in it, or if you take any issue whatsoever with the writing style (which isn't wholly without value - there are some nice images here), you're a typical high school student. Or a boring adult. Indeed, review after review (some of which can be found on this site) promise that _intelligent_ people will recognize Trope's genius. The book itself contains reams of self-referential blather on the subject of "OmigodIgotaBOOKDEAL", including some invective directed at an editor whose stylistic suggestions Trope takes personally: this book is about HER LIFE, she writes; to impose upon it such mundane considerations as proper sentence structure is to coopt her life story. Honesty and complete sentences are apparently mutually exclusive, so if you value the former, don't remark on the dearth of the latter. And so on, and so forth. Still, every now and again Trope gets into a rhythm that's altogether enjoyable to read. Unfortunately, this happens rarely, and when it does it's almost entirely in the first hundred or so pages; and the best parts can be found in excerpts here and there online. (One of the better ones is on Salon.com, and it's far from brilliant.) Nevertheless, this "memoir" is fragmented, more or less devoid of reflection, and riddled with incoherent images ensconsed in flowery prose. And that's not a good thing, despite the author's, and her fans', subtle suggestions that these characteristics are actually the book's strengths.
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