Headlong

by Kathe Koja

The Vaughn School is home to the Vaughn Virgins: the upper stratum of girls who have perfect grades, perfect lives, and perfect friends. Two girls discover what it means to dive deep beneath the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374329125
• ISBN13: 9780374329129
• Release Date: October 2008
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 195 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.8" x 8.4"
• Age Range: 14 to 18 years
• Grade Range: Grade 9 to Postsecondary

Customer Reviews

Story about friendship told with great writing!

Aww, this book was very ...nice/different/special/touching/sweet. I have never read a book in this kind of writing style, I loved it! I miss it :( This is a wonderful story about friendship that will stay in your mind for a long time, long after you've read it. I loved the way the author, Koja, wrote this book. She did it in such a creative way, that it made the whole book even better, I have never read another book written in this way which makes this book stand out. This book is incredibly realistic and pretty easy to relate to. I enjoyed it so much I can't stop thinking about how amazing I think it is. I HIGHLY recommend this one. -tvandbookaddict.blogspot.com

Good story

Summary: Lily Noble has always gone to private school. In her sophomore year, a misfit named Hazel shows up and makes Lily rethink the way she's been doing things her whole life. Review: The back-and-forth nature of this book took a little time for me to get used to. The chapters alternate between snippets from the beginning of the school year and the end of the year. A few times, I got confused about whether it was a "later" chapter or a "before" chapter, but I chalk that up to my own work-induced lack of sleep during the week I was reading this one. I liked that this book doesn't hit you over the head with what Lily's feeling. You have to work out on your own what's going on with her. I also liked how Lily--who's always just gone with the flow--finally changes course and questions the ways of her affluent world. Not a standout for me, but still an enjoyable read.

Courtesy of Teens Read Too

Lily Noble has been attending the Vaughn School since pre-K as a day student. She has been discontent with her life there. To try to appease her, Lily's parents decide to let Lily be a boarder at school sophomore year. Thinking the change will help Lily's restlessness, Lily moves into the dorm. She is stuck with a roommate that has severe allergies and is overwhelmed with the pressures of life at Vaughn. Lily notices the new girl, Hazel Tobias, in her Lit class. Hazel speaks out to the teacher in an argumentative tone, something Lily would never think to do. One evening while Lily is hanging out with her friends, Hazel approaches her, looking for a cigarette. When Lily encounters Hazel alone late at night in the dorm common room, the two start a hesitant conversation. From that one conversation, the two form a friendship that the rest of Lily's friends can't comprehend. Lily has gone through the motions of life at Vaughn. Even before Hazel's arrival, Lily was dissatisfied with her current situation. Her mom went to Vaughn and her dad never said much about her schooling. But once she gets to know Hazel, as much as Hazel will let her in, Lily starts to define herself. She questions her relationship with her boyfriend. She confronts her so-called friends. She changes her accessories. Hazel doesn't want to be there, but on the surface, she seems to embrace the world that is Vaughn. But when Lily goes home with Hazel on Christmas break, she gains more insight into who Hazel really is. The book unfolds during the course of the girls' sophomore year. Jumping back and forth from the end of the term to the current month, the reader gets a glimpse of the struggles going on in Lily's head. The reader has to wonder if the changes Lily goes through happened because of Hazel or simply coincided with her arrival. Reviewed by: Jaglvr