The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills: A Novel
Written by Joanna Pearson
Narrated by Emily Janice Card
3.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
For anyone who's ever survived a rite of passage or performed a mating dance at Prom . . .
The Japanese hold a Mogi ceremony for young women coming of age. Latina teenagers get quinceaneras. And Janice Wills of Melva, NC ... has to compete in the Miss Livermush pageant.
Janice loves anthropology--the study of human cultures--and her observations help her identify useful rules in the chaotic world of high school. For instance: Dancing is an effective mating ritual--but only if you're good at it; Hot Theatre Guys will never speak to Unremarkable Smart Girls like Janice and her best friend, Margo; and a Beautiful Rich Girl will always win Melva's annual Miss Livermush pageant.
But when a Hot Theatre Guy named Jimmy Denton takes an interest in Janice, all her scientific certainties explode. For the first time, she has to be part of the culture that she's always observed; and all the charts in the world can't prove how tough--and how sweet--real participation and a real romance can be.
Funny, biting, and full of wisdom, this marks the debut of a writer to watch.
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Reviews for The Rites and Wrongs of Janice Wills
21 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I loved this book! Janice is so funny and very relatable. This book definitely depicts life in a small town perfectly!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Janice is a gangly high-school junior who considers herself an anthropologist and spends her time observing and classifying her classmates. She has entered her hometown’s Miss Livermush contest as an observer, but starts to realize that she needs to get involved to have friends and to grow.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The premise of this novel immediately interested me. I've always said that anthropology would be an awesome job... not a job for me, but I find people in general very interesting. Especially how different cultures can seem so unique, but at the core, most share the same values and archetypal roles. Because of this, Janice Will's anthropological studies set in an American high school is something everyone can relate to. I was cracking up by how true her observations are. Her observations and more make this novel a great, quick, fun read.You know those stories where you can't help but think, "Really? Not this freaking plot again!" I had a bad feeling that this book was going to end up like that. I am happy to say I was proved very wrong. Janice has always been an observer, watching others take part in teenagerly things. Janice's transformation from observer to participator was not cliche or overdone. Actually, I thought it was pretty well written. It was different, and it was also very witty but strangely touching. This book surprised me by exceeding my expectations. If you've ever sat on a bench and found yourself immensely entertained by watching people walk by, being perplexed by their appearance, automatically sorting them into groups, or even pondering over their life story, then this is a book for you. If you're looking for a light read, I'd definitely recommend this one.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5At first it was laugh out loud funny and light-hearted. then it became darker and ended too patly and happily.
Janice Wills of Melva, NC fancies herself an anthropologist and writes down all of her observations about teen life in a southern town. The novel is framed as an article submission to Current Anthropology with notes about the strange tribes and rituals in her high school sprinkled throughout the book, especially the Melva Miss Livermush Pageant and Festival. Every eleventh grade girl with the qualifying grade point average was eligible, which meant Janice should participate but cringed at the idea. She had been harboring a crush on Jimmy Denton, Hot Theatre Guy, since sophomore year. When he invites her to his party, like any good anthropologist Janice does her research to find out more about him. She stumbles on his blog which seems like a personal journal and finds things out she feels are very personal. The story takes a quick, dark turn with Jimmy as well as with her best friends, Margo and Paul. Janice decides to participate in the Miss Livermush pageant after all as an anthropological experience with disastrous results but learns things about herself with the help of her friends and her pageant experience. The novel ends a little too neatly and patly but readers who like happy endings will not be disappointed. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Narrated by Emily Janice Card. Janice aspires to be an anthropologist; Margaret Mead is one of her heroes. Janice closely observes and notes the rites and groupings of the American teenager at Melba High School. One of the town's big events is the Miss Livermush pageant. Janice isn't at all interested in participating until she realizes the experience could serve as an anthropological project for her college admissions. Challenges lie in her wake: lack of a talent, a mother who insists on buying her pageant dresses, and popular mean girl T.R., a likely shoo-in for the Livermush crown. Janice is an intellectual among her peers and Card depicts her as such, thoughtful and certain, but self-deprecatingly insecure. Chick lit with a strong young woman.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5VOYA Rating: 5Q4PHighly Recommended The story starts with a letter written by the main character, Janice Wills, to the Editor of Current Anthropology. Janice wants to be published as an anthropologist. She states that she does not have a PhD yet, but that she is in the National Honor Society and the Beta Club. Her mission is to observe teenagers in her small town high school of Melva, North Carolina. The story is full of her notes about individual students as the various cliques they all belong too. At one point, she loses part of her notebook and is mortified. To make matters worse, they are found by the guy she is totally interested in. Janice and her best friend Margo, decide to enter the Miss Livermush pageant. Margo enters because it is a ritual that most girls in Melva go through. Janice enters the pageant as a way to do field research on the culture and customs of small town girls. There are many laugh out loud moments.The format of the book is unique with all the letters and anthropologist notes that set the scene for the story. The story is a fun, quirky, social commentary on small town teen life. Throughout the story Janice has a moment of realization – she needs to start living life instead of criticizing what others are doing. She pushed a lot of her friends away and she needs to work on repairing relationships. I think it’s a great book for teens. It has a positive message and it’s fun to read. Once I got into it, I wanted to finish reading it without stopping. I like that it is a stand alone book. It had a strong ending that leaves the reader satisfied. There is some binge drinking at a party and references to bi-sexuality. But nothing out of the ordinary for the average high school student. I would not hesitate to buy this for my school or public library. I think it would be a good book for a book club. It has appeal to a broad audience. I definitely enjoyed and will be recommending it to my students.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Janice is a gangly high-school junior who considers herself an anthropologist and spends her time observing and classifying her classmates. She has entered her hometown’s Miss Livermush contest as an observer, but starts to realize that she needs to get involved to have friends and to grow.