Big Mouth & Ugly Girl

Starred review from May 12, 2003
A high school junior leaps to her classmate's defense when his throwaway joke about blowing up the school makes him a suspected terrorist. "The relationship between the two grows credibly and compellingly, against a convincing high school backdrop," said PW
in a starred review. Ages 12-up.

Starred review from April 22, 2002
Believable, full-blooded characters propel Oates's first YA novel past some plotting that doesn't quite add up. Ursula Riggs, a high school junior, has adopted a stance of invincible indifference ("Since that day I woke up and knew I wasn't an ugly girl, I was Ugly Girl"). Against her mother's wishes, she leaps to her classmate Matt Donaghy's defense when his throwaway joke about blowing up the school makes him a suspected terrorist, but then rebuffs Matt's overtures to friendship. Told in alternating perspectives (Ursula's in first-person and Matt's in third), the novel intensifies even though Matt is quickly exonerated. Matt's friends ice him out, citing pressure from their parents, and his family receives hate mail. When Matt's family files suit against the school and his accusers, the hostilities escalate, and Matt nearly attempts suicide (Ursula, again in the right place at the right time, saves him once more). In turn, Matt helps Ursula realize that her Ugly Girl persona "wasn't right for all occasions." The weak spots here have to do with the villains (including the students who reported Matt's "joke" and those who bully him); they are barely developed, and stereotypes seem to have taken the place of their motivation. But the relationship between Ursula and Matt grows, credibly and compellingly, against a convincing high school backdrop. Readers will relate to the pressures these two experience, both at school and from their parents, and be gratified by their ability to emerge the wiser. Ages 13-up.

June 10, 2002
Accomplished actors and real-life spouses Swank (Boys Don't Cry) and Lowe (Life Goes On) find a comfortable rhythm reading the alternating chapters from Oates' first YA novel. Swank is Ursula Riggs, whose alter-ego, "Ugly Girl," often gets her in a jam; Lowe plays Matt Donaghy, who readily admits to being a "Big Mouth." The two high school juniors barely know each other until the day Matt is accused of making terrorist threats at school. Ugly Girl quickly comes to Matt's defense, understanding that the offhand lunchroom remarks she heard him make were intended as a joke. The two become unlikely friends. As the consequences of Matt's actions unfold (and are resolved in somewhat bizarre fashion), Oates takes ample opportunity to comment on current events, media hype and high school life. Though they occasionally sound stiff during the earliest narrated passages, both performers shine in delivering Oates's snappy, realistic dialogue and the protagonists' e-mail transcripts. A Reading Group Guide of discussion questions from the publisher is included. Ages 13-up. (May)FYI:Simultaneous release with the HarperTempest hardcover.