It’s 1999 in the small town of Hopuonk, Massachusetts. Taylor is the most popular girl in school. She’s beautiful—everyone tells her so—and everyone wants to be her and/or be near her. It’s expected she’ll be crowned prom queen and homecoming queen, and date the most handsome and popular boys in school.
It seems like the perfect life from the outside looking in, and even her future is determined—she should go to school to become a dental hygenist and marry the prom king. Who wouldn’t want that?
The only obstacle to all of this is Taylor herself. She doesn’t even like the smell of dentists’ offices. She hates her life, the constant pressure to party, look good, be popular. And she’s in love with her best friend, Susan. But of course, no one wants to know any of that, not Taylor's friends, not her waitress mother who also was crowned prom queen years before.
As senior year of high school draws to a close, Taylor is getting less satisfied with the idea of following the expected path. But how much is she willing to destroy everything and everyone else around her in an effort to be who she wants to be?
We Were Promised Spotlights was a well-written story about the pressures of “fitting in” when everyone thinks you’ve got it made. Certainly having to tell people you’re not who they think you are—or even if they have suspicions—is hard. Many of us have been there.
The thing is, I just really disliked all of the characters. I get the whole disaffected teenager thing but I just can’t find sympathy for people who are mean and allow others to bully people because they’re unhappy with themselves, afraid they’ll be exposed, or they’re just assholes. The whole “ridicule the gay people because you’re afraid someone will think you're gay” is real, I know (I've been a victim of it), but it wasn't enjoyable for me to read about.
Some have really praised the book, however, so maybe those with more distance from this kind of plot may enjoy it more.
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