“There are so many different ways to tell a single story.” (11)

Starting out, I spent the first 25-30% of the book underwhelmed. New girl goes to a weird school. There’s multi-format narrative (interviews, texts, a few emails), and it was... fine... but I was un-wowed. I thought this was going to end up just a rote, realistic school story. Three stars for that first chunk.

“When people tell stories... they make choices. They emphasize some parts. Leave out others. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be a story. It would just be a collection of facts.” (243)

Things picked up once Caitlyn settles in a bit. She was a classic bystander at her old school, and occasionally dipped her toes into bullying. She seemed to rely on her “friends” as a gauge for her behavior, and went along with their meanness in order to avoid becoming an outsider herself. The new school has some of the same social traps for Caitlyn, but its small size and unconventional structure give her more opportunities to gain the confidence she was so sorely lacking. Four stars for the middle chunk.

“The concept [of eudaimonia] incorporates all the things it takes for a person to flourish: joy, hard work, learning, and ethics. Eudaimonia isn’t about short-term happiness. Rather, it’s a way of asking the question When I look back at my life, what will I want to have done?” (265)

As the story continues, there are some really nice places where Caitlyn and her classmates explore what makes a person legendary, what makes a person mean, and what makes a person brave. There are moments when Caitlyn realizes how difficult - impossible - it can be to know the whole truth or a whole person. I found a lot of great nuggets about storytelling, and ways of seeing people, and ways of viewing the truth. The action really ramps up towards the last 25% or so, and I found several reveals at the end to be surprisingly satisfying. A nice author’s note at the end refers to philosophy and one of my fave author/historians: Laurel Thatcher Ulrich. So five stars for the end.

Despite a slow start, I found myself enjoying this more and more the longer I read it. And I’m always a sucker for a story about stories.

Also: goats.

Amazing! Hilarious and deeper than I expected.

I know the author personally, so it’s hard not to be biased. I love the message here - that we never truly can know every aspect of another person, that there can be many truths, that things are relative. Great characters, funny plotting.

Highly recommend the audiobook

YES!
-Goats
-GOATs
-Explorations of how to course-correct after being a bully
-Large, fun cast
-Cool structure
-Heartfelt and fun