Inappropriation

Freiman’s stellar debut concerns 15-year-old Ziggy Klein, an awkward, precocious 10th grader who attends the politically correct Kandara Girls School in Sydney. As the daughter of a feminist psychotherapist, Ziggy aims to be her best self, even as she’s tortured by disparaging inner voices that she refers to as Hitler Youth. Ziggy has yet to hit puberty and is still figuring out her gender and sexuality when she befriends aspiring actress Tessa and her friend Lex, who wants to be a rapper in America. The duo introduce Ziggy to theories about otherness, sexuality, and gender, and take themselves way too seriously while also skewering the popular girls. Ziggy tries to keep up but the girls’ friendship deteriorates as Tessa and Lex start hanging out with boys and the cool crowd, respectively. Ziggy begins wearing a GoPro and publicly identifying as transhuman, which her school indulges, much to the other students’ chagrin. Tensions culminate on the night of the formal, when Ziggy and her friend Tim hatch a plan to drug and humiliate Lance, a popular boy who’s dating Lex. Freiman perfectly depicts the timeless awkwardness of growing up with the more modern awkwardness of having your life broadcast on social media, and thus growing up in front of the rest of the world. This is a very strong first novel from a promising voice. (July)