Caught in the Act -- Peter Moore

I'm getting kind of tired of books that start like this:

It was a cool day in October when Lydia Krane walked into our sophomore honors chem class.  I was doomed from the minute I set eyes on her.

Lately, there's been a slew of YA books about ultra-sexy goth girls that entrance "normal" high school boys with their intelligence, their poetry and their darkness.  And then, of course, it turns out that the girl is either clinically depressed or psychotic.  Because, as everyone knows, goths are all either depressed or psychotic.

It isn't that the books are bad--I loved the Gail Giles book and As Simple As Snow--but, jeez Louise, publishers:  Just because I like one or two doesn't mean that I want to read eighteen more.  At least not all in the same year.  Space 'em out a little, would you?  And maybe publish one where there's a goth kid that isn't insane.  That would be nice.

This one was just okay.  I certainly would have liked it more if I hadn't read the other two semi-recently, and I also would have liked it more if I hadn't felt like the author was jumping on the let's-pick-on-the-goth-kids bandwagon.  Aren't they mopey enough?  Leave them alone, already.  Sheesh.

Ethan Lederer is a sophomore in high school.  He's a Smart Kid in all-Honors Courses with a Nice Girlfriend and Good Friends.  At least, that's the role he plays.  Secretly, he's failing chemistry, unsure about his relationship and wants to be an actor.  Enter Lydia Krane.

I did like the connection that the book had with Macbeth and the drama angle in general:

He stood up and put his script notebook on the chair.  "No character thinks he or she is small.  They all think they're the center and the other people are the supporting characters.  Tom Stoppard wrote a play where Rosencrantz and Guildenstern think they're the main characters and Hamlet is a small, supporting character.  And to them, it's true.  They're the center.  It's just like life."

Actually, I probably wouldn't have complained about the book nearly as much if Lydia hadn't reminded me of a psychotic version of Stargirl (who I HATED).  Also, she liked to switch her accents--from Southern to British to Scottish--and that's a pet peeve of mine.  So that might have had something to do with my irritation, too.  It was a decent book, I guess.  My hang-ups are my own.