Toting her newly released bestseller adorned with a pink and green grosgrain ribbon on the cover, author Curtis Sittenfeld declared, "'I love boys,' I thought. 'All of them.'"
Sittenfeld, a graduate of Stanford University and winner of the Michener-Copernicus Society of America Award, entertained Penn students and Bookstore customers with a sample from her recently published novel, Prep.
The book addresses the contemporary issues of socio-economic class structure, the teenage struggle for identity, love and friendship through the eyes of its main character, Lee Fiora. In the novel, Fiora, a native of the Midwest, leaves the comforts of her hometown to attend a prestigious and wealthy boarding school in Massachusetts.
"I thought high school was a really rich subject matter, and high school students feel things very intensely," Sittenfeld remarked. "The [book] cover makes it look like a celebration of preppiness, but it's actually somewhat critical of the preppy world."
Despite her main character's identity and experiences as a high school teenager, Sittenfeld applied the novel's message to Penn students as well.
"A lot of people have told me that they identify with the main character," she said. "When she goes to high school, it's similar to when they go to college. Just the fact that she's away from home in a rarified, privileged environment makes her position similar to a Penn student's."
Responding to an audience member's question on exactly how much of the author's real life is reflected in the personality of Lee Fiora, Sittenfeld responded with "30 percent."
She cited the fact that her hometown -- like Fiora's -- is in the Midwest and that she attended a boarding school with similarities to the one Fiora attends. Although she draws her novel's setting from her experience at Groton boarding school in Massachusetts, Sittenfeld also emphasizes the differences that exist.
"If I had been true to my own experience, it would have been very boring. In short, I try to make it more interesting than my own life," she said.
Although Sittenfeld is not a Philadelphia native, she is relatively familiar with the Penn campus. Her boyfriend, Annenberg doctoral student Matt Carlson, first suggested that she should come to Penn to promote her book.
Even though Lee Fiora is a female, Carlson does not see that as an obstacle to understanding her experiences from her point of view.
"It's easy to step into the main character's shoes," he said. "I found myself so much in Fiora's mind. It has universal appeal."
Sittenfeld's other fans include College sophomore Caroline Henley, a student who showed up to support her former teacher. Henley's high school had close ties to Sittenfeld's St. Albans School in Washington, and teachers often lead classes at both schools. Henley cited her similar educational background as lending insight into the mind of a teenage girl.
"I thought it was me when I was reading it," she said.
The Prep speech attracted students who had not read the novel before as well.
College of General Studies Administrative Assistant Chris Heise was among the 45 people in attendance. He said that he had never read the book but came to satisfy his curiosity.
"I'm interested in writing, writers, and I want to hear the thoughts of a current writer," he said.
Prep has already been a bestseller at the Penn Bookstore, Bookstore spokeswoman Christine Hibbard said.
"I started reading the book right away. I finished it today. It has been a bestseller, and it is still a bestseller right now," she said.
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