But I got a full scholarship, and I felt vindicated. When I was interviewed in grade six for a scholarship at an exclusive private high school, and asked about my favourite book, I said, " Hating Alison Ashley." My mother was furious when she heard this, because apparently I should have said something more advanced, more intellectual, more canonical. Her rage was cathartic, as I still struggle when I see my peers succeeding and being recognised on a level I only wish I could reach, and all the guys I've ever liked choosing thinner, prettier girls over me. No wonder she hates Alison, because she hates herself. But I identified deeply with Erica and her hunger to be noticed and her talents acknowledged.
I think that, as with Adrian Mole, the reader is meant to see through Erica's first-person narration and realise she's much more pretentious and less talented than she thinks. The idea that they could be friends is unthinkable… until the climactic school camp.
Things come easily to Alison, and events have her constantly showing up Erica in all the ways Erica wants to excel, and moving in on the guy Erica is crushing on. Even her nicknames, Yuk and Erk, represent being the object of disgust.Įrica hates Alison Ashley, a recent transfer student who lives in a more salubrious neighbouring suburb, as the personification of everything Erica wants and strives for, yet fails to achieve. It's the same kind of story as Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole cycle: Erica Yurken fancies herself cultured and artistically talented, but is trapped in mundane suburban surroundings with family and classmates who constantly frustrate and humiliate her.
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