Book Review: Hating Alison Ashley

Book Title: Hating Alison Ashley

Author: Robin Klein

Genre: Fiction

Age: 9-11

Hating Alison Ashley, written by Australian author, Robin Klein, could not be a more entertaining novel for young readers, or any age for that matter. It’s not difficult to find yourself falling off of your chair with laughter while reading the narration of the main character, Erica Yurken. Erica is a sixth-grade student growing up in the town of Barringa East, attending “Barringa East Primary School,” the town’s Australian grade school, and is known for containing “Disadvantaged kids.” Barringa East is the complete opposite of classy, as well as everyone in it. Erica Yurken is the definition of confidence, as she strides through the halls of Barringa East Primary like she is a famous celebrity. She claims to be best friends with all of the teachers and staff, and if a student needs help with anything that has to do with Barringa East Primary, she is the person to come to. Erica does not subject herself to going out to the playground for recess, because she “never cared to associate with all the riff-raff” (Klein 5). Instead of playing with the other kids, she asks Mrs. Orlando, the school secretary, if she can lie down because she is suffering from one of her many “illnesses.” This is very commonly seen in elementary school students; kids often use the excuse of being sick to get out of doing things they do not want to do. The “sick-bay” is her second home; I found it interesting that the Australian word for “clinic” is “sick-bay” in Australia. There were multiple instances where Klein really emphasized Australian slang terms, such as “biro” for a ballpoint pen, “wholemeal” bread instead of whole wheat bread, and “bubblers” instead of drinking fountains.

The town of Barringa East is sectioned off from the wealthier, more elegant suburbs. Everyone in the areas surrounding Barringa East kept their distance; until a new freeway was built, and one of the roads that was part of the framework for keeping Barringa East in its place, was divided. Unfortunately, a tiny part of one of the wealthier streets had been submerged into the school district divide line, and the parents who lived in those 3-4 houses had to send their children to the dreaded Barringa East Primary School.

Erica Yurken’s whole world turns upside down when Alison Ashley, a preppy girl that was forced to join Barringa East, walks through the doors. Ashley is beautifully polished, and in Erica’s words, “the most beautiful, graceful, elegant thing you ever saw in your life” (Klein 17). Erica was assigned to show Ashley around, and of course she had to act like the know-it-all she claims to be, but she exaggerated her knowledge to a whole different level around Alison Ashley. Throughout the book, Erica grows more and more jealous of her. Erika despised Ashley of things that were out of her control; at the school camp, Erika never got any sleep because she claimed to have ‘insomnia.’ Erika gets caught by the teacher in charge of the camp, Miss Belmont, and uses this as yet another excuse to loathe Alison Ashley just a little bit more. “When she went away, I lay in bed hating Alison Ashley for not having insomnia” (Klein 123).

The Barringa East Primary sixth grade camp was held every year, and Erika had been looking forward to it since the day she heard about it. Erika’s ultimate dream was to become a famous actress, and since the camp put on two plays every year, she was determined to get a leading role so she could show off her acting potential. The school normally put on the same play every year, so Erika rehearsed the lines for that play day in and day out leading up to the camp. When it came time to begin rehearsing for the play and assigning parts, Miss Belmont informed the students that they would not be putting on the same play as they had in previous years, they would instead be split into two groups, where each group would create their very own play all by themselves. Of course Erika was upset at this news, but she immediately took charge and came up with an idea for a play not only for her assigned group, but the other group as well. Not surprisingly, she also assigned herself the leading role for both plays. During rehearsal for the first play, when it came time to present her lines, Erika completely froze from stage fright. Of course, with the confidence she has, (or thinks she has), she thought it was no big deal and she would be fine when it came time for the real thing. During rehearsal for the second play, though, when Erika froze a second time, she knew she would definitely not be able to act as the lead role in the school camp’s plays, or in any plays for that matter.

In the meantime, she took over the role of the director, where she thrived. “I found again, that when I didn’t have to act, I had no trouble at all demonstrating how each line should be said” (Klein 148). The turning point of the story came when one of the students, Oscar, said that he could not play the fairy godmother in Cinderella anymore because the role was too feminine for a male. Everyone immediately looked to Erika to fill in for him, and she was terrified. To Erika’s surprise, her “arch nemesis,” Alison Ashley, came to her rescue. Alison screamed at Oscar and basically scared him into getting dressed for his part so Erika didn’t have to fill in. It turns out Alison wasn’t so bad after all. It is very common for young kids to only see people from the outside, especially in a school setting. Erika was so envious of Alison’s looks, clothes, perfect grades, perfect manners, etc. to give her even the slightest chance to show her that she can actually be a pretty great friend. Erika also finds out that Alison doesn’t have a perfect home life, either. Unlike Erika’s mother, who was overwhelmed with excitement to come watch her daughter in the school play, Alison’s mother didn’t make an appearance, even after she begged and begged for her mother to come see her. “She didn’t turn up for the same reason she never does; because she’s not interested in anything I do” (Klein 179).

Hating Alison Ashley is a perfect example of the saying, “don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” This book teaches children that you should never assume anything about anyone, because you never know what goes on behind the scenes. This book emphasizes the power of friendship and acceptance, as Erika ends up becoming best friends with Alison Ashley, and learns to appreciate the things that she has. I really enjoyed this book, and would recommend it to all children ages 9 and up, as it teaches a very valuable lesson.

Works Cited:

Klein, Robin. Hating Alison Ashley. Puffin Books, 1984.