Untitled: A Bad Teen Novel

Tara Ariano wrote Untitled: A Bad Teen Novel (Writers Club Press) when she was thirteen. It is, she claims, “quite awful,” and was only rescued from obscurity because Tara had friends who persuaded her to share her shame with the world. The action takes place at the fictional Adams Conglomerate High School in Regina, and concerns a group of cute, popular teens who encounter every plot device the young Ariano could think of. Kidnapping, abuse by teachers, divorce, death, shoplifting and sex all make an appearance. Most readers agree: this is a bad, bad book. So bad, though, that it is sublime. The young Ariano actually manages to convey the reality of high school in the 1980s—nothing to be scoffed at, even from a thirteen-year-old—and there are some very funny parts, such as the painstakingly detailed descriptions of all of the girls’ outfits and their unbridled lust for fashion, cigarettes and boys. The book may read like a soap opera, but Ariano’s (sometimes unintentional) humour and budding talent shine through the ridiculous dialogue and pointless exposition, making it much more than just a bad teen novel.