The Overachievers
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The Overachievers or The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids is a nonfiction book written by Alexandra Robbins. It centers upon Overachievism's (or the lifestyle in which being successful depends upon a perfect GPA in high school and which college one is to attend) negative effect in today's society.
Throughout the work, she follows many diverse students who have a lifestyle where overachieving takes priority. She also occasionally interrupts to address certain issues which affect one of the teens, and explains its negative effect on an international scale. She discusses how social pressure from parents and friends, drugs, drinking, and suicide all play a part in driving high school teenagers to the brink of insanity.
She also puts the No Child Left Behind Act in a negative light and claims the college admissions process to be corrupt and inefficient.
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[edit] The Overachievers
For 3 Semesters (July 20, 2004 - December 9, 2004) Alexandra Robbins followed eight Walt Whitman High School students around in their daily lives to document their lives and incorporate them into Alexandra Robbins's book. Alexandra Robbins chose Whitman because "in the mid-1990s, in many ways Alexandra Robbins was these students, rushing through the same hallways, cramming anxiously for tests in the same classrooms, battling rivals on the same varsity fields." Whitman is also one of the best public schools in the nation and is located in Bethesda, Maryland.
[edit] "AP" Frank
"AP" Frank (later just Frank) is a mixed race Korean/white college freshman attending Harvard. As a high school student, he had to deal with horrifying parental pressure to succeed and to come out on the top. He deals with a degree of emotional and physical abuse. His Korean mother's traditional Asian upbringing and values clashes against those of his white father.
[edit] Audrey
Audrey is a Hispanic junior who deals with perfectionism throughout the book. When a Physics project surfaces which will be placed in a competition, Audrey works vigorously (often on weekends) to make sure hers comes on top. She has to make a bridge out of toothpicks that can hold an amount of weight. After crafting it, she leaves it in the physics classroom only to find out later that it was gone. Her physics teacher decides to give her an A, but Audrey still wanted first place in the competition.
[edit] C.J.
As a young woman, C.J. has to deal with misconceptions about being an overachiever. She is often perceived as a class flirt.
[edit] Julie
Julie is a self-driven overachiever who runs cross country. She fooled people into thinking she was confident, perfect, and had everything under control. Julie finally relaxes when she arrives at Dartmouth College. Instead of taking herself so seriously and worrying so much about her image, she adopts the mantra "my life is a joke" and thus becomes immune to awkward situations.
[edit] Sam
Sam is an overachiever who feels that if he doesn't get in a name-brand school, his hard work in high school would be wasted.
[edit] The Stealth Overachiever
Stealth Overachiever is a guy who overachieves but manages to play it down so nobody notices.
[edit] Pete
Pete is labeled an underachieving "meathead" who has the necessary skills to succeed but not the motivation. His image and parents' financial issues have been stifling him.
[edit] Taylor
Taylor is popular, but she is also friends with the "smart kids" and frequently has trouble balancing these two worlds. She often hides her intelligence from her "popular" friends, knowing that they will judge her for re-taking the SAT when she got a 1490 [including a perfect score on the math section] on her first try.
[edit] Ryland
Ryland struggles with dropping grades, too many extracurricular activities, and a form of ADD, which his mother is convinced he doesn't have. He gets Ritalin.
[edit] References
Robbins, Alexandra. The Overachievers: The Secret Lives of Driven Kids.
