Exactly how inaccurate is the Pledged book?

[Benzgirl]

So I read Pledged last summer. I didn't take offense to it; I found it enjoyable. I looked at it from a point of view that I would take watching Animal House.

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by Benzgirl

So I read Pledged last summer. I didn't take offense to it; I found it enjoyable. I looked at it from a point of view that I would take watching Animal House.

I read it right before I joined up here. Accurate or not is hard to say. The story was so vague and general that it could easily have been totally made up- but at the same time seem like a true tale.

What did bother me a LOT, and what demonstrated that the author was out to trash sorority life, was the chapter where all kinds of secrets bits of information were revealed- passwords etc.

That was just mean-spirited and offered nothing to the plot of the book- such as it was. It seems clear that the author had to talk to a lot of sorority women to get those details since I am sure most would not have said anything, so from day 1 she was up to no good.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by EE-BO

What did bother me a LOT, and what demonstrated that the author was out to trash sorority life, was the chapter where all kinds of secrets bits of information were revealed- passwords etc.

Agreed, but what made it worse was that quite a few of her "secrets" weren't secrets at all -- they're things that can be found on the websites of the GLOs in question, like the significance of Pi Phi's carnation. (Whether there is deeper meaning, of course, I don't know, but what she put in the book isn't a secret.) I mean, if you're going to make a big deal about revealing secrets, at least reveal the secret secrets.

Then there were the urban legend or decoy "secrets" she "revealed." I particularly laughed that she fell for "Thanks for Joining!" (ETA: Not that I knew what TFJ really stands for -- I've just heard enough Alpha Xi Deltas joke about "Thanks for Joining" as their stock response when asked about it that I knew that wasn't really it.)

There were other "secrets" in there that I can't say whether she got right or not, of course, but the ones that were obviously wrong or not secrets to begin with didn't help what credibility she had.

[pinksirfidel]

Originally Posted by EE-BO

What did bother me a LOT, and what demonstrated that the author was out to trash sorority life, was the chapter where all kinds of secrets bits of information were revealed- passwords etc.

I'm not a fan of the book, however, I've seen more "secrets" revealed online...

[Benzgirl]

Originally Posted by EE-BO

That was just mean-spirited and offered nothing to the plot of the book- such as it was. It seems clear that the author had to talk to a lot of sorority women to get those details since I am sure most would not have said anything, so from day 1 she was up to no good.

I agree that it was mean-spirited, but as I read it, I could pick out girls from college that fit nearly every character in the book. It was not one chapter, but girls from several chapters. And yes, some of these girls were mean.