Pondering Plaid Skirts

I'm reading this book--let's call it The Plaid Skirt, since it has a girl in a plaid skirt on it. It's not a famous title, in case you're wondering. And this is not a book I would ordinarily pick up, to be fair. It's kind of... girly.

But the bookmobile (my unfortunate library location) had a long line, the air was devoid of oxygen, I was awaiting my latest YA book purchase, so what the hell. Plus the title hinted at a mystery. Worth a shot.

I'm on page 38. At first, it seemed okay. Snappy pace, snappy dialogue, snappy character, a bit of a mystery--all parts of a good YA. I was sort of diggin' it.

But now The Plaid Skirt has a scene where the lead character and her plaid-skirted friends are talking. They're trying to solve the now ho-hum mystery, and are discussing their options. Or rather: ditzing their way through it. The conversation is so dumb, the characters so foolish, I feel like I'm actually losing parts of my brain as I'm reading The Plaid Skirt. Is this how the author thinks teen girls talk? Maybe some, but not the ones who actually read, right?

I'm trying to make it past page 38. I don't like to give up on a book, and maybe I'm wrong--it's been known to happen. But the teen girls I know are smart, interesting, and don't say (or cry, as The Plaid Skirt likes to use) "Oh my gosh!" every other word.

So I wonder: does a plaid skirt makes you dumber? Am I too hard on The Plaid Skirt (probably)? Are seven exclamation marks on a page too many (definitely)?

The mystery continues...