high-school years

Some viewers have already had a glimpse into your awkward high-school years, courtesy of a famous photograph from that era that showed you wearing a turtleneck, a gold chain and a fanny pack.

In retrospect, this is probably the most embarrassing fact I can share about my high-school years, but at the time I felt more secure in this aspect of my identity than I did in many others.

Denhollander, a lawyer, a devout Christian, and a mother of four, had competed as a gymnast during her high-school years in Kalamazoo, Michigan, as she explains on “Believed,” a podcast from Michigan Radio and NPR that was released last fall.

Molly and Amy’s realization that they aren’t the only school standouts — that from a certain perspective, their high-school years have been woefully underachieved — provides the first big jolt in this wickedly clever and furiously paced comedy.

For anyone who spent their high-school years studying hard, racking up extracurriculars, avoiding parties and sneering at the popular kids who were clearly destined to peak in 12th grade — I’m not thinking of anyone in particular, of course — the opening scenes of “Booksmart” will play out with a strangely potent, slow-dawning horror.