Story of a Girl -- Sara Zarr

I don't usually put much stock in author blurbs, but there are some I can't ignore -- and when a whole bunch of them recommend the same book, I definitely take notice.  These are just a few of the authors who are quoted on the back cover of Story of a Girl:  E. Lockhart, Chris Crutcher, John Green, Andrew Auseon. 

I mean, come on.  That was enough to make me pick it up.  And now, after reading it, Sara Zarr is most definitely on my list of Authors to Watch.

They never tell you this part in sex ed, how to talk about what you did and why you did it and what you thought about it, before, during, and after.

Deanna Lambert's life changed when she was thirteen years old and her father caught her with Tommy Webber -- her older brother's supposed friend -- in the back of a Buick.  Thanks to Tommy, the story circulated fast and far.

Three years have passed, and Deanna's father has yet to look her in the eye.  They hardly even speak.  Remember the scene in Dirty Dancing where Baby confronts Jerry Orbach about letting her down?  Here, Deanna remembers having the same epiphany, minus the confrontation:

That's what I figured out that day while he yelled at me.  That as much as I'd let him down, he'd let me down, too, and he was the one who should have known better.  He was the dad.  He was my dad.

Communication is not a Lambert family strength.  Her mother hovers but doesn't say anything of substance, and her brother, Darren, is living in the basement with his girlfriend and their infant daughter. 

Deanna hasn't been involved with anyone since Tommy -- she's well aware that their time together could hardly be described as 'dating', let alone romantic -- but she's still known as the school slut.  She's caught in a sort-of love triangle with her two best friends, though the friends are happily dating and are unaware of their parts in said triangle*.

She gets a summer job at a crappy pizzeria in the hopes of saving enough money to move into an apartment with Darren and his family (though she has yet to mention her plan) and discovers that she'll be working alongside Tommy Webber.

Extremely impressive first novel.  Even the minor characters are three dimensional, real people.  That's a rare thing.  And despite strong themes of forgiveness and redemption and a storyline that deals with the consequences of sex, the book never feels preachy.  That's an even rarer thing.  It's honest and true-to-life complex, yet straightforward and frank and hard to put down.  Recommended especially to fans of Ellen Wittlinger, but really, it's a safe pick for any teen** who enjoys realistic fiction.

*This is along the same lines as a Secret Fight -- you know, when you're in a fight with someone and they don't know about it?

**Assuming that they're okay with a little grit, of course.

Comments

[Kelly Fineman]

My almost-14 year old daughter adored this one.

[Colleen]

Yeah, I lead my column with this one this month over at Bookslut. It blew me away - so honest, so brutally honest. I still don't know how Sara climbed inside the head of her teen character so well; it's amazing.

I'm with you - I can't wait to see what she does next.

[Little Willow]

So, so good. Loved it from start to finish. The family felt VERY real. I was lucky to have a happy family, but I saw people I knew growing up in those families, and I certainly knew that TOWN.

And, since I'm on this cover tirade recently, I have to say I also loved the fact that the cover matched my mental image of the character.

[Jen Robinson]

It's actually pretty rare for me to read one review and think "I HAVE to read this book." Usually it's more of a gradual, cumulative process, I see a few postive mentions, and then I see the book someplace, and I pick it up. But your review makes me want to go out and get this book tomorrow. Thanks!

[jess]

I'm going over to the dark side (the county I live in but not where my library loyalties lie) to put this on hold - and then I might have to make our YA person order this. (I'm starting to boss him around, I think.)

[Mandy]

I want to read this. You make it sound wonderful.

*whining*/ I wanna hear what you think about the ALA awards now!

[lauren]

i love this book it thought me so much

i wanna read it over and over

:)

[edith]

i havent read this book but i would like to read it it crazy because i almost have the same problem that u have i am the school slut not because i did anything rong but because they hate on me i would like to read this book and i live in harlem ny so where can i get one of the books

[Disaboaby]

It is real?
New photos can be seen here
http://floraufauna.in/morph/image.jpg

[MELONY]

this is a really great book for any one that loves drama loves to read

[kyra]

HATE this book. Thought it might be interesting from the back cover. Boyy, i was terribly wrong. There is no conflict what so ever. ...Just kept waiting for things to get interesting. Never did.