Review: Story of a Girl
Title: Story of a Girl
Author: Sara Zarr
Published: February 1, 2008
Page Count: 224
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
My Rating: 3/5
When Deanna’s father catches her having sex in a car when she is 13, her life is drastically changed. Two years later, he still can’t look her in the eye, and though Tommy is the only boy she’s been with, she is branded the school slut. Her entire family watches her as though she is likely to sleep with anyone she sees, and Tommy still smirks at and torments her when she sees him. Her two best friends have recently begun dating, and Deanna feels like an intruder. She tries to maintain a close relationship with her older brother, but Darren and his girlfriend are struggling as teenage parents. Deanna learns to protect herself by becoming outwardly tough, but feels her isolation acutely. Her only outlet is her journal in which she writes the story of an anonymous girl who has the same experiences and feelings that she does. Through this, readers see the potential that Deanna cannot identify in herself. This is a heartbreaking look at how a teenager can be defined by one mistake, and how it shapes her sense of self-worth.
For this book, I asked my readers to ask me questions that I could answer in the review, for a Weekly Geeks topic last weekend. I only got two questions for Story of a Girl, and here they are.
Bart asked, “Bearing in mind I have Sweethearts on my TBR pile (near the top I might add!) should I read Story of a Girl? (and if you had read Sweethearts, how does it compare?)” My answer to this is that unfortunately I haven’t yet read Sweethearts so I really can’t compare the two. But I can only assume that Zarr’s books are similar in that Story of a Girl was pretty solid YA with believable characters and a compelling story. I think that the main character Deanna was written very well, I related to her and felt her pain as everyone treated her like crap and thought the worst of her. If you are interested in Zarr’s books in general, I would say go ahead and pick up Story of a Girl. I do plan to read more of her work, including Sweethearts, so I hope I’m right in assuming that it will be as good or better than this one.
Trisha asked, “Of these three books (if any) which would you recommend to 1) a teenage boy, 2) an adult woman, and 3) an old couple. Why that particular book for each person/couple?” I would actually choose Story of a Girl to most recommend to an adult woman because I think most women can relate to some or all of the feelings Deanna dealt with. Not everyone was labeled a “slut” in high school, but most women have not-so-fond memories of how high school students’ minds work and how the rumor mill worked in those days. Even if we personally have not been a target of malicious rumor-spreading in high school, we can all remember someone who has and can sympathize with Deanna’s situation.
Overall, I did enjoy Story of a Girl but I do have to admit that it will not end up being one of my favorites. I liked it and I definitely related to Deanna but generally speaking I have enjoyed many other YA books a lot more. I think I just had trouble connecting to any character besides Deanna, unfortunately. I did really like Zarr’s writing style, though, and her portrayal of Deanna was incredibly honest. I will definitely be reading more from Zarr, most likely seeking out Sweethearts in the near future. Story of a Girl was a solid YA book – not one of my favorites but still a decent read.
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