Story of a Girl

Review: Story of a Girl, by Sara Zarr.


Ever since her father caught thirteen-year-old Deanna's mouth on seventeen-year-old Tommy's where-the-sun-don't-shine in the backseat of Tommy's car, she has been classified as the school slut. Her father coldly accepts Deanna's new label and is suspicious of everything she does. Her mom acts as if nothing is wrong. Her brother, Darren, has had a child with his girlfriend Stacy named April and the new family lives with them. Deanna also has two best friends, Jason and Lee, who are dating. She writes in her notebook about a "surfer girl" that Tommy liked... more on that later. Basically, nobody believes in her anymore except for Darren (who has his own new set of problems, named Dad and Stacy) and Jason and Lee (dating, basically yet another kick in Deanna's ego.)


Plot: 3/5. At some places, tears were brought to my eyes just because people keep slamming her down. But it got repetitive after a while. Think somebody kicking you in the shin a thousand times. Deanna decides to get a summer job, so she can get money and spend it on running away with Darren and Stacy and April. Tommy works there, but on the plus side, she has a nice boss named Michael, forty-something and gay. (Gay rights!! :D) What I found was that while most people think that Deanna opted to go down on Tommy, it was mostly because he influenced her. Nobody understands this except for Jason, but he's in love with Lee, so that doesn't actually help her a whole lot. And Lee, but she's in love with Jason. Deanna's confused, lost, and alone. For the whole book. Basically, she tries to stop wallowing in her pit of eternal sadness, and also stop kissing Tommy.  But that's pretty much it. There wasn't much of a climax and some minimal resolution.

On the other hand, I'll give the characters a 3.5/5-- you have to admire Deanna's ability to keep getting up and facing life again and again so that she can achieve her goal. You can't really blame the kid for smoking. (Wait, she's older than me! But she's fictional, so I can call her a kid.) And only getting stoned sometimes. At the end of the book, she cries a gajillion times, but it's like letting out her emotions after putting up with a shitty brother/dad/friends/Tommy/mom/brother/brother/brother's girlfriend/brother/brother's kid. But Tommy? Different story altogether...he apologizes, but having sex with your best friend's little sister is not the way to make friends. 

I was a little confused because Deanna writes in her notebook (English journalling assignment) about her life in the third-person. Then there's also this tidbit about a surfer girl, who Tommy liked, who is what Deanna wants to be... not just because of Tommy, but also because the "surfer girl" represents freedom and happiness, surfing the ocean for all eternity. Or something along those lines.

Details... 4/5. Made reading it worthwhile. The details in her memory, and also the descriptions of the places she visits, are very vivid. But they were a little sparse. When they showed up, they were great.


Overall: 3.5/5. Good on a rainy day or when you need a pick-me-down. ★★★✩