this book by julie orringer? it's a collection of short stories mostly told from the point of view of young women or girls. a lot of them have to do with the awkwardness of being a teenager, trying to fit in, accepting your body while it's changing, etc. these are quite typical themes for fiction about (or for) young women, but i felt that her writing brought a real freshness to the subject that i really appreciated. i liked that it was simple and not overly dramatic. it really brought to mind my younger self, especially the story "note to sixth-grade self." my favorite was probably "the isabel fish." i have to admit that when i read stories as varied as this by one writer, i find myself wondering about the imagination of the author. the only things i can ever think of to write are things that have actually happened to me.
anyway, i liked it, and hope you do too, if you choose to read it!
*post title came from song title "books written for girls" by camera obscura from their album "underachievers please try harder"
3 comments:
excellent review, will you put it on goodreads so I can remember to mark it as to read?
now that I dropped out of grad school (actually, I never even started) I have plenty of time this summer!
d'arcy,
yea, i need to put up a review of it on goodreads. i think you in particular would really like this book.
I like short stories because I can fit them in between chores :).
Also, it's great to see the narrative arc condensed; takes a great writer to be able to tell a whole story in a short amount of words.
Adolescence is such an awkward time. Sometimes I think I'm still there.
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