Maw Books Blog

After reading Sweethearts by Sara Zarr (read my book review here), I rushed out to get Story of a Girl, Sara’s debut young adult novel.  In Story of a Girl, Deanna is unable to recover from a lack of judgment she made when she was thirteen:  being caught by her father having sex with her older brother’s 17 year old best friend Tommy.  Three years later as she enters high school she is still known as “that slut.”  Who cares that she hasn’t even touched a boy since that day.  It doesn’t help that Tommy himself spread the worst stories.  She is constantly bullied by the boys and judged by the girls.

Things aren’t much better at home because her dad is the worst offender on slapping the label on her.  He can’t even look her in the eye.   Deanna’s father doesn’t have much hope for her.

A quote that I like to illustrate that point:

One of the things Darren [her older brother] and me have in common is that we both let Mom and Dad down . . . And me because, well, no one wants the school slut for a daughter.  Technically, I’m not a slut, because there was only Tommy, but it’s hard to defend myself on a technicality when things happened the way they did.  It’s not like I could get on the school PA system and issue a rebuttal.

The way her father treated her made me think of the quote along the lines of  if you treat someone as they are, then that’s how they’ll be.  If you treat someone like how they could be, then they will aspire to it.  (Do you know how long I searched the internet for the exact quote?  I can’t seem to find the right words to express what I’m going after.  After an hour of thinking it will come to me, I’m giving up.   Help!)

Deanna does have several people rooting for her though.  Her mom tries.  Deanna dreams that one day her, her older brother, his wife and baby will all move out together, and she has her two best friends, Lee and Jason.  The only problem is that she has a major crush on Jason, but he’s dating Lee.  Deanna ends up being the third wheel.

But what happens when Deanna gets her first job only to find out that she’ll have to work alongside Tommy?   Can she break through the label that she’s lived with for years?  Can she come to terms with her past indiscretions?

Man, I really felt for this girl.  It’s hard enough to make mistakes when you’re a teenager but it’s far worse when that mistake is held up high for everybody to see.  I’ve certainly made my fair share of mistakes in life, especially when I was a teenager, and I have no idea how I would react if those mistakes were as public as Deanna’s was.  As an adult, I still don’t want people to know that stuff.  What would they think of me?   Unfortunately, for Deanna that thought is a reality, and she lives with it every day.

Story of a Girl was a National Book Award finalist and deservedly so.  I eagerly await Sara Zarr’s next book.  I’ll be reading it for sure.  Oh, and did I mention that I’m seeing her tomorrow?  With Shannon Hale?  Again?  Yeah, I might have mentioned it.  Come back tomorrow for an author interview with Sara Zarr that she was so gracious to give us.  You won’t want to miss it.