A genuine coming off age story allowing readers to look into the hows and whys of a girl exposed to sex at a very young age, how people easily judge her, cast her off and dub her a slut, avoid her, and pretend like none of them did the same thing when the only difference is they weren’t caught by their dads at it.
Like the other novel by Ms. Zarr I’ve read, The Story of a Girl is an honest story that reveals the heart of the 16 year old Deanna. She sadly narrates how choosing to do the act mostly has to do with her wanting to belong, her need to feel like she is loved and chosen and that it’s only a small price to pay to do what the guy wants in exchange of that feeling. The sadness resonates throughout the novel as Deanna narrates the aftermath of that ill-fated day when her dad caught her with Tommy at the back of the van. Everything hasn’t been the same both at school and even at home and definitely for the worse.
But despite everything she’s gone through, I really admire Deanna’s strength, her ability to see through other people, her selflessness, and most of all her capacity to forgive and forget and eventually try to move on.
