Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - Pizza Girl

The main character is relatable and tragic, and she finds herself swept up in a dramatic connection with an older lady. The story reminds me of the terribly thought-out plans I had at 18. Maybe not quite as severe as this character’s, though.

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gentlethem's review against another edition

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dark reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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tracey1981's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

There was so much I loved here and at the mid-point it was a five-star read. I loved the humour and dialogue in the first 2/3 and when there was a tough plot twist, i was not prepared. I still found it believable and was impressed with the author’s range. An impressive debut!

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horourke's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

4.0

Pizza Girl is a coming-of-age character study that focuses on the more difficult parts of transitioning from a teenager to an adult. Our protagonist, Pizza Girl, is pregnant, depressed, and working a dead-end job as a pizza delivery girl. She lost her father, a tumultuous figure in her life, the year prior, and grapples with this loss and the lingering effects of having an alcoholic dad. She herself is an alcoholic, and resents how similar she is to her father.

The turning point in the story is when she meets Jenny, a customer who orders pepperoni and pickle pizza. She soon becomes obsessed with Jenny, ignoring her loving mother and boyfriend in pursuit of a future with a stranger she barely knows.

Pizza Girl is a deeply flawed and unreliable narrator, but perfectly encapsulates the ennui of teen hood, the resistance to change in the face of adulthood, and struggles with identity that come with this period in life. I can see how this novel would not be for everyone, but it was a quick read that easily kept my focus. I think many can relate to the questionable choices 18-year-old Pizza Girl makes, even if our teenage mistakes may not escalate to those of Pizza Girl.

I do wish the novel was a bit longer and developed the relationship with Pizza Girl and her late father more. She obviously carried a lot of pain in her relationship to him, but we only get brief snapshots of what he was like. Pizza Girl describes him as a largely one-dimensional figure, with alcoholism being his defining trait. Her mother provides more depth and context to who he was as a person, but I would’ve liked to explore that more.

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emmablue's review

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3.5

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weaverca's review against another edition

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dark reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

The more I think about this book and the longer I try to write its review, the more pronounced my feelings become.
I saw this in a few bookstores and almost thought about giving it a try but didn't. Nearly two years later, I finally read it... and damn, did it fall short for me. This book seems to be lacking in a lot of places. The monotonous writing- which made the audiobook less enjoyable- combined with the lack of depth and background from the supporting characters left me so unsatisfied. The pièce de résistance: everything about Jane (aka Pizza Girl) felt sloppy and half-assed. From her underdeveloped thought process to her disappointing character arc, it portrayed her in a way that made it hard for me to sympathize.
Considering this book was just under 200 pages, I'd like to think that if Frazier had just “let it cook longer” and expanded on the story a little more, this might have been salvageable. But alas, it was “underbaked” and only gets one and a half stars from me.

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decie's review against another edition

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3.25

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madisonfrank's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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