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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
I usually base my feelings about a book on how it made me feel. Others are able to appreciate books based on the writing. This is the first book that I loved emotionally AND would stop and relish the writing. This author is brilliant. Her beautiful words mixed with the sad, depressing setting made it a quick read, but makes me want to read it again. This would make a great book club book because I want to rehash so many good passages with people!
I don't like depressing books so its no surprise that I was not a fan of this sad depiction of life in a Reno trailer park.
The writing is good but the overall feel is disjointed and choppy (by design) and it just felt like homework to me from start to finish.
The writing is good but the overall feel is disjointed and choppy (by design) and it just felt like homework to me from start to finish.
The story interested me, but the narrative technique was a distraction.
Living in Reno myself was the reason I chose to pick up Tupelo Hassman's debut novel. But I read it quickly because it kept my interest and I enjoyed her use of various types of chapters, including made-up chapters from the Girl Scout Handbook, math narrative problems, and county reports. (However, I did find the blacked-out "redacted" chapters annoying.)
3.5
Although she's young, Rory Dawn Hendrix has no illusions about what she is. She's the "feeble-minded daughter of a feeble-minded daughter, herself the product of feeble-minded stock," destined for a hardscrabble existence in the Calle trailer park just like her Mama and Grandma. And just like she knows who she is, R.D. also knows the ways of trailer park life: 'uncles' who make the lights go out, which bars to call when you can't find your mama, the rules for peeing in a coffee can when the pipes don't work, the glory of the first and fifteenth of the month, and the grimness of all the days in between.
Despite its short length, this is not an easy read. It's a collection of traditional vignettes, social worker reports, excerpts from the Girl Scout Handbook, logic puzzles, and free verse descriptions. The lack of any real narrative arc means the success of the book comes down to the writing, but while some of it is incredible (just try reading about how the hardware man makes the lights go out without feeling R.D.'s sickness and dread), other flourishes aren't as successful (the word puzzles, for example). I thought some things were too ambiguous and required re-reading (, which was a problem since I was listening to the audiobook. Finally, the unrelenting bleakness of this book made it emotionally exhausting, the glimmer of hope for R.D.'s future nonwithstanding... Overall, Girlchild is an ambitious and well-done novel, but definitely not a book for everyone.
Although she's young, Rory Dawn Hendrix has no illusions about what she is. She's the "feeble-minded daughter of a feeble-minded daughter, herself the product of feeble-minded stock," destined for a hardscrabble existence in the Calle trailer park just like her Mama and Grandma. And just like she knows who she is, R.D. also knows the ways of trailer park life: 'uncles' who make the lights go out, which bars to call when you can't find your mama, the rules for peeing in a coffee can when the pipes don't work, the glory of the first and fifteenth of the month, and the grimness of all the days in between.
Despite its short length, this is not an easy read. It's a collection of traditional vignettes, social worker reports, excerpts from the Girl Scout Handbook, logic puzzles, and free verse descriptions. The lack of any real narrative arc means the success of the book comes down to the writing, but while some of it is incredible (just try reading about how the hardware man makes the lights go out without feeling R.D.'s sickness and dread), other flourishes aren't as successful (the word puzzles, for example). I thought some things were too ambiguous and required re-reading (
Spoiler
Viv was imaginary, right? And R.D. only called her Vivian Buck because she was narrating from the perspective of her adult self who knew who had already learned about the Bucks? So like, she did have an imaginary friend during her childhood, but that friend only became Vivian Buck in hindsight?
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
dark
funny
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
good quote:
"We're pure as the driven slush" on page 182
"We're pure as the driven slush" on page 182