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A review by debi_g
What Girls Are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold
4.0
What Girls Are Made of is realistic fiction that is both poetic and blunt, vulnerable and guarded. It may not be an enjoyable read, yet it is riveting.
I am filled with admiration for the author and her ability to represent adolescence and incorporate gritty, personal details of ordinary, physical life using neither clinical terminology nor slang. Certainly, readers will trust in and feel reassured by representations of unexpected menstrual blood and independently achieved orgasms. Surely, readers will glean accurate information about largely unspoken elements of life, like what actually happens to the corpses of euthanized animals and what medical abortions and their aftermaths are actually like. Likewise, readers will acquire a lens for the effects of emotional absence, for the futility of suppressing the self in search of love, and the positive results of creative expression. In Nina, readers will find a warning rather than a hero. She will inspire girls to grow into a strength of self that she lacks.
I am also feeling fear for this book, which will either go unnoticed and unread by those who could benefit from the story, or which will be challenged by censors whose goal will be to protect teen readers from the world they already walk. The other potential future for this book is a trajectory like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, an unflinching story that reigned the word of mouth canon.
The language and structure of this book are exemplary, even if the characters are deliberately distasteful. Perhaps the largest theme is this: "You can't make people love you. Love isn't something you earn, or something you deserve. Love just is. Or it isn't" (180). As painful as it is to watch Nina (or a real person) manage her every expression in a misguided effort to attract a lasting affection, it is necessary component of the characterization and plot.
The author's note is absolutely worthwhile and appreciated.
Although I respect the writing and I continue to ponder the story and its implications, which is the trait of a good story, I can't shake the awareness that this is a book to recommend with prudence.
I am filled with admiration for the author and her ability to represent adolescence and incorporate gritty, personal details of ordinary, physical life using neither clinical terminology nor slang. Certainly, readers will trust in and feel reassured by representations of unexpected menstrual blood and independently achieved orgasms. Surely, readers will glean accurate information about largely unspoken elements of life, like what actually happens to the corpses of euthanized animals and what medical abortions and their aftermaths are actually like. Likewise, readers will acquire a lens for the effects of emotional absence, for the futility of suppressing the self in search of love, and the positive results of creative expression. In Nina, readers will find a warning rather than a hero. She will inspire girls to grow into a strength of self that she lacks.
I am also feeling fear for this book, which will either go unnoticed and unread by those who could benefit from the story, or which will be challenged by censors whose goal will be to protect teen readers from the world they already walk. The other potential future for this book is a trajectory like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, an unflinching story that reigned the word of mouth canon.
The language and structure of this book are exemplary, even if the characters are deliberately distasteful. Perhaps the largest theme is this: "You can't make people love you. Love isn't something you earn, or something you deserve. Love just is. Or it isn't" (180). As painful as it is to watch Nina (or a real person) manage her every expression in a misguided effort to attract a lasting affection, it is necessary component of the characterization and plot.
The author's note is absolutely worthwhile and appreciated.
Although I respect the writing and I continue to ponder the story and its implications, which is the trait of a good story, I can't shake the awareness that this is a book to recommend with prudence.