Scan barcode
A review by zinelib
What Girls Are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold
5.0
This review is a spoiler-ish. It doesn't reveal any plot surprises, but if you prefer a really pristine outlook on a story before reading it, please just take my work for it that What Girls Are Made of is smart without being annoying clever, the mother-daughter relationship is hella weird, but not fraught, and there are interstitial stories that could blow your mind. Scroll down to read the review.
We learn early on that Nina has done a Bad Thing, and because it makes me uncomfortable when protags are bad, I almost put What Girls down. I'm so glad I didn't because, in addition to being a feel-good abortion story, Nina's narrative is complex (in an accessible way) with lots of weird art history and saint tidbits that just about always end in a woman dying miserably to live happily ever after.
And then there are some just wacky images like
In her journey, Nina becomes less close to one of her friends and finds a better one in fellow dog shelter volunteer, Bekah, who is the kind of person who says stuff like
We learn early on that Nina has done a Bad Thing, and because it makes me uncomfortable when protags are bad, I almost put What Girls down. I'm so glad I didn't because, in addition to being a feel-good abortion story, Nina's narrative is complex (in an accessible way) with lots of weird art history and saint tidbits that just about always end in a woman dying miserably to live happily ever after.
But that abortion was the kindest, best thing I have done for myself in as long as I can remember.When I first started reading, I wondered if What Girls is an MFA novel (thank A.j. Michel for that term) because the writing is so full of resonant images like
The room smelled gross in a way I kind of likedabout a boy's room, obviously. I remember feeling that exact way as a teen about things that I knew weren't good for me, but wanted anyway.
And then there are some just wacky images like
Jesus came to her in a vision and placed a wedding ring--made of his own circumsized foreskin.That's not Nina, it's one of her interstitial saints.
In her journey, Nina becomes less close to one of her friends and finds a better one in fellow dog shelter volunteer, Bekah, who is the kind of person who says stuff like
"Being of service. With love, you're waiting around for someone to give it to you, you know? But services...that's something you give."Or maybe I just like that because it's how I feel about COVID-19 and mutual aid. There are a lot of people feeling sorry for themselves, for many legitimate reasons. But maybe if they did something for someone else, their own grievances might get put in perspective.