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A review by tobin_elliott
Body Leaping Backward: Memoir of a Delinquent Girlhood by Maureen Stanton
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
I will say I enjoyed this book, though it's shocking how—despite my similar age to the author—incredibly different our experiences growing up were so wildly different.
The stories are entertaining while also being somewhat horrifying. The break-ins, the thefts, the drug use, all of it, left me kind of really not liking the author all that much...not that I think she wrote it to be liked.
I guess, for me, the major stumbling block was, while it was an interesting glimpse into an extremely chaotic childhood, there didn't seem to be an over-arching point to the entire story. Maybe it's "drugs are bad"...maybe it's "parents should be more involved"...I don't know.
I guess I was looking for some sort of massive awakening, or an incredible realization, but it was more that the author just kind of...grew up. Which, to be fair, is a good thing, because many either don't survive those teen years, or they don't ever grow up and just continue to make those same stupid decisions well into adulthood.
It's a good cautionary tale, but I think most of those who would read it have either already succumbed to, or vanquished their own demons.
The stories are entertaining while also being somewhat horrifying. The break-ins, the thefts, the drug use, all of it, left me kind of really not liking the author all that much...not that I think she wrote it to be liked.
I guess, for me, the major stumbling block was, while it was an interesting glimpse into an extremely chaotic childhood, there didn't seem to be an over-arching point to the entire story. Maybe it's "drugs are bad"...maybe it's "parents should be more involved"...I don't know.
I guess I was looking for some sort of massive awakening, or an incredible realization, but it was more that the author just kind of...grew up. Which, to be fair, is a good thing, because many either don't survive those teen years, or they don't ever grow up and just continue to make those same stupid decisions well into adulthood.
It's a good cautionary tale, but I think most of those who would read it have either already succumbed to, or vanquished their own demons.