Title: How To Build A Girl
Author: Caitlin Moran
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 352
Rating: 3/5
Summary:
Johanna Morrigan, a fourteen year old girl from a poverty-stricken family, decides to reinvent herself as Dolly Wilde, a fast-talking music journalist and Lady Sex Adventurer.
Review:
This is a book I had heard a lot about before reading it, and now I completely understand why people are talking about it. This is, as promised, entertaining and funny, even bordering on hilarious.
I loved the setting of Wolverhampton and getting to know the Morrigan family and its dynamic. I found it interesting the way poverty is portrayed, sometimes beautiful but always hard. One can never understand that unless you've been there, but this gives a colorful glimpse into that kind of life. I also really enjoyed the underlying theme of class, which is an important and interesting topic.
I think the one I have the most ambivilant feelings towards in the main character. Sometimes I loved her, sometimes I didn't. I liked how her feelings are a bit all over the place, how she is unapolagetic in her sexuality, how she is in many ways desperate, to be liked, seen and loved, and how she's trying to save her family and in many ways feel responsible for them.
On the other hand, I felt like she sometimes drowned a bit in the writing, she was too many things, too much, like I couldn't always get past all this other stuff to get to her. She also felt very adult, very soon, and I kept forgetting how young she really was, and a lot of the times you get the feeling that she's the author, with a few tweaks, which makes Johanna less convincing as a full-fledged character of her own. It's written as a person who remembers what she was like when she was younger and writes from the present day standpoint, not actually that of a teenager. Even though she's so MUCH, there's still something missing.
I definitely enjoy the idea of reinventing onesself and always rebuilding, and following the progress of this girl desperately trying to become something else and growing in the process.
In the end though, it was a very enjoyable read for the most of the time, and made me chuckle. I think you'd like it if you like YA and want a bit of a laugh.
You can get this book at The Book Depository*
You can read more about it on Goodreads
Author: Caitlin Moran
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 352
Rating: 3/5
Summary:
Johanna Morrigan, a fourteen year old girl from a poverty-stricken family, decides to reinvent herself as Dolly Wilde, a fast-talking music journalist and Lady Sex Adventurer.
Review:
This is a book I had heard a lot about before reading it, and now I completely understand why people are talking about it. This is, as promised, entertaining and funny, even bordering on hilarious.
I loved the setting of Wolverhampton and getting to know the Morrigan family and its dynamic. I found it interesting the way poverty is portrayed, sometimes beautiful but always hard. One can never understand that unless you've been there, but this gives a colorful glimpse into that kind of life. I also really enjoyed the underlying theme of class, which is an important and interesting topic.
I think the one I have the most ambivilant feelings towards in the main character. Sometimes I loved her, sometimes I didn't. I liked how her feelings are a bit all over the place, how she is unapolagetic in her sexuality, how she is in many ways desperate, to be liked, seen and loved, and how she's trying to save her family and in many ways feel responsible for them.
On the other hand, I felt like she sometimes drowned a bit in the writing, she was too many things, too much, like I couldn't always get past all this other stuff to get to her. She also felt very adult, very soon, and I kept forgetting how young she really was, and a lot of the times you get the feeling that she's the author, with a few tweaks, which makes Johanna less convincing as a full-fledged character of her own. It's written as a person who remembers what she was like when she was younger and writes from the present day standpoint, not actually that of a teenager. Even though she's so MUCH, there's still something missing.
I definitely enjoy the idea of reinventing onesself and always rebuilding, and following the progress of this girl desperately trying to become something else and growing in the process.
In the end though, it was a very enjoyable read for the most of the time, and made me chuckle. I think you'd like it if you like YA and want a bit of a laugh.
You can get this book at The Book Depository*
You can read more about it on Goodreads
*AFFILIATE LINK
