Review Detail

Reader reviewed by Stephanie

Deanna Lambert was just 13 years old when her father caught her having sex in Tommy Webers car. Now, shes a rising high school junior and hates her life, living with her spineless mother, her father who hates her, her brother Darren, his girlfriend Stacy, and their unplanned pregnancy, baby April. Its bad enough that her home life sucks without considering how shes always teased in school, called a skank and a slut and a lot of other bad things, all for what happened with Tommy Weber, the jerk who then turned it into a humiliating story for everyone to hear.

Its hard to imagine life getting any harder. But it does. Desperate for money (that she plans to help Darren, Stacy, and April move out with), Deanna takes a job at the local run-down pizza place. The owner, Michael, is niceand gayenough, but its her coworker that really makes her nervous: Tommy Weber, two years older but no less nightmarish. And then she has to go ahead and mess things up with Lee, her only female friends, and Lees boyfriend, Deannas best friend Jason.

Perhaps, Deanna begins to think, she is destined for a life in her town of Pathetica, married to a loveless disgusting man and begetting screwed-up kids. However, theres support and silent encouragement from all people&even the ones Deanna thought would never love her again, or whom she would never like again.

STORY OF A GIRL. Such a simple and ambiguous title. Could be about anything, right? However, Sara Zarr spins Deannas heartbreaking story of teenage mistakes and love lost wonderfully. Everyone in Deannas world becomes real to the reader as well. Deannas tale reminds us that, while life can sometimes seem not worth living, theres always a light at the end of the tunnel.