Falling through the earth, Danielle Trussoni
Falling through the earth is an incredibly readable, unusually objective diary portraying very real people. Half a lifetime's undesirable traits and mistakes are acknowledged and discussed, but never, ever out of self-pity. The fact the the author can communicate many endured hurts and wrongs so vividly without a "poor me" attitude is a testament to her strength and makes for beautiful, honest narration of a compelling family.
Are you happy by Emily Fox Gordon
Gordon shows us vivid snapshots of her life, my favorite being "the
two of us were like a pair of cats sitting on a windowsill. At any
given moment, the dominant one might turn the other and cuff it across
the head, but our proximity made a kind of genetic sense."
Unfortunately, the whole book is presented as a life in Polaroids
pulled randomly out of a shoebox. It is nostalgia, intimate instances
one might look back on with a close friend over coffee. Gordon,
however, is not my close friend, and does not try to make me one which
leaves me uninterested and unaffected by what she has to say.
Girlbomb by Janice Erlbaum
Let's hear it for the unexceptional delinquent! Girlbomb shows that a
life doesn't have to hit rock bottom and be filled with all sorts of
depravities to make it an interesting read. Erlbaum shows herself as
she is--average. Her circumstances remind us of all the places
average can end up.
In Girlbomb, Janice continually makes one bad decision after another.
With most books I have no patience for stupidity, but in this case I
found myself still cheering her on. She doesn't always learn anything
from her mistakes, but neither do I. This book will swallow you
because you know (even if you won't admit it) this character could
have been you.
