Story of A Girl

* Bibliographic information
Zarr, S. Story of a Girl. Little, Brown and Company, 2007. ISBN-10: 0316014540.

- YALSA Best Books for Young Adults: 2008
- YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers: 2008


* Plot Summary
Deanna Lambert has just finished her sophomore year of high school and she still has not escaped the stigma of being the “school slut”. She was thirteen when her dad found her and Tommy in the back of a car having sex. Tommy was seventeen; he told everyone at the high school all about it, he was supposed to be Deanna’s brother’s friend. That was three years ago. Since then, her relationship with her dad has been destroyed and she has only two friends other than her big brother. Her two friends, Jason and Lee are dating and Deanna feels guilty because she now has feelings for Jason that she wants to act on. She has never dealt with her feelings about what happened with Tommy or why. She just wanted someone to want her, someone to notice her. Now her own father will not even look at her and he always expects the worse from her. She decides to get a job so she will not have to be at home anymore and she starts to save up in hopes that she can move out with her brother, his girlfriend and their baby. Keeping the job means working with Tommy and confronting him, and herself, about what happened three years ago and why.


* Critical Evaluation
This is a great book for female teens because it addresses issues that many teens face and do not know how to deal with it. The book is told through Deanna. We get to see first-hand what she is feeling and the reader really feels her pain. At thirteen she wanted what anyone at that age wants, to not be invisible, to feel wanted, by just one person. There are many young teens who have sex because they want the attention, they want to be noticed and they are afraid to say no because it might end that feeling of being important to someone. Sarah Zarr captures this situation perfectly. This is going on all over America and many girls do not know how to deal with what is happening or with what happened. Even just dealing with rumors or stereotypes that have been placed on someone in high school is a difficult but important issue to address. The writing in this book really draws the reader in and we watch, hoping Deanna will confront her issues and make her father confront his, so he will finally see her for her, not the girl he pulled out of the car three years before.


* Reader’s Annotation
Deanna has been living with an incident that occurred three years ago when she was thirteen. She is older now and she must deal with what happened, before she loses herself and her father.


* Information about the author
Sara Zarr grew up in San Francisco, CA. She had planned on publishing a YA novel before she was thirty, but says it happened six years behind schedule with Story of a Girl. She now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband. She has written three YA novels, and contributed to three other books. With Story of a Girl, she was a 2007 National Book Award finalist and awarded with 2008 American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults. With her book Sweethearts, she was a 2008 Cybil Award Finalist and awarded with 2009 American Library Association Best Books for Young Adults. For further information, check out the author’s biography on her website, http://www.sarazarr.com/bio.


* Genre
Teen Fiction; Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Issues


* Curriculum Ties, if any
English:
According to the English–Language Arts Content Standards for California Public Schools, found at http://curriculum.suhsd.k12.ca.us/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51&Itemid=66, this book would tie into the Literary Response and Analysis part of the curriculum, the student must “Determine characters’ traits by what the characters say about themselves in narration, dialogue, dramatic monologue, and soliloquy” (p.57). Zarr’s writing allows the reader to see the strength in Deanna through her thoughts, even if the character does not see it herself.

Health:
This could be a learning tool in health class for sexual education.


* Booktalking Ideas
1) What do you think were Deanna’s reasons for going out with Tommy? Why did she let it continue?
2) Looking at Tommy in the beginning and end of the book, do you think Deanna felt threatened by him? Was she afraid to work with him because she feared him?
3) Discuss how you think the author portrayed Tommy. Why was he shown to be almost a nice guy when his actions seem to show otherwise?
4) Talk about the relationship between Deanna and her father, and Deanna and her brother, Darren. How do these relationships differ?


* Reading Level/Interest Age
9th grade/ Ages 14 and up


* Challenge Issues and Defense
Challenge Issues: Sex with a minor, sexuality, unwed parents.

Defense ideas:
1) Ask the patron about the book and issue in question and find out how much they know about the book.
2) Help the patron become more familiar with the book and its content.
3) Show the patron positive reviews for this book, such as ones found on amazon.com; School Library Journal and Booklist, http://www.amazon.com/Story-Girl-Sara-Zarr/dp/0316014540/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1253575655&sr=8-1.
4) If available, introduce the patron to people who have read it in the library or tell the patron what you thought of the book if you have read it.
5) Show the patron the collection development policy for that particular library. For example, the one for the San Diego County library, http://dbpcosdcsgt.co.san-diego.ca.us/screens/Intranet/policy/sdcl-policy_O.41_material-selection.pdf
6) If they still want to file a grievance about the book begin the necessary paperwork by giving them the forms they need to fill out. In the San Diego County system, the grievance will then go to The Challenged Materials Team. If the committee cannot resolve the issue, it then goes to the County Library Director for a final decision. http://dbpcosdcsgt.co.san-diego.ca.us/screens/Intranet/policy/sdcl-policy_O.34_intellectual_freedom.pdf


* Why did you include this book in your titles you selected?
I had decided to observe a teen book club for another assignment and wanted to be familiar with the book they were discussing so I read it; the book was Story of a Girl. I read the book in a couple days. I could not put it down because I wanted to follow Deanna on her journey and I think that many young women will feel the same if they read it so I included it in this assignment because I recommend it for all women, no matter their age. There are so many young adults who feel a separation from their parents, for one reason or another, and just want to feel a part of something. This is a great book because it shows the aftermath of a very embarrassing and troubling situation; it also shows the emotional and mental process of dealing with this type of situation. The character does not fully confront her problems until three years after, but this shows readers everyone deals with their problems in their own time and they have to do it on their own terms when they get to that point where they can deal with it.