LONGLISTED FOR THE 2014 DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE
Mia and Lorrie Ann are lifelong friends: hard-hearted Mia and untouchably beautiful, kind Lorrie Ann. While Mia struggles with a mother who drinks, a pregnancy at fifteen, and younger brothers she loves but can't quite be good to, Lorrie Ann is luminous, surrounded by her close-knit family, immune to the mistakes that mar her best friend's life. Until a sudden loss catapults Lorrie Ann into tragedy: things fall apart, and then fall apart further - and there is nothing Mia can do to help. And as good, kind, brave Lorrie Ann stops being so good, Mia begins to question just who this woman is and what that question means about them both. A staggeringly arresting, honest novel of love, motherhood, loyalty, and the myth of the perfect friendship that moves us to ask ourselves just how well we know those we love, what we owe our children, and who we are without our friends.
I don't like writing book reviews very much because I always find it hard to strike a balance between conveying the general idea of the book without giving much of the plot away and making it a less enjoyable read.
So all I'll say about the Girls from Corona Del Mar is that it is a very well written and interesting book, actually told almost entirely through flashbacks. It's a beautiful, evocative story about all the tragedies of life growing up. How dealing with them can make you a different person, how growing up means having to constantly reevaluate who you are and where you fit into the world.
It's one of those books that when you finish it, you might find yourself just sitting with the closed book on your lap for quite some time - just thinking.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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19 August, 2014:
Finished reading
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19 August, 2014:
Reviewed