"It's 1990. Johanna Morrigan, fourteen, has shamed herself so badly on local TV that she decides that there's no point in being Johanna anymore and reinvents herself as Dolly Wilde—fast-talking, hard-drinking gothic hero and full-time Lady Sex Adventurer. She will save her poverty-stricken Bohemian family by becoming a writer—like Jo in Little Women, or the Brontës—but without the dying-young bit."
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how to build a girl stirred something in me
that i already thought was stirred enough, my desire to prove myself as an individual, independent, and self-reliable female. there isn’t a lot of
“contemporary” literature i find myself drawn to, and yet this one had me - hook, line and
sinker.
i've been trying to broaden my horizons in terms of literature, and i'd heard so many a good thing about caitlin moran, her unique voices, and stories of inspiration to all women, that i couldn't leave this sitting on the shelf.
how to build a girl tells the story of johanna, a
girl struggling to find her place in the world - depressed, unhappy, and somewhat of an obsessive masturbator. it deals with the trouble she had facing herself and her issues. but ultimately the real test begins when johanna is driven by her passion for music, to fall into the music industry, and prove to herself, and her modern dysfunctional family that she can turn herself into something other than that fat, broke girl.
johanna re-creates herself as dolly wilde, and learns everything you need to know about how to build a girl. There is sex and drugs and rock and roll, and i’m sure
anything else you could be looking for. moran's voice is strong and catching and unique
in such a brutally honest way, that once i'd picked this book up, i couldn't put it down.
but by far my favorite aspect of this book was the meaning that held true to me, johanna's story really proved to me that anything
built, can always be re-built. because when dolly wilde becomes all but a little too much, there is a whole section dedicated to how to rip it up and start again.
i have always had this notion that people were
just made, that we had no say, no real control over the directions that our
life took – we were merely hands-free victims swerving all over the road of life, in a
slightly shabby looking automobile. but hey, if this fictional girl can
overcome everything she overcame in order to build herself, why can’t i?
i do realise it’s not as simple
as that. but this book was really eye-opening to me. i was feeling trapped in this image, and this persona i’d crafted for myself, unable to
change my direction, in fear of being persecuted for being fake, for being falsehearted
and a complete lie to the girl i once was. but hey, now i know all the
ingredients to build a girl, and i'm pretty sure one of the ingredients is me.
i loved this book, i really did, it was captivating, cringeworthy, and honest. i appreciated the british swears, the family dynamics, the hyper-realistic characters, and the black top-hat, and i would recommend this book to anybody looking to broaden their horizons, and take a leap of faith into something that i know will rock your world.
★★★★★
5 stars, and a good chunk of my heart.
xo
jess.
