Story of A Girl by Sara Zarr

I liked Story of a Girl because it's very honest and realistic. The narrator, Deanna, is a 16-year-old girl who's still recovering from an awkward and embarrassing sexual experience she had three years ago. When she was in eighth grade, her dad busted her and her 17-year-old pseudo-boyfriend having sex and since then she's been the talk of the town. Everyone thinks she's a slut and this reputation -- part real, part self-perception -- is something she can't seem to escape. She has a dysfunctional home life as well and on top of that, she's crushing on her best friend's boyfriend.

This book has great voice because the writing really does get across Deanna's thoughts quite well and it's easy for the reader to understand her. I think I would have personally liked for the book to be a bit longer and hopefully deeper -- I think there were some events that were glossed over and could have been developed a bit better. Overall, I think it's a book that teen girls will love because it deals with so many classic issues -- boys, sex, relationships, parents, drugs, etc.