Alice Hoffman, Local Girls

This past fall, I took a walk over to the Bookie during my lunch hour. I killed a little time looking at the sale tables and decided to buy a copy of Alice Hoffman's Local Girls that was remaindered and marked down and cost me around $3. I kept it in my office for emergency times when I might forget to bring a book to read during lunch. (As if I should ever be without a book, working in a library, but well....)

Finally started it and what a crime it was remaindered. One of the blurbs on the back says it's better than her other works. No faint praise that. The chapters read as short stories, some could stand alone, and while many are in first person, some are in third, which is just incredibly interesting. Gretel, the protagonist, is trapped on Long Island, suffering through school and her parents' divorce. We meet her at age 12, and follow her through high school, and beyond, as things become more seriously problematic for her, including her mother's health, problems with her adored older brother, and a ruinous first love.

Gretel's voice is so real - part of the reason that the shift to third person is so jarring -- and the sense of humor is biting, while mixed in with some really terrible things she goes through. Gretel is bold, doing things many of us would never dare to do. I laughed out loud at several parts. I was stunned into silence by others. She is a hero.