Story of a Girl: A Novel by Sara Zarr

Any teenager knows that a bad reputation is hard to live down; second chances are few and far between. Deanna Walker, of all people, certainly knows it’s true. When Deanna was 13 years old, her father caught her in the back seat of Tommy’s car in an, ummm, compromising position. Tommy was 17 and a “friend” of her brother. Soon, the whole town knew what had happened, and everyone was re-telling (and embellishing) the story — including Tommy.

Three years later, Deanna’s father still refuses to look her in the eye, a bunch of the guys at school still harrass her, and she still has no idea what she can do to change everyone’s opinion of her. Her only idea is to get a job and save enough money to move out of her parents’ house with her brother, Darren, and his girlfriend (who now have a baby and are living in the basement). The thing is, though, that even Darren doesn’t know about this plan and may not like the idea once she tells him.

Deanna needs to find a way to stand up for herself, even if she cannot re-write “the story” everyone knows so well. But will she be strong enough to keep going when it seems like the whole world is against her? A heart-breaking look at one girl’s struggle to move on after making a huge mistake.

Happy Reading!