Review: How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran

[JSWilson]

How to Build a Girl. Where do I start? This is a story we're all familiar with: coming of age, the question of who we are and where we belong in the world, the pursuit of self-discovery. This is the tale of a fourteen-year-old girl's whimsical odyssey from Johanna Morrigan, the lonely, poverty-stricken, desperate virgin, to Dolly Wilde (inspired by Oscar Wilde's scandalous alcoholic niece), a rebellious, gothic, legendary music critic and "full-time Lady Sex Adventurer".
A rather blunt and at times shocking account of adolescence, How to Build a Girl is full of wit, adventure, and a lot of masturbation. (At times, a little too much!)
However, beneath the humorously written story of youth and self-reinvention, lies a deeper exploration of social classes, the place of women in 1990s society and the issue of double standards. Johanna is branded as "filthy", and a "massive slag" by one of her numerous, selfish sex partners, who refers to her as his "bit of rough". After overhearing this, Johanna resolves to listen to, respect and prioritise her own desires more often, to have sex with "more me in it".
I admired this novel for how daring it was, and while at times it was certainly a little shocking, I loved that Moran was so open and honest in contrast to a lot of overly flowery and unrealistic coming of age novels. Life is never perfect and Moran certainly didn't depict it that way. She didn't hold back for fear of seeming "controversial" or vulgar and I feel that deserves respect. I thought this was a hugely entertaining portrayal of youth. Johanna was such a typical teenage girl and a truly hilarious protagonist. I'm filled with zest & a desire to read more of Moran's work!

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Duplicated topic

How to Build a Girl