Girls in Peril
Select Format
Select Condition 
Book Overview
During a 1970s summer, five adolescent girls learn that peril exists where they never imagined: in their neighborhood and homes; in parents who steal their time and freedom (and, in one case, a thumb); in the pull of the world beyond their friendships; and in their own burgeoning sexuality. In a sparkling debut, Karen Lee Boren offers an exquisitely rendered coming of age story about adolescent girls in small-town Wisconsin who learn that life's real perils exist where they never imagined: in their own neighborhoods and homes. During a single summer in the 1970s, five friends while away the hours by torturing the Avon lady, playing four square, jumping rope, swimming, and perfecting the art of sneaking out for night runs to the lake. Then one night the unthinkable happens, forcing the girls into a world beyond childhood and the pull of young friendship.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0977312720
ISBN13:9780977312726
Release Date:April 2006
Publisher:Tin House Books
Length:150 Pages
Weight:0.42 lbs.
Dimensions:0.5" x 5.3" x 7.2"
Customer Reviews
3 ratings
A Wonderful Book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 17 years ago
I'm not sure what the Publishers Weekly reveiewer meant when she said that Ms. Boren's book lacked the "elegance" of Jeffery Eugenides' The Virgin Suicides: the only thing that Ms. Boren lacks that Eugenides posseses is the cachet of a big name. Both writers set out to mythologize the tipping point--the singular moment of balance--that wavers between pure childhood and the loss of innocence. Only one of them was successful. Eugenides produced little more than a screenplay. Ms. Boren, on the other hand, has created a beautiful and evocative piece of fiction that haunts one. I thought at first that Girls in Peril was going to be a little "thin" (if good). In the end, I was deeply moved. A far better efffort than The Virgin Suicides. I'd suggest reading the books one after the other if for no other reason than to see the difference between "name" and true talent. Heart, blood, honesty: Ms. Boren is wonderful writer.
Beautiful
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
I read this beautiful novella in one sitting. The prose is graceful, fluid, and poetic. The voice is assured and keenly observant, revealing the story of a group of pre-adolescent girls whose loyalty and love for each other begins to splinter as the outside world intrudes in a very unexpected way. There is no single protagonist-- the author uses the plural voice--which has the effect of making the reader focus on the group of girls as its own separate entity. A less talented writer may not have been able to pull this voice off, but Boren absolutely does with elegance to spare. Well worth the read.
Graceful and Well Written
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
This story, while not my favorite subject matter, was thoroughly enjoyable. Karen deftly exposes the oft-times secretive and complex world of girlhood in suburban America. She shows us this world with its fetishisms, power struggles and growing awareness of burgeoning sexuality with a graceful hand and an impressive precision of language. The story is written in a first person collective point of view which serves to impart a sense of unity to the group of girls which could be difficult with a different perspective. This perspective, however, seems to be the source of the story's weakness as well. Because there is no particular character in whom we can invest our emotion, the story tends to feel a bit distant and lacking in the emotional force that accompanies the transition to womanhood and which surrounds the story's action. Overall, however, this story is an excellent debut from a writer from whom we can expect more fine, graceful and insightful works.
Copyright © 2025 Thriftbooks.com
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information | Cookie Policy | Cookie Preferences | Accessibility Statement
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
ThriftBooks ® and the ThriftBooks ® logo are registered trademarks of Thrift Books Global, LLC
