Girls in Peril: A Novella

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.

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.

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.