Rosie Little's Cautionary Tales for Girls

I devoured Rosie Little. Its heroine, fictional Aussie lass Rosie Little, delivers these clever moral tales with spunk and wit. With her lace-up cherry red Doc Martens, Wood has created a new character than may inspire readers akin to Elphalba of Gregory Maguire's novel, 'Wicked.'

I bought this book for the cover and the first chapter combined. Not being a serious reader I was a bit surprised that I couldn't put the book down. Rosie Little's Cautionary Tales for Girls initially gave me the giggles. But very quickly I found Rosie's dark side, and found myself with a case of the heebie-jeebies. The series of short stories is an incredible journey through womanhood. It leaves no painful story untold, and no tear unwept. Danielle Wood is an author to be honored.

The gothic, black-and-white, polka-dotted cover of Danielle Wood's new collection of interlocking short stories is, perhaps, the first clue that Rosie Little, the narrator and heroine of ROSIE LITTLE'S CAUTIONARY TALES FOR GIRLS, is not your ordinary Little Red Riding Hood. Wearing cherry red Doc Marten boots instead of dainty slippers, Rosie Little navigates her own deep, dark woods of success, romance and destiny by following a few ground rules and relying on help from the Shoe Goddess and maybe even a fairy godmother of her own. Although Rosie's tales are "for girls," this is by no means a children's book. As Rosie herself notes, "these are tales for girls who have boots as stout as their hearts, and who are prepared to firmly lace them up (boots and hearts both) and step out into the wilds in search of what they desire." And desire --- fulfilled or unfulfilled --- is indeed at the heart of many of these stories. From Rosie's thoroughly unsatisfactory deflowering that opens the book, to Paula's disastrous proposal in "The Depthlessness of Soup," to a bridezilla's ludicrously misguided conception of herself in "Vision in White," unrealistic desires and expectations have a way of backfiring on those who harbor them. Two of the stories included here --- "Elephantiasis" and "The True Daughter" --- have been featured in Best Australian Stories anthologies, and they do represent the strongest, most conventionally appealing tales in this collection. But Wood effectively integrates these stories into the other chapters, which, from "Virginity" to "Destiny," seem to trace the life cycle of the modern woman, in all its complexity, frustration and even (sometimes) joy. Rosie herself is a fleeting presence in the book --- the protagonist of a handful of stories, she also drops in on any number of other tales, either as a minor character or as the provider of delightfully snarky sidebars entitled "On Writing About Noses" or "On Pubic Hairstyling." Attempting to make sense of her world, Rosie lives by a set of guidelines --- no use of the word "eclectic," for example, and no dating men named "Wolf" --- that impose order on the chaotic modern landscape. The stories deal with big issues --- domestic violence, abortion --- but do so with a kind of magical realism that gives these well-trod topics both more weight and a new twist or two. In the end, ROSIE LITTLE'S CAUTIONARY TALES FOR GIRLS is a delightful, witty sendup of both classic fairy tales and modern chick-lit romances. Wood adroitly plays with reader expectations and literary conventions, treating "girls" to a smart, sassy selection of stories that understands adult women perfectly. --- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

According to Rosie's research, the aquiline noses that stick out snottily from the pages of numerous works of great fiction indicate a strong will, independence and the promise of prosperous mid-years. This, however, is no snotty work, and is not for perfect "girls" (and by "girls" I mean females between the ages of 16 and 120.) Nope, good little girls need read no further, because this book isn't for you. These short and snappy, no nonsense stories cut straight to the good stuff - from the deflowering of a naïve maiden in a liaison more comical than dangerous (just ask Rene Pogel), to a bride defying logic in an attempt to make a good impression - Rosie Little's life journeys will strike you as funny, peculiar, poignant and bewitching, all at once. Topics covered also include Truth (big girls and white elephants), Travel (tragic adventures in the English countryside), Beauty (a model romance), Art (Eve by the numbers), Love (who's afraid of the big, bad wolf?), Commitment (wax and wail), Work (spinning copy from rumor), Longing (romancing the stone), Loss (for the love of Kate) and finally, Destiny. A great book for the times when a long reading session isn't in the cards, Rosie Little's Cautionary Tales for Girls explores hidden recesses of the female psyche without ever being preachy or boring. Amanda Richards, August 15, 2007