Gridley Girls
by Meredith First is a semi-autobiographical story of a young girl’s entrance
into adulthood as she begins her freshman year of high school in the small town
of Gridley, California. The drama, the bully, the romance and the finding
yourself among the sea of people is the center of this coming of age story.
The story is told between the past (summer 1978 to the
summer 1979) and the present (2008). The story opens with a prologue Meg as she
discusses her friends. Friends since preschool, they grew up together, did
everything together, until the beginning of high school when the social
pressures threaten to split them apart. In 2008, Meg’s friend, Anne Marie is
getting married and is experiencing pre-wedding jitters as Meg is experience a
potential life changing decision which will take her family from everything
they know. Anne Marie is searching fixated on the events year of their freshmen
year. As the story switches between past and present, clues are given to what
is triggering the nostalgic walk down memory lane.
Gridley Girls
is a great story of nostalgia to the author’s hometown and her lifelong
friends. It is heartwarming and may bring memories of your childhood coming of
age time. The story is reminiscent of Now
and Then, My Girl and other great
stories about the time in your life when you leave childhood behind and face
adulthood head on. Heavy topics of abortion, sex, sexual orientation,
alcoholism and other topics all teenagers face are presented. These topics are
discussed with realism and sincerity. I highly recommend Gridley Girls.
Gridley Girls
is available on
Amazon
in paperback $17
and
on the Kindle $9.49
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