September Girls is a stunning coming-of-age novel about first loves, oblivious parents, sibling rivalries—and mermaids. This imaginative and painfully honest book garnered five starred reviews, including one from ALA Booklist that proclaimed it “a rare and lovely novel, deserving of attention from discriminating readers.”
Whisked away by his father to an unusual beach town in the Outer Banks, Sam finds himself having the summer vacation most guys dream of. He’s surrounded by beautiful blonde girls, and, better yet, they all seem inexplicably attracted to him. But there’s definitely something strange about the Girls. They only wear flats because heels make their feet bleed. They never go swimming in the water. And they all want something from him.
Sam falls for one of the Girls, DeeDee, and begins an unexpected summer romance. But as they get closer, she pulls away without explanation. Sam knows that if he is going to win her back, he’ll have to learn the Girls’ secret.
Bennett Madison, critically acclaimed author of The Blonde of the Joke, brings a mix of lyrical writing, psychologically complex characters, and sardonic humor to this young adult novel. September Girls is perfect for fans of the irreverent wit of Ned Vizzini and the seductive magic of fairy tales retold.
-
Sexual Content - 3/5
3/5
-
Violence - /5
/5
-
Language - 4/5
4/5
-
Drugs and Alcohol - 3/5
3/5
Summary
Wow. What a book. It took me several days to even consider writing a review for this book, because I don't even think I can describe how I felt about it. I originally picked it up intrigued by the great divide between reviews all over the Internet- people either loved it, or thought it was terrible. I was shocked at first by the crude language and the sexual, seemingly misogynistic nature of this book and it was hovering between two and three stars. But upon further reading I began to realize just how genius this book was. Under the crude language and demeaning sex jokes, there was a fascinating underlying theme. This book was very subtly written- it has a murky, dark tone like the ocean where it's set. Keeping with the ocean theme, there's a lot under the surface. It's a coming-of-age story that appears very misogynistic at first , before you begin picking up on the numerous female characters' intricate personality traits and you realize the women are actually patronizing the men of the story. Does that make sense? Anyways. Their were a lot of things I loved about this book- the great descriptions, the settings, a certain set of narrators (read the book, you'll see what I mean), and even the references to mermaid pop culture such as The Little Mermaid (My favorite scene involves one of the mermaids showing Sam another mermaid's stash of junk and casually saying \"Look at this stuff. Isn't it neat?\" which of course is the opening line of the Disney theme song.) And I'd like to point out that the ending was absolutly perfect. This story was a lot of things- a coming-of-age epic, a fresh twist on an old fairy tale, and a hot, lazy-day summer beach story. I think it's safe to say September Girls was unlike anything I'd ever read before, and I'm reccomending it for anyone looking for the perfect book to read at summer's end.
Violence-No violence
Language-If you are offended by crude language DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. Lots of sexually crude words, the f-bomb used frequently and as a verb.
Sexual-This book talked a lot about sex and sexual experimentation. There was an attempted rape and one sex scene.
Drug & Alcohol-The kids drank heavily throughout the book