Manchmal sind Coming-of-Age-Geschichten chaotisch, laut, unangepasst und genau deshalb irgendwie besonders. „All about a Girl“ nimmt einen mit in die 90er und erzählt von einem Mädchen, das versucht, seinen Platz im Leben zu finden — zwischen Familie, Armut, Popkultur und dem Wunsch, endlich jemand zu sein. Mir hat gefallen, dass die Geschichte nicht glattgebügelt wirkt, sondern ihre Ecken und Kanten hat. Es geht ums Erwachsenwerden, um Selbstfindung, um peinliche Momente, große Träume und darum, sich selbst irgendwie neu zu erfinden. Ganz perfekt war es für mich nicht, aber es hatte diesen eigenen Ton, der hängen bleibt. Für wen „All about a Girl“ etwas sein könnte und warum ich am Ende 4 Sterne vergeben habe, erzähle ich auf meinem Blog. 📖✨

Das Buch erzählt die Geschichte von einem Mädchen namens Johanna, das sich im Laufe des Buches selbst findet. Die Handlung an sich mochte ich und auch die Figuren waren sympathisch, außer Rich vielleicht. Johanna, ihre Familie (vor allem Krissi) und John mochte ich sehr. Ich finde auch, dass Johanna eine sehr gute Entwicklung hingelegt hat. Durch den etwas umständlichen und verschachtelten Schreibstil und die oftmals langen Kapitel ist es mir etwas schwer gefallen, in das Buch reinzukommen. Das wurde aber etwa in der Mitte des Buches besser und ich konnte es kaum noch aus der Hand legen. Es war sehr unterhaltsam und hat auch meinen Humor getroffen, manchmal konnte ich auch lachen. Ich glaube allerdings, dass es nicht den Geschmack von jedem treffen würde, kann es aus meiner Sicht aber durchaus weiterempfehlen.

I had rather high expectations when starting this book. And from the very start, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it: was this just hilarious or over the top already - was this still engaging or boring yet? There are a lot of clichees wandering the pages of this book, concerning working class families, concerning teenage girls - concerning many things. And yet the book has too "earnest" (or maybe honest) an undertone to be called a satire as such. What it reminded me most of in respect to topics like sexuality is [b:Intimes Tagebuch der Sally Mara -Man ist immer zu gut zu den Frauen. Sally Maras Gesammelte Werke. o.A.|13628552|Intimes Tagebuch der Sally Mara -Man ist immer zu gut zu den Frauen. Sally Maras Gesammelte Werke. o.A.|Raymond Queneau|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1335805031s/13628552.jpg|19234999]. Once Johanna/Dolly starts her career as a music journalist at a London-based magazine, the previous humourous tones quickly vanish except for a few short episodes. The book then becomes a more or less realistic story of growing up, sometimes evoking recognition but more often pity for the narrator who also suddenly begins to reflect on the story from the point of view of a future, older self. This reminiscent tone often is a bit on the mellow, world-wise side bordering on lecturing. The book ends with a great reconciliatory episode concerning the family before the fledgeling journalist leaves the nest. And that's that. All in all, I enjoyed reading the book. It was entertaining, though not as much as I'd expected. I'd recommend it to readers who enjoy somewhat eccentric autobiographic stories (though this isn't an actual autobiography).

Read this review on my blog. In How to Build a Girl Moran tells the story of fifteen-year old Johanna, who grows up on a council estate in Wolverhampton. This is a sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll coming-of-age story. As it happens this is the story I've always wanted to read as a teenager because it combines the journey of finding out who you are with the passion for music. It is about growing up in a socially and financially unstable environment and about how that should not hold you back. All in all the premise is rather brilliant, in my opinion. BUT! I am actually sorry that there is a but - more than one - because I love Moran's attitude and writing. But there are several things about this book that did not add up in the end. First of all, I never got the feeling that Johanna (the protagonist) actually had any passion for music. She does have a passion for writing; and music is merely her vehicle for putting her writing out into the world - and to earn money in order to save her family. At one point the narrator says "I started to write about music because I loved it" but she actually did it to earn money in the first place. Johanna gets into writing rock reviews for a magazine not because she knows anything about rock music, but because she is a fairly talented writer. She fakes her way all the way to the top of music reviewing without having any real knowledge about the music or bands. And because of this the narrator can never convey any real love of music. She seems to detached from the music fandom; like someone looking at it from the outside and not as a part of it. Johanna could be writing book reviews or cooking recipes for all it matters. Of course we need Johanna to be introduced to the rock'n'roll circus in order for her to have all the crazy wild sex adventures and meet all these drug- and self-addicted rockstars. Which brings me to the second thing I disliked about this novel. It is simply not believable. Johanna describes herself as fat and ugly. Although most teenagers seem to see themselves that way, with Johanna there seems to be a certain truth to this as she is perceived that way by other people too. However, this fat awkward girl who doesn't know anything about music manages to get herself not only into a national music magazine but also has sex with A LOT of guys from the industry and is celebrated as some kind of super-dirty sex trophy. I just don't buy it. On the other hand, this story is partly based on Moran's life. Which is noticeable because she tends to recycle things from her autobiography [b:How to Be a Woman|10600242|How to Be a Woman|Caitlin Moran|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1405909800s/10600242.jpg|15507935]. And she does this almost word for word. There are passages in this novel that I have read exactly like this in How to be a Woman. I felt a bit cheated. Why did Moran feel the need to repeat herself simply to produce a YA novel? Especially because it would have been a lot more authentic as a memoir. Also, why is this marketed as a YA novel? Just because the protagonist is a teenage girl? Because I fail to find any other reason for this. The narrator is not 15-year old Johanna but an adult version of her. No, that's not completely true. Moran switches between narrators again and again. This sometimes happens in the course of a paragraph. The tone changes to that of an adult looking back on the mistakes she made as a teen. It actually becomes a bit preachy and condescending and does not fit the style of the YA perspective at all. And the fact that the setting is the late 80's and early 90's does not help either. If this is aimed at someone who is a teenager in 2014 they will hardly get the references - I'm almost 30 and I didn't know half the bands mentioned here - and yes, I like rock music. This is effectively a memoir with a few details changed for dramatic purposes. And I, for my part, would have been a lot more interested in a detailed memoir of Moran's life than an over-the-top fictionalization of it. Don't get me wrong, this was a fun read! And it had some fairly truthful and beautiful passages that my teenage-self actually could relate to. In a way this is the coming-of-age story that I always wanted to write. I love Caitlin Moran and her writing. I am just not sure if she picked the right genre for herself. Also, she needs to get her Star Wars references straight! Leia did not get Han to kiss her "before they swung across a chasm" - that was Luke! But like I said, I love Caitlin Moran and I wanted to love this book. And I think there are some (teenage) girls (and boys) out there who would appreciate this wild coming-of-age story. So what I am going to do is end this review with a really beautiful quote from the book; and a - at least to me - very accurate description of being a teenager. "Because what you are, as a teenager, is a small, silver, empty rocket. And you use loud music as fuel, and then the information in books as maps and co-ordinates, to tell you where you’re going."