Girls in Peril

by Karen Lee Boren

During a 1970s summer, five adolescent girls learn that peril exists where they never in their neighborhood and homes; in parents who steal their time and freedom (and, in one case, a thumb); in the pull of the world beyond their friendships; and in their own burgeoning sexuality. In a sparkling debut, Karen Lee Boren offers an exquisitely rendered coming of age story about adolescent girls in small-town Wisconsin who learn that life’s real perils exist where they never in their own neighborhoods and homes. During a single summer in the 1970s, five friends while away the hours by torturing the Avon lady, playing four square, jumping rope, swimming, and perfecting the art of sneaking out for night runs to the lake. Then one night the unthinkable happens, forcing the girls into a world beyond childhood and the pull of young friendship.

Genres: Fiction

150 pages, Paperback

First published April 26, 2006

Reviews

[Karen Germain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karen Lee Boren’s “Girls in Peril” is another great book from my favorite publishing company, Tin House. It’s actually a novella and I wish it had been longer. It felt like a tease reading it.

The story reminded me a lot of one of my all time favorite books, “The Virgin Suicides” by Jeffrey Eugenides. Boren and Eugenides stories both deal will a set of children coming of age in the 70’s and bonding through a shared tragedy. I don’t want to give away too much of Boren’s plot, but many aspects of the theme felt similar. Boren’s story left me feeling unsettled.

I also thought that she did a great job with the power struggle between Jeanne and Lauren. It felt real to my own experiences with adolescent friendships between girls.

[Sam Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live for novellas like this: ones I can start and finish in one sitting, like a literary binge. I really hope more short novels start getting the recognition they deserve.

This was the perfect short book to pick up on a hot July day. Girls in Peril sinks itself into the summertime sadness, nostalgia-drenched girlhood aesthetic, with a hint of evil and mystery. I'd set it somewhere in between The Virgin Suicides and a Gillian Flynn novel. Boren's prose is definitely very reminiscent of Jeffrey Eugenides. Both authors strive to paint a picture of young adolescence in almost intrusive detail (the hair on a girls' toes, a 13-year-old's habit of licking her fingers...). In many ways, Girls in Peril is simply a portrait of 20th century American suburbia, filtered through puzzled preteen eyes. I found myself remembering how I found magic and danger in the most mundane corners, in door to door salesmen, abandoned lots, cherry lipgloss, a quarter on the sidewalk.

My main issue with this novella, however, is the seeming absence of the first person narrator. You are told there are five girls, four of which are named, but the girl who shares their communal story remains unnamed and seemingly nonexistent. I assume it was the author's intention to leave the narrator vague, making it easier for readers to get lost in the close-knit, magical world of a neighborhood clique. Still, I would have appreciated at least knowing our narrator had a name and a personality.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very short coming-of-age story about a friendship between a group of girls. I thought it was okay. It could have been more interesting if it were longer and the characters and events were more fleshed out. There wasn't really any time to get to really know any of the characters. The last couple of chapters were page-turners and I liked the way she ended the story. I found the narrator's voice distracting at first as I was trying to figure out who, exactly, was speaking. I think the way Boren wrote the book (the voice she used to tell it, that is) leant an air of detachment to the whole story. If she HAD chosen to make it a novel and flesh the characters and events out, I am not sure that I could have made it through IF she had kept the same narrator.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aug. 27, 2010: I finished the book in one night, so it's a very good read. I really liked her intimate and darkling voice as she communicated how girls are sometimes the strangest creatures. These girls only tangled with the Avon lady once (I know I toyed with the Domino's guys for at least three weeks), but this was an excellent brief read which cleansed my mind of sticky complexity. Plus, I loved getting in touch with my wicked, impulsive but still innocent side of myself. Boren has a great command of sentence structure and her descriptions tantalize.

Aug. 26, 2010: Girls in Wisconsin torturing the Avon lady during a lazy summer? Done it..., well, it was a Domino's pizza guy, but still.

[WildBookBosomed · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked this book.
A story about young girls growing up in a neighborhood on the brink of some changes.

I would have liked to have known more about Joey..one of the characters-- but I suppose the mystery and the unknown about his character was part of the book. I didn't like that the book was written in one voice and that all four girls were discussed through this one unison voice. THere was too much "we felt" "we said" "we were nervous"..... It didn't seem real when only one person was talking and it wasn't even one of the characters.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is well written, but doesnt seem like a whole book. Granted, it is a novella, I wish it would have been marketed as part of a book of short stories. I was left wanting more, which I guess is a good thing. It takes place in familiar territory, the city isnt mentioned, but by the street names, and descriptions of the park, it is apparently St Francis, a suburb of Milwaukee. There were too many girls in her little group for me to feel I knew any one of them well, but this would have been handled better in a novel length piece.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not often I read a book in one day, granted it is only 127 pages, but it is very rare for me to do so. I was wondering why so much emphasis was placed on Jeanne's extra thumb, I was almost bored by it to tell you the truth, but you'll see why later on. I liked this story overall; a coming of age for five friends one summer. The girls get into some mischief, but when tragedy happens to one family, I don't understand why Jeanne does what she does in the house. I don't want to give anything away, so that's as much as I'll say.

[Amy Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The novella was really fast-paced and created multiple sides to the characters, however there was still some substance lacking from some characters and that's what brought the rating down for me. However, I really enjoyed it; it's an easy read, I read it in one sitting. This story displays the movement of growing into young adulthood and away from your friends, but at a more rapid pace. Because of the speed, I think it allows for stronger emotions within the hearts of the reader as well as the characters.

[abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is why I don't really read coming of age novels. I don't know why but despite {spoiler alert} things like one girl having her freakish EXTRA THUMB amputated, and a MURDER at the end, I was totally bored. Also, why did the narrator literally have no personality? This must have been an intentional choice on the writer's part (probably something about how teenage girls make decisions by hivemind blah blah blah) but I did not like it.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty good story about teenage angst in the 1970s summertime. There is a little bit of fun, little bit of tragedy, all makes for an interesting read for young adults. It also has a very interesting narrator that I don't think I have seen before. It seems to be a collective narrator, rather than an individual first person. It is like more than one voice rolled into one. Read and see for yourself. I am interested in what other people think about this narrative strategy.

[Rachel Lang · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book... I was hoping it would be a nostalgic feeling, mysterious summer read. What is was, was a complete bore. It had no feeling probably because all four girls all shared one voice about everything going on. Yes, I'm sure four friends all feel the exact same about every single thing that happens. Sure. Despite being a very short read, this took me longer than it should have to finish, just because I did not want to continue it, but I did in hopes of it getting better. It didn't.

[Danielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming of age is my jam, thus i read this book. In this summertime novella set in the 1970's, lush in descriptions of summer, sweat, and the thin lace between girlhood and teen leg lengthening run deep. Pretty weak plot, but pretty.

[Lorik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written book that shows the trials of maturity. And through the development of maturity comes the development of fear. Peril is huge in this novel, and Boren does an amazing job at embedding the idea of fear throughout the novel. I truly enjoyed this read.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enchanting novella to read on a Sunday morning. It's just the right length, longer than a short story, shorter than a novel, with all the possible intrigue of both. I'm looking forward to reading more of Boren's books.

[Rachel Fachner · Rating 3 out of 5]

Haunting. Reade, Georgia - this one's for you.

[michelle]

10/30/06

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how the book envoked preteen friendships. Well written.

[Arlene · Rating 2 out of 5]

Coming of age book. Not terribly interesting.

[Rhonda · Rating 2 out of 5]

QUICK read, I mean quick.
Marginal at best, a story about young girls coming of age. Lacked interest and character.

[Stephanie Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars. A gem of a story - it took me right back to being 12 years old and put me in touch with feelings long since forgotten...

[Erin O'Riordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

How brilliant to write an entire novella in the first person plural (we). What a great story. Perilous, yes, but all the girls emerge intact - minus one superfluous digit.

[Rebecca]

A 70s summer in the life of everyday Cudahy girls (seriously). As someone who grew up, in the 70s-80s, in Cudahy of all places... it was very interesting to know the places she was talking about.

[Jovdb · Rating 2 out of 5]

Exactly how were the girls in peril?

Not exactly a riveting story.