Towelhead

by Alicia Erian

Thirteen-year-old Jasira wants what every girl wants: love and acceptance and the undivided attention of whoever she's with. And if she can't get that from her parents, then why not from her mother's boyfriend, or her father's muscle-bound neighbor, Mr. Vuoso? Alicia Erian's incandescent debut novel, Towelhead, will ring true for readers who remember the rarely poetic transition from childhood to young adulthood. Jasira is a creature of contradiction: both innocent (reading romantic intentions into the grossest displays of lust) and oddly clear-sighted, especially when it comes to the imbalance of power, and the things we do for love. When her mother exiles her to Houston to live with Jasira's strict, quick-to-anger Lebanese father, she quickly learns what aspects of herself to suppress in front of him. In private, however, she conducts her sexual awakening with all the false confidence that pop culture and her neighbor's Playboy magazines have provided.

Jasira tells her story with candor and glimmers of dark, unexpected humor--as when she describes her mother's boyfriend Barry's assistance in her personal grooming: "A week later, Barry broke down and told her the truth. That he had shaved me himself. That he had been shaving me for weeks. That he couldn't seem to stop shaving me." The freshness of her narrative voice sets Towelhead apart from the sentimental or purely harsh treatment of similar subject matter elsewhere, and makes the novel a promising follow-up to Erian's well-regarded short story collection, The Brutal Language of Love. --Regina Marler

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Coming Of Age, Contemporary, Adult Fiction, Novels, Book Club

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Alicia Erian is an American novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, and film director.

Reviews

[Alecia Whitaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Warning: it contains graphic language.
Warning: it will break your heart.
The main character is a 13 year old girl who experiences moving to a new state, having no one to turn to when her body starts to grow and change, parents of different races in an ugly divorce, being the target of racism, and physical and sexual abuse all in the course of one school year.
There is a lot of dialogue and it's a VERY FAST READ. I couldn't put it down. I love this book. My heart was truly breaking for this girl and I couldn't stop thinking about her for the longest time... or rather, for the young girls that she represents.

[Rakisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

*sigh*

I picked up the book Towelhead: A novel because I was intrigued by the New York Times' review of the movie directed by Alan Ball (of Six Feet Under and American Beauty). I also picked it up, because I'm always interested in how authors' portray the burgeoning sexuality of preteen and teen girls especially now that teenagers seem more sexualized than ever. Towelhead did a good job of exploring 13-year-old Jasria's sexuality. The proof is by how uncomfortable I felt reading this book.

In order to truly understand Jasira's reasoning, one has to remember what it was like to be a teenager. As an adult, I can see the faulty decisions of my adolescence with 20/20 hindsight. Back then, the decisions seemed okay. Towelhead was so uncomfortable because so much of the confused sexual feelings and experimentation was familiar to me.

I couldn't stop reading this book, and completed it in just one day. I wanted to rush to the end to see if this girl would ever get her head on straight. (To say yea or nay would spoil the ending.) Although I could relate to Jasira's sexual naïveté, I did become disgusted by it. Even at 13-years-old, I knew the difference between a "good" touch and a "bad touch" even though I was taught, like Jasira, to be ashamed of even the good touches. But that was probably supposed to be a reflection on Jasira's parents’ lack of parenting.

*SIGH* With all that said, I can't say whether or not I liked the book. It was just too disturbing. Once I get over the shock of it, I'll come back and rate it.

[omi · Rating 5 out of 5]

quante jasira ci sono al mondo e non lo sappiamo

[LARRY · Rating 3 out of 5]

As posted in [http://www.amazon.com]:

Wow! I'm not sure if I'm supposed to like the book because of the style of writing and the bold approach of a topic or if I'm supposed to hate it because of a sensitive topic. I can say one thing...that Erian didn't hold back her creative juices. It's so good I thought that it was actually a memoir.

Feeling threatened by her daughter, especially when her boyfriend spills a revelation, thirteen-year-old Jasira is sent to live with her Lebanese father in Houston. Prior to this, Jasira's relationship with her father was practically non-existent. Both father and daughter try to make the best of the new living situation.

*Towelhead* is a book of contraditions, especially Jasira. Jasira, as a young girl, is naive to the things of the world and the desires of men. At the same time, Jasira knows what she wants, which is love and acceptance and she'll get it from anyone, whether it be from her father, her hunky married neighbor, her boyfriend or her other neighbor who is pregnant.

Confused yet eager, she choses to seek the company and attention of her hunky neighbor. This is where readers may be turned off and stop reading or cautiously continue. I can say that this is not easy reading not only because of the sexual nature but because of the eventual eruption of emotions and reactions to this incident.

You'll not only read their emotions but you'll feel emotional. You'll be angry at Jasira's mom for her ultimatums and blind devotion to her boyfriends. You'll react in shock to her father's discpline. You'll bite your nails while Jasira's boyfriend pressures her to do things. You'll want to slap the neighbor's kid and his "get-away-with-murder" antics.

Just read the book.

[George Ilsley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. Even though I found my way to this book through the movie (and the movie is very faithful to the book) the novel still packs a wallop. It is perplexing how Erian wields the narrative skill to create such unlikeable yet interesting characters. The girl's father, for example, is not charming at all but he is still endearing.

Having read this novel and also the earlier short story collection, I have to say that Erian is suddenly my new favourite writer. Brilliant, funny, weird, moving, and sharp.

[Gitte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark and sad story about sexual abuse, racism, neglect and violence, but also a humorous page-turner about growing up and discovering your sexuality, told in a light tone that will make you laugh.

The Beginning: My mother's boyfriend got a crush on me, so she sent me to live with Daddy.

Jasira, an Arab-American girl of 13, is sent off to live with her father whom she hardly knows. We follow her quest for love and acceptance as she discovers her sexuality and tries hard to make friends in a place of twisted rolemodels.

I've had this one on my shelf for ages, but when I finally started it, I finished it in no time. The characters and plot are both engrossing, and I desperately wanted to know what would happen next.

The subjects of the novel are dark: sexual abuse, racism, neglect and violence, but it is told in a light tone through the naiveté of a child. On top of that, it was very well-written. It seemed like Alicia Erian really understood her protagonist and her mixed feelings of love, loneliness, guilt and shame. In spite of dark subjects, the book made me laugh out loud many times. I highly recommend this book to anyone who appreciates a good story about growing up.

Daddy got mad when people made assumptions about him, but I liked it. It made me feel someone wanted to know me. Even if they were wrong, it didn't matter. It mattered only that they were trying.

My blog: The Bookworm's Closet

[Kayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this book up really not knowing what I was getting myself into. The further I read, the more I questioned whether or not I should continue. I did finish it, however, probably because of my incessant curiosity on how a story will end.

I am not exactly sure whether or not I really enjoyed this book. I do know I will not be recommending it to anyone because of the sensitive material. At times I really felt like the protagonist was beyond naive and the other characters were unrealistically sexual and brave (or just stupid). Sometimes I just felt like the author just wanted an excuse to add as much sexual material as possible, no matter how unlikely the situation. I also felt the story took an improbable turn and I was not convinced the story was believable. I guess the biggest positive was that the book kept me entertained during a 5 hour drive.

[lu ☆ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Questo libro mi ha fatto ridere, incazzare, disgustare, intenerire e persino commuovere.
Lo ritengo un romanzo di formazione, un romanzo femminista e sicuramente una lettura che consiglio a tutti, in particolare alle donne.
Mi ha tenuto compagnia in una settimana estiva durante la quale non riuscivo a posare questo libro e ad abbandonare Jasira e i suoi pensieri.
Non dimenticherò i personaggi così veri, dolci, odiosi e schifosamente umani che lo compongono.
Credo che sia una storia che va letta senza cercare colpe e colpevoli, senza cercare il giusto o sbagliato, perché tanto non lo si saprà sempre definire, durante la lettura. Consiglio di leggerlo e basta, assorbendo le sensazioni, belle o brutte, senza analizzarle e definire il 'bene' e il 'male'. Porterò nel cuore la storia di Jasira e il messaggio d'amore, semplice e infantile, che trasmette questo romanzo.

[Angelica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dolorosissimo.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not an easy book. I cannot recommend this book to anyone, because it's very dependent on your personal triggers. But if you can stomach it, this book is so worth it.
This story explores the coming of age of Jasira. She starts her period and begins to have sexual feelings. This and the changing of her body in puberty lead people to treat her as an older person than she is. On top of all this is her difficult relationship with her divorced parents, especially once she moves in with her racist, strict father. The story is written from Jasira's 13-year-old perspective, but this book in no way feels young adult, though it has a young adult voice.
I saw the movie years ago, and I think it did an excellent job of telling the story, without being as graphic as the book. While the book is more graphic, I do find reading the story easier for me than consuming it as a film.
Also, be aware that there are A LOT of racial slurs throughout this book. They are used to build characters and discuss racism among the characters.

*Trigger Warnings listed below, they will contain spoilers:


sexual coming of age, pornography, sexual and menstrual misinformation
racial slurs, child abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, verbal abuse, victim blaming, pedophilia, rape, terrible parenting, manipulation, xenophobia, racism, bullying, terrible people

[rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Era troppo bello avere qualcuno con cui fare le cose insieme.

[Naomi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was this a joke? Did the author play Truth or Dare with some friends and get dared into writing this steaming pile of feces... You know, for shits and giggles?

Every few pages, something random and horrid happens.

Pedophiles! My tampon is STUCK! Rape! Abuse! Racism! Mom being a cunt on the phone! Everyone in this story is racist! The sand niggas hate the black niggas! Oops, I killed your cat! The thawing cat I froze stinks! Semen in the belly button! Bruised thighs and black eyes! The dead cat stinks again! Awkward dinner! By the way, I was raped! Baklava! Here's your dead frozen cat! Oh shit, you fainted and nearly miscarried... Because of me! I was just giving him the cat I killed! But I didn't really kill it, my dad did! But I did! By the way, I have SO MANY PUBES and a revolving door of people who shave them! Even my momma tried to get in on the action! BLOOOOOW JOBS!

And that was just what happened to one 13-year-old girl in less than a year.

Her mom, dad, and neighbors are all cardboard cutout demons, not real people with depth. She's a saint, because she never gets upset. She rarely has any emotions at all, except pity for all her abusers. When people slap her or rape her, she's just like, "I cried." She never describes her feelings any further than that, no anger or depression or shame. She just kinda hangs out and waits for stuff to happen again, cries, masturbates, and then says hi to her abusers with a smile, because she missed them of course.

She longs for her rapist to rape her again (no, seriously) and she has screaming orgasms within seconds of her thirteen-year-old boyfriend penetrating her... Because she's not at all traumatized about the rape.

Oh, and the first rape? It was from two fingers. She spurted geysers of blood profusely from it, which soaked through her jeans, and was sore for several days, even though her vagina was wet with arousal when it happened, which would've prevented such excessive tearing.. Unless this guy has the hugest fingers in the world. Then her tampons slid in easier when she got her next period. Like is this author even a female? Tampons don't fit differently after you've been fingered.

She's not at all attracted to her boyfriend physically, they have no chemistry and nothing to talk about, but she loves to blow him.

And this teenage girl, an American girl in the 90's who attends public schools, doesn't know what "protective services" is. When someone threats to call on her dad if he keeps beating her, she wonders if it is part of the U.S. Army.

She answers two thirds of questions with "I don't know." She hides her dad's abuse, because she likes living with him. She has a parent who doesn't hit her, but she prefers staying with the dad. Well, until she suddenly decides she wants her pregnant neighbor to adopt her.. But she hopes the baby dies.

And the dialogue in this book... That was worst of all. Unless you enjoy reading an entire page of monosyllabic words and grunts exchanged. Everyone talked the exact same, too, so when there were six of them in the room together at the used condom dinner party, oh boy. That was confusing.

I had to Google the author after reading this mess, because I had to know if she was trolling us. Apparently it took her three years to write it, and she was depressed the entire time, not wanting to write it! That should've told her something. She hated spending time with these characters, yet she thought we'd enjoy it. She said she only did write it because her agent made her. She's a short story author, and she was told she'd never be taken seriously until she did a novel. How anyone can take THIS seriously, I don't know. She doesn't even read novels! She prefers nonfiction. This is so ridiculous. I'm embarrassed.

[melissabastaleggere · Rating 5 out of 5]

pianto tanto

[Sandie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don’t remember my sons ever saying “I don’t know” as much as Jasira did. I do think the book showed how confusing the differences are for teens between love, sex, and attention/acceptance. When reading, I was mostly glad that I had mature parents who knew how to set boundaries and establish expectations for behavior.

[Gaja · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
un po’ disturbante ma leggero al tempo stesso?

[Jon Adcock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reminiscent of Diary of a Teenage Girl, Towelhead is a flawed 1st novel that is equal parts clumsy and poignant. Detailing a year in the life of Jasira, a 13-year-old girl from a broken home with an American mother and an Arab father, the novel feels a little overstuffed. There are far too many plates that the author, Alicia Erian, tries to keep spinning as she tackles burgeoning female sexuality, sexual and physical abuse, racism, the culture clash between American born children and their foreign-born parents, and the dynamics of a broken home. Heady subject matter that is probably too much to tackle in a single novel. In less than 30 pages (the first chapter and a few pages into the 2nd chapter) the following happens:

• Jasira sent to live with her father after her mother’s boyfriend confesses to having a Lolita-like obsession with her
• Jasira immediately clashes with her father
• Saddam invades Kuwait
• Jasira is called a towelhead
• Jasira has her first period
• Jasira has her first orgasm
• Her new next-door neighbor, a racist Army reservist, starts to become infatuated with her also.

Erian makes some questionable decisions in the book . For example, Jasira becomes friends with Thomas, a boy at school, in an initially “let’s hang out at lunch” middle school boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. Then, in a clumsy plot point, her father becomes incensed when he discovers the boy is African-American and tells her she can’t see him anymore. So the father who is upset that his next-door neighbor is a racist, is a racist himself? Aiming for irony, the author hits heavy-handedness instead. One of the weaknesses of the novel are the sections that deal with Jasira and Thomas. They are only in the 8th Grade, yet Thomas, in particular, is portrayed as too sexually precocious and knowledgeable to be realistic. Jasira loses her virginity to Thomas in an encounter noticeably missing most of the awkward fumbling usually associated with first times as teenagers (don’t ask about mine). It’s obvious that Erian is drawing a contrast between the encounters Jasira has with Thomas and the rough, exploitative encounters that Jasira has with her next-door neighbor, a married reservist in his 30’s. It’s obvious and a little clumsy and amateurish.

One of the strengths of the book is the characterizations. Confused and vulnerable, Jasira comes across as a fully three-dimensional character and Erian does an equally good job with the secondary characters. The parents, in particular, are well drawn and while they aren’t very sympathetic characters, they feel “real” and flawed in a very human way. It’s the interaction between Jasira and her divorced parents that gives the novel much of it’s poignancy. The divorce was acrimonious and Jasira is often used as a pawn in the on-going struggle between the parents.

The novel tackles emotional, physical and sexual abuse. In perhaps the surest sign that there is too much happening in the novel, the sexual exploitation that Jasira suffers from her married next-door neighbor is almost a minor plot point. The emotional abuse she suffers from both parents and the physical abuse she suffers from her father takes up the bulk of the story. Judgmental and emotionally distant, quick to anger and quick to hit, her father is as much a villain as the neighbor is. In a passage that broke my heart, her father lashes out after being told by his ex-wife that Jasira hated him:

“I went to hug him then. I couldn’t help it. Not just from that moment, but from the day before, when it had seemed like he’d been defending me a little from my mother. As soon as I reached my arms toward him, though, he hit me in the face. I fell backward onto the breakfast nook floor. “We don’t hug people we hate,” he said, then he went in his room and shut the door”

Definitely poignant in spots, the book would have been better if Erian had chosen a few less topics to try and stuff into a relatively thin book and the sexual abuse subplot is disturbing and more distracting than integral to the overall story.

[Tony DuShane · Rating 5 out of 5]

towelhead is spectacular.

[Elyse Walters · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this YEARS ago. I saw it come through the want-to-read dailies... And I was brought right into the story. Sad... Raw... A little intense.

[Cynthia Collu · Rating 3 out of 5]

"C'era una foto che mi piaceva più delle altre: una donna su una macchinina da golf con la camicetta aperta. Rideva e si divertiva e non sembrava che si rendesse conto di essere in un campo da golf dove tutti le vedevano le tette. Cercavo di immaginarmi come mi sarei sentita io al suo posto. In mezzo a tanta gente, con la camicetta aperta mentre un uomo mi faceva le fotografie. Se sarei riuscita a sorridere in una situazione del genere. Più immaginavo, più stringevo le gambe. Sapevo che facevo un gran rumore sulla sedia di vimini, ma non mi potevo fermare. Era come se stessi rincorrendo qualcosa. Come se continuando a stringere arrivasse una sensazione ancora più bella dello stringere soltanto. Non so come lo sapevo, ma è arrivata. Era un orgasmo."
_ Alicia Erian - Beduina _

Inizia qui la scoperta dell'autoerotismo - o meglio, la scoperta dell'orgasmo - della tredicenne Jasira, una ragazzina che sbarella per il comportamento anaffettivo della madre, egoista e alquanto stronza, e per quello ottuso di un padre retrogrado e violento.
Jasira scopre il piacere del sesso, l'unica cosa che le fa compagnia e la consola, dando a questo piacere il retro pensiero di amore e attenzione. Ed è così che, con ingenuità e, oserei dire, con una purezza disarmante, Jasira si fa fagocitare dal vicino, facendogli e permettendogli di fare cose che lei ritiene importanti, perché piacciono a lui.

Mi è piaciuto questo lungo romanzo in cui la protagonista cerca di rendersi visibile cercando (e subendo) approcci sessuali. Un personaggio a mio avviso molto lontano da Lolita, nonostante l'età e l'apparente disinvoltura con cui Jasira cerca di farsi toccare dagli uomini, convinta com'è che gli orgasmi siano l'unica cosa che possono farla star bene.
Una madre stronza, che dallo stato di New York la spedisce dal padre, in Texas, accusandola di andare sempre in giro "con le tette dritte in fuori." solo perché è gelosa che il suo amante sia amico della bambina. Un padre altrettanto stronzo, conservatore e padre padrone, che le proibisce qualsiasi cosa sappia lontanamente di sesso, come i tampax (le comprerà degli assorbenti a poco prezzo). Un vicino che abuserà di lei, e della sua voglia di essere amata e, in definitiva, della sua incredibile ingenuità.
Cerca solo qualcuno che la ami, Jasira, e troverà affetto e comprensione in una coppia di vicini.
Un romanzo che non è un capolavoro, ma che si legge veloce e (per quanto mi riguarda) con empatia verso la ragazzina.
Alcune cose stridono: la coppia di vicini tanto buoni da prenderla non solo sotto la loro ala protettrice impedendo al padre di avvicinarla, ma che le regalano persino libri sul sesso in modo che sia informata, la fanno stare in camera da sola col suo ragazzino, ecc. Insomma, dei paladini che fatico a considerare credibili. Inoltre mi fa un po' specie la facilità con cui Jasira raggiunge l'orgasmo solo stringendo le gambe o facendosi titillare i capezzoli.
A parte questo, e il buonismo finale, un libro orchestrato bene, dalla solida struttura che, pur con un linguaggio "basic", ha dalla sua una potente capacità narrativa.
Non saprei se consigliarlo. A me la ragazzina ha fatto un mondo di tenerezza.
Voi, non saprei.

[Sue Gerhardt Griffiths]

It is impossible to rate this book with just one specific star.

2 stars for its graphic descriptions and POV from a 13 year old
3 & 4 stars for the in-between nice bits, shame they were scarce
5 stars for Alicia Erian’s incredible writing and for Melina and Gil

Bloody hell. Not what I was expecting at all. Two words that come to mind after reading this novel. Gross and yuck. This was one big icky read and utterly disturbing. I cannot ever recall squirming so much while reading a book. I hated every single character in this story, ok, not Melina and Gil - they were totally awesome, but all other characters were despicable and I’m still trying to process (13 yr old) Jasira’s graphic narration told throughout this book. Hard, hard going, many times I wanted to give up reading this shocking story but there was a need to read to the end in order to find out what happens to Jasira.

I Googled the author this morning and came across ‘Interview with Alicia Erian on Towelhead,’ it was quite interesting to read that some aspects of Towelhead is autobiographical.

It’s not really a book I recommend to everyone but possibly a book that every parent should read but be warned it’s very upsetting.

Book ‘e’ of the a-z author challenge 2018

[Christina Kenway · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a disgusting book.

I had no choice but to read this as it was assigned. This was a kiddie porn snuff read and nothing more. I cannot find an iota of literary value in this book. The writing is not special, the characters are flat as freaking cardboard and completely unredeemable, the ending is unfulfilling and inconclusive, and the content itself is graphic and gratuitous.

The last twenty or so pages ALMOST had me convinced that this story could redeem itself. Shortly after Jasira confesses that Vuoso molested and raped her, there is this inner monologuing of Jasira's confusion between her shame, her pity for Vuoso, and her knowing that what he did was terrible. I thought, "Okay, this makes complete sense. This is real. This is how (I imagine) an abuse victim feels, with this back-and-forth between shame and pity for her abuser. THIS is the message of the story...right?"

Then I finished the book.

And I promptly threw the book across the room.

WHAT THE ACTUAL F**K?! I'm sorry, but WHAT THE ACTUAL F**K?!

So following this rather insightful passage after Jasira's confession and the subsequent police interviews, criminal charges, etc., the story ends with her going back over to Vuoso's to APOLOGIZE for his dead cat. Very pregnant Melina comes out the door to stop her and LO AND BEHOLD, she trips and falls and oh my gosh the baby! The baby!

This book felt like it was written only for shock value. Just event after event after event of, "How terrible can I make Jasira's life? I know! Vuoso molests her. I know! She gets the cat killed. I know! Her dad beats her. I know! Her mom is a selfish twat. I know! Now she almost got the unborn baby killed."

So the moral of the story was...

What exactly? That rape is bad? That you shouldn't leave the door open when the cat is inside? That you can have ten orgasms just by thinking about orgasms? That "Daddy" is mean? That Mom is a twat? That you should let your boyfriend manipulate you with sex? What???!!

In that short moment of enlightenment I mentioned above, I THOUGHT maybe the book was trying to suggest that denying this young girl the opportunity to either understand or safely explore her sexuality led to the confusion between right and wrong in her sexual encounters. Maybe that is what it WANTS to get across, but it does a horrible job in doing so. I think that to get that across, it should've ended with that moment of redemption. Not with Melina.

And many others have mentioned this, but the title? It had nothing to do with the book. Jasira could've literally been any other race and it would not have changed the context of the story. Her race had absolutely nothing to do with the disgusting underlying story at hand.

I just...ugh.

[Banafsheh Serov · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jasira, a 13 year old Arab-American girl has been sent by her mother to live with the Lebanese father she barely knows. Jasira is not happy living with her father; he alienates her with his strict rules, harsh punishments and lack of affection. Alone and confused about her rapidly changing body she looks to people around her to fill the void. She meets her neighbour Melina who becomes Jasira’s confidant and protector, taking on the parental responsibilities neglected by Jasira’s parents. She also meets Mr. Vuoso, an Army reservist whose inappropriate attentions escalate to abuse.
‘Towelhead’ challenges the reader by not shying away from often uncomfortable and evocative subjects. The title was a little misleading as I had wrongly assumed it was about the difficulties of growing up Muslim in America during the first Gulf War- something similar to ‘Does my head look too big in this.’
Jasira’s character is surprisingly unsophisticated and ignorant towards her changing body. After all what 13 year old American girl does not know about tampons? Aside from the media advertising and programs, schools spend a lot of time educating the kids about their changing bodies and appropriate and inappropriate touching.
‘Towelhead’ now out as a Hollywood movie staring Toni Collett, makes for a confronting but not always believable read.

[Hugh Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! What I liked about it was the "greyness" of it. I first saw the movie on TV...or part of the movie and it made me too uncomfortable, but there definitely was something to it, so I thought I'd read the book. Now I'd like to see the movie again. Really, there are no perfectly "good" characters, and no really "bad" characters, including the young girl who was the center of the story. Lots of sexual content, and not for the faint of heart! What did Freud call us when we are young..."Polymorphous perverse"....we are curious about everything...how it feels, how it tastes, etc and we learn not to be curious about (or not to tell people we are curious about) certain things. Whenever I read books like this I wonder what the author's experience was...it is either something that has happened to the author or is something that the author has thought about and is important enough to her to put it in the story. This was a hard read and I did a lot of thinking about it but I felt that I really grew from reading it.

Hugh

[Jamie Felton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Coming-of-age story starring an extremely sexually precocious thirteen year old whose father is a control freak and whose mother is immature and irresponsible. She sends Jasira to live with her father because she perceives that her boyfriend is paying too much attention to her daughter. It is difficult to read this without wanting to place blame on one parent or the other for how Jasira behaves with men; however, Jasira too seems to be responsible for some of what happens to her. Although in the end, Jasira seems to have learned something, there is not a whole lot of character development. It is still a good read by a new author and has some interesting things to say about sex and being a teenager (though I don't think it should ever be considered a young adult novel; it is fairly explicit).

[CuriousLibrarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a 2.5 from me.

I read this on a plane ride. I finished it, but I think it was more circumstances and a horrid fascination than actual interest. I wanted to make sure Jasira was okay in the end.

The poor girl is subjected to abuse (emotional, physical, and sexual), racism and neglect. And it seemed like the only thing this book had going for it was sex. As if that is the only thing 13-yr-old girls think about. In Jasira's case, given her circumstances and lack of information it makes a little more sense, but still I didn't need to spend a whole book hearing about the unfortunate sex life of a 13-yr-old. I had heard there was a lot of thought-provoking, groundbreaking meat to this book. But why? Because the girl was Muslim instead of some other religion? True, the book would lose what little outside bits of plot there was besides sex without it, but it didn't seem to impact the story much.

Not impressed.

[Anina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this and I read it in one day because I couldn't put it down...I even missed Project Runway. Anyhow, it's not for everyone which is why I gave it 4 not 5 stars. It's from the perspective of a 13 year old girl who is sexually abused/confused by all the people who are supposed to be taking care of her. However she is very clever and there's a lot of dark humor in it so it's not terribly depressing really. There is sex on every page, I thought it was an accurate portrayal of hormone ridden teenage thoughts as well as the thoughts of an abused person. They are making this into a movie soon and it is being compared to American Beauty and that is why I read it.

[Paltia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh Jasira will break your heart. This is a story about two clueless parents acting out their insecurities and failures on their hapless daughter, Jasira. As a result, she is left on her own to sort through the confusing maze of feeling unloved and sadly, unloveable. The shing lights in her life are her boyfriend and her neighbors, a pregnant woman and her back from Yemen peace corps husband. They will provide enough light to keep Jasira from being stuck in her dark and dreary life. She is irrepressible and courageous as can be. Bravo to Alicia Elian for giving us readers an honest and realistic look into the life of a lonely young woman.

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Satisfyingly ambiguous. The abusive father has a strange charm about him, the rapist is held in disturbingly high esteem by his victim, the horny boyfriend is convincingly both kind and totally self-absorbed, and the narrator's mix of painful awkwardness and total obliviousness rings true. Ultimately nobody behaves quite as you'd expect them to. But I don't know, I didn't think about sex this much when I was 13. Then again, I didn't grow up in Texas.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is very powerful book telling a modern day story of culture clash, family dysfunction, child abuse, sexual self-discovery, and finally, redemption. It is "Lolita" told from the girl's point of view - and not a pleasant one at that. Jasira tells her shocking story in a graphic & plainspoken manner that lends a sense of pathos to the escalating events. It's a quick read, with a hopeful ending. I'll probably read it again, and recommend it my teen mom book group too.

[Amanda]

Ok, NOT what I was expecting. Much less about culture class and way more about statutory rape than I thought it would be. Not that I hated it, but it just wasn't what I thought it was going to be. Not really sure how I feel about the main character....She's one that you want to hug and smack all at the same time.