Alison Umminger

4.5 stars. Alison Umminger does a great job of capturing a teen girl's voice, and the narrator Anna will stick with me for some time. While the Manson girls material is dark and some moments are heartbreaking, this novel was laugh-out-loud funny in several places. It's both a fun read and a telling observation on America's obsessions with celebrity, beauty, Hollywood, crime, and sensationalism. At its best, AMERICAN GIRLS is up there with Rainbow Rowell's ELEANOR & PARK and Gary D. Schmidt's OKAY FOR NOW. Highly recommend.… (meer)

This was unexpectedly good. This was a book that focused on the messed-up things that can happen to girls, the messed-up things that they can do, and I loved reading about it. I learned a lot about Charles Manson and I think that it's a really interesting comparison, physical violence to emotional violence.

All the girls were so well-characterized, even those who hadn't even appeared in the story, like Paige. The boys were there to further the storylines of the girls. It was nice. It does focus on American girls, as the title says. I loved Anna's character especially - she seems so true to being what a fifteen year old girl is. This is one of the few instances where a character is selfish and ungrateful but realizes it and is redeemed at the end, and I love it. Anna isn't perfect. She can be cruel and whiny and selfish. It's very authentic.

I also liked Jeremy, who was cute and a good love interest. I'm quite pleased with the romance because it ended on a note where it could go further but it's slow and organic.… (meer)