Girl Walking Backwards

Rating:
Summary: STUNNING DEBUT
Review: Am I the only man who read this book?... This is pretty stunning stuff from a first-time novelist: beautiful but grounded prose, deep and believable characterizations, and a deft handling of complicated coming-of-age issues. On the other hand, first novels (and films) are often about those things closest to the author's heart and experience, so we'll wait to see what Williams comes up with next before proclaiming her the voice of a new generation... The book is about Skye, a high school senior in Santa Barbara trying to deal with a new school, making new friends, her insane New Age-addict mother, and her own sexuality. Williams juggles these along with the typical teenage traumas of parties, a controlling parent, an absent parent, and an out-of-control friend. It's a complex journey into Skye's head, and even though much of the book concerns her lesbianism, it never draws attention to itself. Williams' prose floats and flows but never lifts off into the realm of mawkishness. Deserves a wide readership.

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: Any teen girl that is searching for her own identity should read this book. I'm a 15 year old girl and I could relate so well to this story. You can tell the writer is young and knows what she's talking about- it is not written by an older adult. The times have changed drastically, so when adults write about teenage life in the present it is often very unrealistic. This book is. Its about a girl trying to discover who she is and what she wants. It is definately not a book for the "preps" that only care about blow-drying their hair...this story involves raves, goths, bisexuality, drugs, psycho mothers, and everything else. This is one of my all-time favorites.

Rating:
Summary: A Must Read for ALL "Alternative" Teen Girls
Review: Any teen girl that is searching for her own identity should read this book. I'm a 15 year old girl and I could relate so well to this story. You can tell the writer is young and knows what she's talking about- it is not written by an older adult. The times have changed drastically, so when adults write about teenage life in the present it is often very unrealistic. This book is. Its about a girl trying to discover who she is and what she wants. It is definately not a book for the "preps" that only care about blow-drying their hair...this story involves raves, goths, bisexuality, drugs, psycho mothers, and everything else. This is one of my all-time favorites.

Rating:
Summary: Best lesbian novel in history.
Review: Bett Williams can tell a story! I could not put this book down, even to go to the bathroom. Characters are deep and real. Story is totally compelling. Buy it! Read it! Now!

Rating:
Summary: Intimate, funny and lively.
Review: Bett Williams is a great writer, a fearless innovator who does not gloss over truth, even when it is fiction. Honest, provocative and edgy. Best book I've read in ages.

Rating:
Summary: Nothing to criticize!
Review: Bett Williams' debut novel features a strong, self-directed and affable young lesbian, Skye, whose compelling and curious mind absorbs readers almost instantly. Williams draws on the adolescent palette of raw emotion and yearning with an uncanny skill; at times, Skye amazed me (how many high school lesbians are comfortable enough with their sexuality to come out to a classroom full of peers?) and at times she embarrassed me, but the characterization never falters, and I never lost my easy familiarity with her. The dialogue and characters are appealing and tragically real. Skye's attraction to individuals who act out their inner turmoil by wearing their pain on the surface--literally--really brought back what it's like to be in high school. Skye's discovery that her deeper desire, for simple beauty and stability, is the real journey in this novel, and is revealed with the skill of a truly talented writer.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderfully NOT lesbian fiction..
Review: Fortunately I found this book when I wasn't looking in the gay/lesbian fiction section of the bookstore. What a relief to read a book with a gay character that doesn't hang the plot on the sole fact that the character is into his or her same sex, and instead makes the characters lifelike and interesting to keep your attention. It's full of interesting hooks that kept me reading right through my classes. Reminiscent of "Catcher In The Rye," with the whole disillusioned teen deal, only I found "Girl Walking Backwards" to be much more interesting. I walked away feeling like a more learned person. Unfortunately, I have to admit that parts of the book reminded me too much of the movie "Fox Fire" for comfort. Definately worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: I absolutely loved this book. It was wonderful. I was pulled into it and could not put it down. I highly recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: A fresh, true voice.
Review: I completely enjoyed this novel. Williams writes with wit, intelligence and a genuine voice. Her characters are well developed and she captures, flawlessly, the angst of her lead character. I thought this was a remarkably sophisticated first novel.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, insightful... but odd at first
Review: I don?t live in the world that Bett Williams creates for Skye in "Girl Walking Backwards;" however, I could believe in that world?s reality. Skye?s high school experience seems to revolve around a drugged out population, absentee parents, and the weekend rave. I didn?t grow up with absent parents or friends steeped in drugs and depression, but she conveys Skye?s reaction to her world with such reality that I find myself interested in the difficulties she faces. Williams has Skye encounter a series of profound discoveries that seem increasingly profound with each reading. Skye encounters everything with the shallow, detached perspective of a teenager; she lacks the scope to realize the gravity and implications of the observations she?s made. At first I was troubled by Skye?s apparent flippancy; however, her simply stated discoveries about herself and the world, throughout this book, slip the reader these revelations under the fa?ade of obviousness. One seemingly unremarkable quote conveys Skye?s eventual understanding of her relationships with the people around her; "When I was with Lorri, my whole life was in the space between us? (215). Discovering the implications of her thoughts and feelings is an infinite insight into an adolescent mind.

Skye learns a great deal about the way that people work, their shortcomings and her own identity in much the same way that people really learn about themselves and the world. Only in retrospect will she, likely, see how much her view of the world changed from the first page to the last. Upon reading this book the first time I felt as though it accomplished very little. I re-read the book and discovered just how many of Skye?s immature perceptions and thoughts had changed from page one to page 242.

In this story Skye learns about friendships, love, her relationships with her parents and a myriad of other topics. This is, in every sense, a coming of age story exploring both a real, healthy relationship and an unhealthy infatuation. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially a fan of surrealist literature. (you might even want to read it twice)