Rating: 
Summary: I could take it or leave it
Review: Did you ever read a book that you just really didn't care about the characters one way or the other? This is that book for me. The story is told by Lissy, reflecting back on the summer when she was fifteen and her father left her and her mother to have an affair in Arizona. In that summer, 1985, Lissy learns that the man she has grown up with is not her real father. Her biological father was the one true love of her mother's life and over the course of that summer Lissy learns in sessions of "girl talk" about their young and forbidden love. The story jumps between the present, the summer of 1985 and the late sixties when her mother was a girl. This is more the mother's story than the daughter's and shows an adult appreciation for the choices her has made in her life.All in all it wasn't a bad book, but there was so much psycho babble about Electra complexes and such that it left a bad taste in my mouth. I looked forward to reading this book as I too was a 15 year old girl in 1985. While there were a few chapters set in the 1980s that were a bit nostaglic for me, the majority as I already said was set in the 1960s which didn't really hold my interest. Best advice - borrow it or check it out from the library but don't spend money to read this one.
Rating: 
Summary: All who like Great writing will Appreciate this book
Review: Although the title and story might seem offputting to male readers, I, as just such a reader, thoroughly enjoyed this extremely well-written book. It is lyrical and poetic, very honest, smart, and often hilariously funny, but never cynically so. I had no idea how the plot would unfold, as it had the unpredictability and complexity of real life. The characters are three dimensional and understandable as people--not emotional cut-outs designed to serve an author's obvious intent. Anyway, if you find most books the critics like to be horribly overrated, then read this one for a change--the praise for "Girl Talk" will seem fully deserved and yet inadequate to convey the often breathtaking beauty of Ms. Biggott's written word.
Rating: 
Summary: (...) julianna baggott?
Review: I don't know where she came from, but I am surprised she is not more well-known. This book was exceptional!!!! I loved the eccentricity of the characters, and the way she wove Lissy's past together with her family's past and the present all together. This book was written very tightly, no unecessary words. I am anxiously awaiting Baggott's next novel!
Rating:
Summary: A real gem
Review: Wow, where did this author come from? This is an amazing book about an amazing summer, the kind that only exists in the imagination. Lissy's account of the summer that never happened is absolutely riveting. This mother who shares intimate secrets with her teenage daughter makes this novel a page-turner (I shared Lissy's anticipation and dread for what her mom was going to tell her next, and boy did that make me read fast), but all the while you see how these girls, both Dotty the mother and Lissy the daughter, became women--the communities that raised them, the men they loved, and the decisions they had to make to get by. Read this book if only to get to the moment when Dotty takes Lissy to pick up her dad's car from his mistress's driveway, or only to get to the moment when Dotty takes Lissy to meet her grandmother, or only to get to the moment when Dotty takes Lissy to the home of her biological father, or only...well, you get the idea. This book is so rich with details that are at once extremely uncomfortable and expertly handled by such a knowledgeable narrator, one who can look back at the summer that never happened and see how it defined who she has become. If you've read Mona Simpson's Anywhere but Here, you'll find Lissy's perspective familiar. But this story is all Julianna Baggott's own. I can't wait for her next book.
Rating:
Summary: This book is not just for women
Review: A co-worker of mine read Girl Talk and loved it. Surprisingly, this co-worker is of the male persuasion. He said it appealed to the voyeur in him. Girl Talk will remind you of the mystery behind every woman. I am grateful to Baggott for letting us in on the deep, long-held secrets of the Jablonski women. Buy it --and then let the guy in next cube borrow it.
Rating:
Summary: LOVED IT
Review: Somehow Ms. Baggott was able to braid three distinct time periods without jarring the reader. This book is a must-read for all mothers, mothers-to-be, and daughters. Truly, this is girl talk at its most intimate.
Rating:
Summary: Because Life is Like This
Review: I just finished Girl Talk and am passing it along to my best friend. The book captures the dysfunction, hilarity and poignancy of real family life. This is it, America. If Julianna Baggott was privvy to your own mother's secrets, I promise the resulting book would be just as dark -- and just as funny -- as Girl Talk. This book made me want to pull up a chair in my mother's kitchen and find out exactly what happened that summer before I was born.
Rating:
Summary: Girl Talk
Review: This mother-daughter, coming-of-age story works on several levels. First, it's entertaining--I wanted to find out what would happen next as Lissy's mother Dotty began revealing truths about her past like a gangster "opening violin cases, showing me her guns" during a summer when their girl talks veered away from the familiar and comfortable. Second, it's beautifully written, at once sarcastic and wistful, with moments of laugh-out-loud comedy (like the misguided intervention designed to help Lissy's friend Church Fiske realize his error in impulsively marrying a stripper) and poignant regret, such as in the final scenes of the book, when Lissy remembers the last time she saw her father before he died and when she tries to comfort her mother in her loneliness. Third, the characters are very real--you sympathize for them, particularly for Lissy and Dotty, but you also see their faults, which are both funny and familiar. If you're looking for Kafka-esque drama, this is not your book. But if you want a well-crafted story that's both enjoyable and intelligent, don't miss this great debut novel.
Rating: 
Summary: didn't hold my attention...
Review: I bought this book b/c I thought it would be the perfect summer read and I was going to be traveling alot. Something to read on a long flight, perhaps. This book really did disappoint me. The characters were shallow and two dimensional, and the plot was hackneyed and quite frankly, boring. In fact, I almost gave up half way through. The most annoying thing about this book is that it was trying so hard to be "fun" and "deep" at the same time. Frankly, it doesn't succeed too well at either. A pretty pink cover and a gimmicky title do not a good book make. Baggott seems to know how to market herself, but that's about all.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't hold my attention....
Review: I wanted to like this book very much since I had heard such positive things about it. I bought this book to read on a long plane ride, since it's been touted as the perfect summer read. The book just didn't hold my attention. I found the characters to be mildly annoying and the plot predictable and cheesy. It reads as though she wrote it in a very short period of time and was trying to be "fun" and "deep" at the same time. Unfortunately it fails at both. I don't really like to write bad reviews, but it does annoy me when something has so much hype attached to it and the product turns out to be disappointing. If you insist on buying it, at least buy it used.
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