Girl Talk

Rating:
Summary: Could Not Put It Down
Review: I loved this book. I could not put it down. Not just for "girls" (I am a "guy"). Entertaining, fun, and emotionally powerful too.

Rating:
Summary: A quick read
Review: Girl Talk is a sassy take on finding yourself amid the morass of middle-class America, and begs the question: Can you ever avoid becoming your mother? Lissy and her mom's characters are both plucky and vulnerable, yet all the characters in this book could stand to have a little more depth. Baggot is right on, though, with the sardonically, whimsical stripper, Kitty Hawk. You'll tear through this book if you identify with Lissy or if you're a child of the 70s, but you may walk away wishing it had been a little more weighty.

Rating:
Summary: Girl on the Edge
Review: I picked up this book and I didn't put it down until I was done. I could never guess what would happen next--the characters were so strange and true--I had to keep reading. Girl Talk is a wild and glorious ride.

Rating:
Summary: What a great book!!!!!
Review: I really enjoyed "Girl Talk." However...I did find it hard to keep up with the author because she was constantly changing the time frame of the story. Don't get me wrong....I did like this book alot...especially Ruby and Jacko. Lissy and Church are a couple of goofs at age 15 and Piper was a brat. I wish this book was longer to let the reader find out about the birth of Lissy's child. I do hope that she and Church make it...and I certainly hope for a sequel!!!!

Rating:
Summary: A Great Little Gem
Review: "Girl Talk" by Julianna Baggott is a wonderful treat into the workings of a mother / daughter relationship. I found this completely charming and delightful tale to be the jumping off point for my own walk down memory - lane. This is a great gift for those woman in your life who have a mother.. (so basically, everyone). It's a heartwarming tale... and I just loved it. It's honest and fun. I think you'll really enjoy it. I know I did.

Rating:
Summary: Go for Girl Talk
Review: Girl Talk is definitely a keeper! There are those books that you read and pass along and then there are those you hold onto. These books sit on your shelf so that you can pick them up for a dip. You'll want to dip back in with the characters of Girl talk. They are far from perfect, but they are honest and some are just plain fun. Lissy's voice is saucy as she slips back to the past to give us a whirlwind tour that includes three generations. The language of the novel is so clever and witty that although it addresses some serious truths about growing up we are reminded not to take ourselves to seriously. Warning: It's a fast paced book, but don't read to quickly or it will all be over too soon.

Rating:
Summary: Helping Mom clean the skeletons from her closet
Review: The term "Girl Talk" goes beyond its title because the story takes the reader through the world of a young woman trying understand her role as woman by looking back at her youth and her relationship with her mother. Lissy's mom has spend her life trying to hide the skeletons of her past by trying to improve herself. Even after her husband leaves her for a bank teller. She takes poor Lissy on a soul searching trip so Lissy can see that the true person her mother is.

Rating:
Summary: couldn't put it down
Review: Julianna Baggott's first novel is a wild ride into the past with Lissy Jablonski as she attempts to figure out her life. Raucous and bizarre characters fill the pages as the plot tumbles forward. But it's more than just action, Baggott's poetic sensibility serves her well, at times making the reader ache. Baggott leads us on an odyssey and when we have returned home, we find we've got new family members, as whacky and honest as our own.

Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: After reading all the wonderful reviews of this book, I was looking forward to it. Having just finished it, I find that it did not live up to the hype. Many of the characters were superficial, only Lissy and her mother were well-defined. The story dwelled in the past, with Lissy repeating mother's mistakes. Dysfunctional does not begin to describe these families! I found the story far-fetched and over the top at times. The stereotypes were almost embarrassing, from the rich WASPs, to the Italians with supposed mafia connections, to the Asian stripper/prostitute. Having aired my grievances, I can now comment on the positive. The writing was what held me at times, making me finish this book when I was just tempted to put it aside. Julianna Baggott has a way of weaving words into imagery that allows the reader to share the experience with the characters. The scenes with Lissy and Dotty were the best and the book would have benefited from Baggott spending more time with these two characters. By the way, I don't get the big deal about the cover art - it's a girl with her bra strap showing, a fad that was over two years ago!

Rating:
Summary: A well written, wonderful book
Review: Although I didn't know what to expect from Girl Talk, it was not such a touching, honest portrayal of a relationship between a mother and daughter. Our heroine, now a single advertising executive living in Manhattan, looks back on a rather bizarre summer she spent with her mother, tracing events that took place then and thinking about the effects they have had on her present life. A complicated, somewhat strange woman, Lissy's mother used this summer to tell Lissy 'the truth' about herself and her life - and it these stories that form the basis of the novel, introducing characters, revealing their experiences, and so on. The result is a complicated, touching, honest, delightful depiction of life, love, happiness, relationships, deception and so on. It's a novel that's definitely about people rather than events, and Julianna Baggott is definitely an author to watch. I was very pleasantly surprised by this book, and enjoyed it so much that I hope others will check it out as well.