It’s so much better when you have low expectations for a novel. I didn’t really think I’d like the premise of Undiscovered Gyrl,
thought it would be forced metafiction. The worst. But Undiscovered Gyrl hooked me quickly and didn’t let me go. Like a train wreck, or better yet - an accident waiting to happen, I stared, unblinking, until the last page.Katie is 17 and (as the book jacket says) a modern-day Lolita. One minute she’s a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, struggling with growing up, boyfriends, sex and normal teen worries. The next minute she’s a seductress, cold and unapologetic in the recounting of her quests. Through her blog, we watch. We sign on each day to read her next post. We watch her unravel, sense a terrible climax coming. A train wreck. A car crash. Then, one day, she’s gone.
Excellently executed, Undiscovered Gyrl
leaves us wondering. The epitome of an unreliable narrator leads the action, with Katie wanting her readers to be denied no excitement. Author Allson Burnett does a fine job dropping hints, but until the final blow, we just keep gawking. Upon reflection, we wonder why we didn’t see this coming a mile away.Undiscovered Gyrl
is being marketed to a young adult crowd, but the strong sexual content might be too much for some. Scary? Yes. Sexually explicit? Yes. Impossible to look away. Yes.-------------------- Resources --------------------
Genre: Realistic Fiction. Age: Young Adult. Pages: 304.
Themes: Sexual Awakening, Making Choices, Coming of Age, Moral Dilemmas, Metafiction
Thank you to Shelf Awareness & Vintage for my advanced copy.Advisory: Strong sexual content, but also a non-sanctimonious cautionary tale.
Publisher: Vintage. Date: August 2009.
ISBN-13: 9780307473127.
Buy Undiscovered Gyrl HERE
Book's Website HERE
Katie's Blogspot Blog HERE
Here’s a great LA Times review where I learned the author was a male!
Trailer:
Author Interview:
Allison Burnett is a man who wrote a book using the voice of a teenage female. This reader would never have guessed - a great compliment for an author. He has been a high school tutor and a screenplay writer. He has recently returned to his fiction writing roots. You can read more about him on his website. ____________________________________________________________
© 2007-2009 Cheryl Vanatti for www.ReadingRumpus.com 
2 (Leave Comments Here):
This wouldn't typically fall into a category of book I'd read, but I'm intrigued by the blog narration aspect. Thanks for the review post
Cheers
I loved your comment on my review of this book - it was /exactly/ what intrigued me. I'm still so interested that so many readers think the story is really just about Katie. Definitely a book to marinate on!
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