Book #8 Week #8, In Zanesville by Jo Ann Beard

In Zanesville is a coming of age novel. The narrator is a fourteen year old nameless girl growing up in the 1970's. It took me almost the whole book to realize she has no name after I racked my brain for 10 minutes trying to remember what it was. I think this move was brilliant, it gives the reader a chance to place them self in the story.

Jo Ann Beard does a wonderful job recreating the awkwardness and embarrassment of youth while staying very real. Our narrator has an interesting home life that really rang true with me, her mother can be harsh and stressed out and her father is an alcoholic. The book opens up with a house fire. The narrator is babysitting with her best friend Felicia, six kids between them, at the home of a biker couple. While trying to wrangle all the kids and pets to safety neither girl calls the fire department because it is soooo embarrassing. And off we go! The two friends are doing what we all did; trying to grow up and cope with changes in our friendships as the strain of boys and gossip and cliques come into play.

I rather enjoyed In Zanesville. It reminded me of my youth and while it got a bit heavy at times it was never too heavy. Now I am really interested to read Jo Ann Beard's other book a collection of essays entitled Boys of my Youth.