Diary of a Teenage Girl

I bought this book a few years ago for Contemporary Literature but never got a chance to read it, so I was excited when I saw it on thelist for this class. Despite the abrupt ending I really enjoyed this book. Maybe it is because I am a sucker for memoirs, especially onesabout growing up and drug use but there was something about this book that kept drawing me in. It was really nice to have a female perspective on growing up, as most of the memoirs I've read that deal with drugs and sex are told by males. What was so fascinating about Minnie was her honestly and openness about her sexuality. She wasn't embarrassed or ashamed of her desires, but rather acted on them quite frequently.

Of course Monroe disgusted me, as he would most people with ideas about morality. Most of the men in this book seemed a bit corrupt, probably because her Mother tended to draw these types of men in. Monroe used her purely for his own sick fetishes and lead Minnie on. The poor girl was in love with him and was deeply tormented by his lack of affection outside the bedroom, which is what irked me so much. It is appalling how her Mother reacted to the situation. Any non doped up Mother would have kicked Monroe out of her life or worse, turned him into the police if she found out what he was doing with her underage daughter. It is sick how emotionless some of the people in
her life were.

I am so glad she grew up and was able to redeem herself and live a successful life despite her dysfunctional childhood. I love how she never apologized for anything, then again it was her diary. Minnie was easy to love and to side with. I really didn't want the book to end, especially how it did. It is interesting that the author, Phoebe denies the book being autobiographical even though it really

is. I guess she doesn't want to admit it to herself. I really wish there were a sequel though. I will have to check out some of her other works and in the mean time continue reading her blog.