Girl Walking Backwards

by Bett Williams

Book Overview

Skye wants what all teenagers want--to survive high school. She lives in Southern California, though, which is making that difficult. Her mother has fallen victim to the pseudo-New Age culture and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312194560
• ISBN13: 9780312194567
• Release Date: September 1998
• Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Look Inside The Mind Of A Girl

I could not believe how shockingly honest this book was when I first read it. There was one line in the novel at the beginning, where the main character describes that she was sweating. And not in a good way. The fact that the writer would be so bold to do that had me immediately hooked. Simply becuase she kicked "nobody sweats in fantasy worlds" right in the soft spot. This book is down to the bare grit of writing. The dysfunction was so well described and delivered so subtly. The ease in which the sexual encounters were described might disturb people. It should, because good writing affects people, whether it be negatively or positively. This novel is one of the most daring YA book I have ever read. The plotline about a teenage lesbian is not drawn out and predictable, but takes a mad and twisting road towards realism, the ifs and maybes. The main character Skye is unbelievably human. I definitely reccommend this book. It's content is heavy, but quite enjoyable to read.

Unexpectedly Excellent

Skye is fifteen and trying desperately to find her place somewhere in this big, crazy world. With a hot shot father and an emotionally unstable and unreachable mother, the challenge is much more intense. She is struggling with her attraction to two different girls at her school and in the meantime making friends she never thought she'd have. From page one, this book will have you absolutely hooked and as cliche as that sounds, this time I really do mean it. The writing style in this book is more of poetry and prose than a work of fiction. There is incredible symbolism and metaphorical usage that makes it much deeper and impacting. This is one of those books that keeps you reading for hours, because the words just flow on beautifully. A worthy read for anyone, especially the lover of quality, symbolic writing.

Damn good book!

The best writing seems like it was almost effortless... that's certainly the case here. The book reads so smoothly and so quickly, it feels as though it was written in one night. Skye, a fifteen year-old girl who's dealing with a ton of stuff all at once, is a great character. She's tough enough to earn our admiration, but human enough to make you wince every time something bad happens to her. Through her, the book deals with issues of self-mutilation, discovering one's own sexuality, New Age cultism, drugs, friendship, sex, and all the usual highlights of being 15. This is no After School Special, though, and the book does not preach to the reader or try to force all-encompassing conclusions upon complex issues. The author is confident enough (and wise enough) to let the reader reach his/her own conclusions. She also avoids the "easy epiphany" pitfall. This book has no easy answers. More than anything, though, this is a fun book. That's largely because Skye, though fallible, is such a likable character. I would recommend this book especially for anyone in junior high school or high school, although it's perfectly suitable for adults as well. Writers like Judy Bloom, though wonderful in their own way, fail to address truly contemporary themes for teenagers. This book fills that void.Final comment: I very much appreciated that the whole homosexual/heterosexual thing was addressed so realistically. There may be some people for whom it's a simple yes/no dichotomy, but most people I knew back in high school weren't nearly so one-way-or-the-other. It's nice to read a book about a lesbian who doesn't think of herself as "a lesbian" but rather as herself. She's Skye. Who she sleeps with (or wants to sleep with) is only one small part of who she is.Really, really good stuff.

A Must Read for ALL "Alternative" Teen Girls

Any teen girl that is searching for her own identity should read this book. I'm a 15 year old girl and I could relate so well to this story. You can tell the writer is young and knows what she's talking about- it is not written by an older adult. The times have changed drastically, so when adults write about teenage life in the present it is often very unrealistic. This book is. Its about a girl trying to discover who she is and what she wants. It is definately not a book for the "preps" that only care about blow-drying their hair...this story involves raves, goths, bisexuality, drugs, psycho mothers, and everything else. This is one of my all-time favorites.

Wonderfully NOT lesbian fiction..

Fortunately I found this book when I wasn't looking in the gay/lesbian fiction section of the bookstore. What a relief to read a book with a gay character that doesn't hang the plot on the sole fact that the character is into his or her same sex, and instead makes the characters lifelike and interesting to keep your attention. It's full of interesting hooks that kept me reading right through my classes. Reminiscent of "Catcher In The Rye," with the whole disillusioned teen deal, only I found "Girl Walking Backwards" to be much more interesting. I walked away feeling like a more learned person. Unfortunately, I have to admit that parts of the book reminded me too much of the movie "Fox Fire" for comfort. Definately worth reading.