GIRLS ON THE VERGE

Girls on the Verge by Vendela Vida: A look at different coming-of-age rituals for girls, including debutante balls, quinceneras, sororities, gangs, and teen marriage. I found it compelling (devoured it in one day, in fact), but mainly because of the content, not the writing. I enjoyed her first-person observations (which reminded me of Susan Orlean’s Saturday Night, one of my favorite nonfiction books, though without the wonderful style)—especially her description of going undercover to infiltrate sorority rush at UCLA—but the analysis fell a bit flat (luckily, there wasn’t much of it). I’d recommend this book, but expect a series of vignettes rather than a comprehensive study.