By KELLY SMITH
“Anatomy of a Single Girl” opens with eighteen-year-old Dominique home for the summer from her freshman year in college busy with an internship at the local hospital and still mending after a rough breakup with her first boyfriend. Although she’s not exactly looking for someone new in her life, she ends up meeting Guy, a boy who Dominique is instantly drawn to for both his extremely good looks and intelligence. However, as Dominique and Guy begin to fall for each other, their summer romance forces Dominique to look at how she defines relationships and what she ultimately wants out of one. As the novel progresses, she struggles to sort out her feelings for the three boys in her life: her summer fling, her best guy friend, and her ex-boyfriend.
“Anatomy of a Single Girl” is a quick read and great book for mature teenage girls. Daria Snadowsky accurately captures the feelings girls of Dominique’s age may experience as they weave their way through various emotional and sexual relationships and simultaneously discover new things about themselves. The characters’ voices truly come through to the reader during the course of the entire novel, which makes every event and experience seem genuine and relatable.
However, the book uses explicit language and includes detailed descriptions of intimacy, so it is not recommended for younger audiences. Some readers may feel uncomfortable reading this book due to some of the author’s frank descriptions of many of the events that take place.
Overall, the book deserves four hawks. “Anatomy of a Single Girl” is an entertaining novel that empowers readers through the progression of the protagonist’s emotional growth and maturation.
