Wednesday, July 20, 2022

Book Review: "Hurricane Girl" by Marcy Dermansky

I literally read this in one sitting. I did not want to put it down!

Allison is tired of living in Los Angeles, tired of her movie producer boyfriend. After selling a script, she decides to take her money and buy a small beach house in North Carolina, where she can swim in the ocean and plan her next moves. But after living there only a week and a half, a Category 3 Hurricane hits the area and destroys her house.

Completely shaken by the sight of her house in pieces, scattered all around, Allison makes one bad decision after another. The next thing she knows, she decides to go home with a television cameraman who filmed an interview with her. He seems nice, and he says he has a cell phone charger, which she needs.

But the next day, things go spectacularly awry, and then she has a hole in her head and glass in her hair from a vase he hit her with. She’s determined to drive home to her mother in New Jersey despite her injury and the fact that she can’t quite think clearly.

This is a powerful, thought-provoking book, a significant portion of which is narrated by a woman with a brain injury. It’s tremendously accurate in the many different ways these injuries affect people physically, cognitively, and emotionally. And what’s so powerful is the fact that she’s desperately trying to regain control of her life at a time where she feels so out of sync.

I really was blown away by this. The narration is very blunt and to the point, and it works so well here.

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