Story of a Girl is a young-adult novel by Sara Zarr

Sara Zarr

Sara Zarr is an American writer. She was raised in San Francisco, and now lives in Salt Lake City, Utah with her husband. Her first novel, Story of a Girl, was a 2007 National Book Award finalist...

. It was released in 2007.

Plot

The story centers around Deanna Lambert, a teen troubled by social exile and branding rumors. When she was thirteen, her father caught her and her brother's friend, seventeen-year-old Tommy Webber, having unprotected sex in the back of Tommy's Buick. Word gets around by Tommy, and Deanna is named the 'school slut'. Her father becomes distant and cold towards her, never showing any affection after what he witnessed.

Three years later, Deanna still lives in her small hometown of Pacifica

Pacifica, California

Pacifica is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean between San Francisco and Half Moon Bay.-Overview:The City of Pacifica is spread along a six mile stretch of the north central California coastal beach and hills, nestled in several small valleys spanning between...

, California. Her affair with Tommy Webber is still a popular gossip topic and her older brother, Darren, and his girlfriend, Stacy, now live in their basement with their illegitimate child, April. Keeping a fantasy of moving out of the house with Darren and Stacy in her mind and coming to a happy home, Deanna gets a summer job at a ratty pizza parlor, Picasso's Pizza, while also dealing with inhibited feelings of affection for her best friend, Jason, whom is dating her other friend, Lee.

As the summer progresses, Deanna's secret love of Jason deepens. She begins to become more and more envious of Lee. One day, Deanna finds that Stacy fled the house,leaving April behind, and does not return. At the same time, she develops a friendship with her boss at Picasso's, Michael, while working alongside Tommy Webber. One evening, Michael gives Deanna a ride home from work and Deanna's father grows suspicious of Michael's motives. Deanna then lashes out at her father for never again trusting her after he caught Deanna and Tommy in the car, which causes her father to temporarily leave.

At the end of the story Deanna reconciles with Lee and Jason, Stacy suddenly arrives home ( it is revealed that she left only intending to party before returning to motherhood ), and Deanna decides to truly move on from the affair she had so long ago. Coincidentally, her father also returns to his family and moves on from the past.

Characters

• Deanna – The main character of the book. When she was 13 her father caught her and Tommy Webber nearly having sex in the back of his car. Since then she has been labeled the "school slut" and her father has become cold toward her. She is longing to escape the label that people have put on her, and she just wants to enjoy High School without having to be reminded of her past.
• Jason – Deanna's best friend since childhood and her love interest. He is dating her other best friend Lee. Deanna has feelings for him and is somewhat jealous of Lee.
• Lee – Deanna's best friend whom she met in gym during high school. She is very religious and does not swear. She is dating Jason.
• Tommy – Darren's former friend. He was in a relationship with Deanna when she was 13 and he was 17. The day after they were caught having sex by her father he told the story to his friends causing Deanna to be labeled a slut by nearly everybody in all of Pacifica.
• Darren – Deanna's older brother. He is very protective of her ever since she was found with Tommy. He is not married to Stacy, the mother of his daughter April. He wants to move into their own place instead of living in his parents' basement.
• Stacy – Darren's girlfriend. She got pregnant at 18 with April and moved in with Darren because her mother kicked her out.
• April – Darren and Stacy's baby girl. Deanna loves her very much.
• Michael – The gay
  Gay
  Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
  
   owner of Picasso's Pizza, where Deanna finds a job. He befriends her and helps her realize Tommy's not important.

Awards

• 2007 National Book Award
  National Book Award
  The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
  
   Finalist
• American Library Association
  American Library Association
  The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
  
   Best Book for Young Adults
• ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Readers
• New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age
• Utah Book Award Finalist

Film adaptation

Producers Emily Lansbury and Kyra Sedgwick

Kyra Sedgwick

Kyra Minturn Sedgwick is an American actress.Sedgwick is best known for her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the TNT crime drama The Closer. Sedgwick's role in the series won her a Golden Globe Award in 2007 and an Emmy Award in 2010...

 have optioned the film. Laurie Collyer

Laurie Collyer

Laurie Collyer is an American film director. She grew up in Mountainside, New Jersey and attended Oberlin College. She is best known for writing and directing Sherrybaby, for which actress Maggie Gyllenhaal received a Golden Globe nomination. She also directed the film Nuyorican Dream in 1999...

 wrote the screenplay and has signed on to direct the movie. Kevin Bacon

Kevin Bacon

Kevin Norwood Bacon is an American film and theater actor whose notable roles include Animal House, Diner, Footloose, Flatliners, Wild Things, A Few Good Men, JFK, Apollo 13, Mystic River, The Woodsman, Trapped, Friday the 13th, Hollow Man, Tremors, Death Sentence, Frost/Nixon, Crazy, Stupid, Love....

, Mary-Kate Olsen

Mary-Kate Olsen

Mary-Kate Olsen is an American actress, producer, author and fashion designer. She made her career debut in 1987 alongside her twin sister Ashley Olsen in the television series Full House...

 and Terrence Howard

Terrence Howard

Terrence Dashon Howard is an American actor. Having his first major role in the 1995 film Mr. Holland's Opus, which subsequently led to a number of roles in films and high visibility among African American audiences. Howard broke into the mainstream with a succession of well-reviewed television...

(along with Kyra Sedgwick) are all slated to star in the film. The release date is not yet available.