Customer Reviews

Glitter Girl

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I loved this book! It wasn't quite what I was initially looking for, but was so much more instead. It is such a light, easy-to-read, enjoyable book, and yet the author cleverly tackles hurt,rejection, homophobia and prejudice, though with a novel twist to the norm, fragmented families, disappointment and failure - all very real issues. It challenges, inpsires and illuminates, all whilst entertaining and enthralling. Very clever girl is Ms O'Briant.
It is, quite simply, a wonderful book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was most disappointed when the final chapter ended. You will be too - read it!

Two people from the same gene pool can be so different, yet the bonds of family may bring them back together yet. "Glitter Girl" tells the story of two sisters. One is a lesbian who is pushing herself as a model, the other is a right wing posterchild who wants nothing to do with the family. But you can't run away from family forever. "Glitter Girl" is an intriguing take on family and its conflicts.

I listened to Glitter Girl on audio on a long car drive but had been in a rush to get out of the house so I only downloaded half of the installments into my IPOD thinking that would be plenty. The book was so freakin good that when I ran out of installments, I pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway, took two bicycles off a complicated and old fashioned bike rack in order to open my trunk, got my lap top out and downloaded the rest of the installments in 100 degree heat because I did not want to have to wait until I got home to find out how it ended. What is the audio version lingo for an insane page turner? You will love it.

In this deft, funny, and charming novel, Erin O'Briant creates characters whose worlds have split apart and now collide. Angie and Gloria grow up comfortably as children of enlightened progressives (though their mother is something of a doctrinaire feminist). Replicating the larger social pattern of familial affection and division, the sisters, now independent young adults, disappoint their parents and, even more vigorously, alienate one another. Gloria, the "glitter girl," is smart, ambitious, self-confident--and lesbian. She lives in San Francisco. Angie, sweet-natured, thoughtful, a bit recessive--has been born again as a Christian. She lives in Atlanta. Each enjoys her own way of life and looks with dismay upon her sister's. The parents look askance at both.

O'Briant skillfully contrasts the lively, style-conscious gay community of San Francisco with the plain-living devotional congregation of fundamentalist Christians in Atlanta. Her command of detail as she recreates each absorbing social world provides one of the many pleasures of the book. She has a firm grasp, too, on the moral life of each place. In particular, by means of a well-made plot, O'Briant neatly exposes flaws in each community--and within each sister. When Gloria and Angie suffer serious disappointments in their lives, each begins to overcome her pride and self-righteousness. Gloria, especially, out of affection and awareness of her own failings, reaches out to heal the division between herself and her sister. A mediator, a revelation, and a wedding help. This is a comic novel, one in which defeat, and even humiliation, prepare the sisters (and their parents) to renew their affection for one another and to grow into a more mature appreciation of difference. Gloria's fall from golden girl to glitter girl is especially amusing.

These sweet, flawed characters have stayed with me for a long time since I read the book. I feel affection for each of them in their conflicts. The book has so much empathy and compassion for both the hip queer girl and her conservative Christian sister as they both try to find their way and connect to each other and themselves.

As someone who reads mostly nonfiction, I have to find a novel really engaging if I'm going to finish it. Right away, I was captured by the story of two very different sisters in "Glitter Girl." I related very much to the universal human themes of family drama, religious differences, deception, heartbreak and healing. I loved that the story took place in San Francisco and Atlanta, because I moved from the Bay Area to the South myself and felt that the descriptions of both places rang true. This is a quick read that is hard to put down. I wanted to find out what happened to the characters, who became real to me within the first few pages.

Glitter Girl is a page turner and filled with humor as it weaves together the story of two sisters(one a lesbian and the other a born again Christian) who love each other despite their differences--a love that transcends categories. In that way the book is universal--about family and forgiveness. O'Briant writes with great detail-and an ironic sense of humor. I cared deeply about both these sisters.

Erin O'Briant has written a touching story about a family split in two and sisters who love each other even though they couldn't be more different. Gloria is a gay, erstwhile cosmetics salesperson living near her parents in San Francisco. Her sister Angie is a born again Christian, estranged from her parents, and living and working at a mission in Atlanta. Their parents consider Angie's religion to be silliness. Gloria, missing her sister, reaches out to her, not altogether successfully. Then Angie's world turns upside-down and the whole family finds out how much they really need one another. This is a story about all our families, complete with the little details they make it all seem so real. You will come away with real affection for these characters as they struggle to stay true to themselves while trying to bring the family back together. Erin's writing shows real empathy for all of them. Definitely a good read for anyone who's ever had a family that loved them and drove them nuts -- that is, everyone.

I've been waiting with bated breath for Glitter Girl to be for sale online. I've recommended it highly to many of my friends, but they had no easy way to purchase it. I'm so excited it's here and easy to access.

This book is light and breezy and at the same time touches on important cultural and social conflicts. The pages flew by and left me wanting more. I love that it is set in both the South and San Francisco, two places I love and call home. This book gave me a sense of belonging.

The way the lives of the two sisters diverge and come together is both interesting and touching. The author brings together sisters with two completely different points of view--but in the end, love wins.

Glitter Girl does indeed shine.

I recommend it to everyone who likes a good story.

I loved this book! It's extremely readable, but not fluffy. It deals with serious issues in a way that wasn't overwhelming. The author helped me to relate to all the characters--even the ones I didn't feel an initial connection to. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to be both thoughtfully entertained and moved. I didn't want GLITTER GIRL to end! I hope this author comes out with more books soon!