Riding in Cars with Boys: Confessions of a Bad Girl Who Makes Good - Softcover

Donofrio, Beverly

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140156291 ISBN 13: 9780140156294

Publisher: Penguin Books, 1992

Synopsis

Denied college, Beverly Donofrio lost interest in everything but riding around town in cars, drinking and smoking, and rebelling against authority. She got married and divorced and finally ended up in an elite New England university, books in one arm, child in the other. A book about the compromise between being your own person and fitting into society.

About this title

About the Author:

Beverly Donofrio studied at Wesleyan University, then went on to receive an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University. Her first book, Riding in Cars with Boys, became a cult classic and is currently a feature film starring Drew Barrymore and directed by Penny Marshall. Looking for Mary began as a radio documentary for NPR.

Review:

Beverly Donofrio portrays a world of babies having babies and children raising children. She acknowledges right away that she's not a conventional mother, that she and her son Jason don't have a traditional home life. She was seventeen when Jason was born and they spent eight of the next ten years on welfare. A spunky, spirited woman with a defiant streak, she wages a constant struggle with herself: is Jason an anchor pulling her down or does he provide ballast? At times he seems to grow in spite of her. Her love for him isn't in question, but will she ever be able to comprehend his needs? Motherhood is never easy, but hers was made more difficult by a society ready to cast judgment on young, single mothers, by a family who finds it easier to criticize than support her, and her own struggle to reach a long held dream of a college education. As Beverly's sense of self increases and she realizes her goals, Jason challenges and contributes to her understanding of life and their growth together. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Holly Smith

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 0140156291
• ISBN 13: 9780140156294
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208