The
Notebook Girls is a gritty, shocking
look into the lives of four freshman girls who attend Stuyvesant High School in
New York City. The four friends began keeping a journal that they took turns
writing entries in when they entered high school. This is a no-holds barred accounts
of their interactions with each other, their interactions with boys,
experiences with alcohol, drugs and sex and their insights on everything from
religion to 9/11.

The
notebook includes entries from all four girls over their two and a half years of
high school. The book is in their own handwriting and includes photos that the
girls added to the book themselves. Their entries include scathing commentary
on some of their friends and even each other. They are not afraid to call one
another out if they feel that one of their actions is something that could hurt
them physically or emotionally.

The
casual attitude towards drugs, alcohol and sex was somewhat shocking. There was
no real fear of getting caught by their parents or possible repercussions. These
girls are very streetwise and can be casual about serious issues: one of the
them gets arrested for drug possession and it is treated as though she was
caught coming home fifteen minutes late for curfew. The access these girls have
to alcohol and drugs never seemed to be a surprising fact to them. It was
always known that they would be able to smoke pot any day that they wanted to,
which they did. There did not appear to be any peer pressure causing the girls
to engage in these dangerous activities. It appeared to be a rite of passage.
Many of these milestones are ones that older readers will remember experiencing
in college, not as freshman in high school.

The
girls all appear to have normal backgrounds and families, although it is hard
to tell since the families are not a main focus of the entries. There would be
a reference, for example, to a trip to visit an older sister or going to the
movies with their parents but the most parental interaction written about was
after one of the girls had smoked some laced pot and was hallucinating.

Religion
also played a large part in the lives of a few of the girls. The have arguments
regarding their different beliefs and share their families’ traditions with one
another. The most poignant moment that reminds the reader that these are
teenage girls despite their actions was an entry that described how much fun
the girls had while decorating a Christmas tree with one of the families. It
was a sweet moment that balanced out the dinner party the girls attended thrown
by one of the mother’s where an older male guest was leering at them.

This
book demonstrates how much of adolescence is lost on today’s children. They are
so fast to try the next thing in the maturation process. These girls did not
allow things to just happen naturally. They were all aggressive in different
ways seeking to experience the next rite of passage. The freedom that they had
in the city seemed to add to their opportunities to engage in what was
dangerous activities that most parents would not want their children involved
in. These journals show how much society has changed.

The
most positive aspect of the book was that the girls matured significantly by
the time they decided to end their entries. They looked back on their behavior
and questioned their own decision making. They were beginning to plan for
college and worry about their grades. These were smart girls who made
questionable decisions and learned from them. They surprised themselves and
each other and they will also surprise most of their readers.

© 2007 Amy Ridley

Amy Ridley
received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Boston University.

Categories: Memoirs, Sexuality