Girl. by Anastasia DiFonzo is a study in coming of age within the constraints and freedoms of femininity. DiFonzo walks readers through her own experience of girlhood, both directly and from the perspective of historical female figures. In personifying abstract concepts such as "shame," DiFonzo reveals her personal experience. However, Girl. does not only approach femininity from the context of the author's own story; rather, it invites that of her mother and late grandmother, coaxing out the result of generational and familial wounds on an individual under the oppressive force of feminine ideals. Beginning with the impact of her grandmother's expectations on the author's own sense of self and ending with the newfound bud of sexuality between girls, Girl. encapsulates what it means to be socialized female in a world that makes being a girl - and even a woman - a vulnerable and yet deeply soft and tender state. But no book is complete without having been able to hold multiple conflicting truths at once. At the very same time as the vulnerability, softness, and tenderness come through in Girl., so does a profound strength, and at times, even anger. How could we expect anything less? To be born a girl is to be born into a life of violence, be it physical, emotional, or both. We are told to hate ourselves, and at some point, it is only natural that such hatred be focused outward. In the end, though, the author creates her own peace as a woman and girl.
