Meredith First

GRIDLEY GIRLS by Meredith First follows Meg Monahan and her friends as they navigate 9th grade during the 1978-79 school year. Scenes from the past are juxtaposed with those showing grown-up Meg et al. as they all manage life as forty-somethings, and there are some similarities between the dilemmas faced by the girls as teens and those they deal with as adults.

GRIDLEY GIRLS reads more like a memoir than your typical YA novel (there are even pictures of the author and her friends in the back of the book), and the exploits of Meg and her friends in the 70s may be more of a draw to adults who grew up in that time than to the book’s intended teen audience. In fact, the appeal of the book lies in its nostalgic look at the past—that’s what kept me reading—and I’m sure there are many readers who will identify with one or more of the characters.

The cover art for the book is great, and there are some compelling aspects to the story. This is the first of a series, and it will be interesting to see what the second one brings.… (more)

Engrossing! This book grabbed me and didn’t let me go until it was over! This author’s writing was outstanding! It was so much fun to read about these four friends, Meg, who is the main character, and her three other friends Anne, Jennifer, and Tonya, who all made these four girls also known as, ‘The Group’. This started to take place during 1978, and it also happened that I was the same ages as these friends during that same time! It was ‘my era’, too, and I think this is one of the reasons why I had so much FUN while reading this! Being the same age also brought with it references to the same things I loved as much as these characters loved! There were references to people like Shaun Cassidy, Tiger Beat Magazine, going places in station wagons crammed in all together just like I did with my friends at that age! This debut author had this timeframe perfect! It was a trip down memory lane for the characters and myself! Oh, when Meg mentioned Shaun Cassidy (a star I was in LOVE with at that same time, I just about died!) He was featured so often in Tiger Beat magazine that they had so many of the center picture the full length of the magazine, and yes, those were hung on my walls! Oh! I could so relate! I believe Shaun Cassidy was my first kiss on a poster! LOL!!! I LOVED the references in this book! There were so MANY references to the late 70’s and other things, too, as these girls grew up and into women that I could relate so well to them. I just loved this! It was a trip down memory lane for me! If any of you out there grew up during this time, you are going to love this book, too! As I was reading this book, there were many times I thought it read like a memoir, so much so it made me look around to see if this truly was fiction or a memoir. I found in the description about the book that it is based on actual events. That is true of the mentions about things during that time, but I don’t know how much of the story was based on fact, and that may only truly be known by the author. I just continued to enjoy this book as it was written. So much of this story took place when the girls were in school, and again I could relate so well! I had some really good laughs, good memories of my own days back then, too, and then there were some serious issues that went on between friends, too.
This book takes us all the way into their adulthood, and it is when Meg finds her diary from that time that brings them together again as they reminisce what I just told you about. There is a lot more than what I have listed, but I can’t tell you everything because you need some things to read to make this just as enjoyable for yourself as it was for me to read, regardless of how much I want to share with you! For those of you who would enjoy this, by all means grab a copy! It was a nice revisit to my younger years as well as learning about these characters and reading this story.
I do wonder one thing, though. Since this is this author’s debut book which is fact based, I found myself wondering if this author has more great books in her to write? Will this book only be a one-hit wonder, or does she have more in her to write complete fictional books about? I only say this because it’s a LOT of fun to reminisce about our younger years, such as first kisses, groping, and more, but what does the future hold for this author besides that? This will remain to be seen! GREAT job on this book!
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PS. The author left me a message telling me Book 2 is coming out in 2017 and is called Gridley Girls Reunited! Something to look forward to!!… (more)