Girls of Tender Age: A Memoir

My goal of reading older books I've accumulated over many years continues with this memoir/true crime book. Tirone Smith grew up in Connecticut during the 1950s, a time when people had no fear of leaving their doors unlocked. Her prose is very readable and full of humor, and her choice of using present tense gives her story a timeless feel.

Two things make this more than a simple memoir. First is the challenge of living with an autistic brother at a time when the condition was poorly understood. Second is the murder of her fifth grade classmate at the hands of a pedophile and the lasting effect that horror had on Tirone Smith's life. Together, these two things elevate a story of childhood innocence into something more memorable. I'm glad show more I finally got around to reading it. show less

Wonderful memoir that drew me in right from the first paragraph. Serious subjects (murder, rape, autism, death penalty) dealt with in a sensitive fashion. Despite some somber themes, Smith made me smile on more than one occasion. As a long-time resident of Connecticut, it was fun to read about places, people, and events that have been part of my life for more than forty-five years. Maybe a little long when it came to the police investigation/trial. Loved it!

This was a well-written story in a somewhat unique format -- part memoir, part true crime -- but it worked. The author tells of her years as a young girl growing up in Connecticut in the 1950's with a somewhat eccentric family, an autistic brother (who at the time was not identified as such), and a serial sexual predator/killer within their midst. She interweaves true crime facts with personal anecdotes very effectively into an easy-to-read, yet very interesting memoir. I very much enjoyed this one, and only regret that I listened to the abridged audio as opposed to the entire unabridged story, as I really wasn't ready for this one to end.

Tirone Smith's memoir of a Hartford childhood in the fifties is funny, familiar, and disturbing. The central event of the memoir is the murder of her classmate Irene in fifth grade which creates a two-year hole in her memory until she retraces the circumstances of the crime decades later. Full of local history and color, I cannot recommend it highly enough to anyone familiar with the area. It's all here folks: the Charter Oak project she lived in until age 7, G. Fox, Ella Grasso, St. Timothy O'Toole's, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the Courant, the Times, the Hog River, Mark Twain, Samuel Colt, Hartford Public High, C.G., the Aetna, Royal Typewriter, grinders, George Will, the whole deal. It's also a story of a family doing better in the show more world, bit by bit, and hanging together despite the severe handicap of her autistic brother Tyler whose demons control all their lives. The story of the murder is terrible and I skipped over much of the recounting of the court transcripts, but nothing in the book is gratuitous. I recommend this book to anyone and would make it required reading for anyone living in Hartford County. It's a fast read with a great deal of humor, so don't be put off by the tragic story at its center. show less

Mary Ann Tirone-Smith has done an excellent job of describing her childhood in the 1950s - her emotionally-estranged mother, her doting father and her older brother whose autism regulated how the family unit operated. The convergence of evil with innocence changed everything when a child predator killed her 11-year old friend, who was just one of the "girls of tender age" whom he assaulted. The author has offered an unblemished look at her life before and after the murder.

This is such a great memoir/true crime story. The author covers coming-of-age, autism, pedophilia, murder and social and legal issues of the 1950's. I was intrigued by the telling of the two stories and then when they merged in mid book. This is a story of the author's life pre-crime, during the crime, and post-crime. It is also a story of how the author comes to terms with this along with so many other issues from her life. This young child had so much to deal with for someone so young. I was drawn in from the first chapter and couldn't put I down until the end.

I had to read this book for the 'memoirs' month of our book club. I was looking forward to reading it only because of its Hartford, CT setting since I grew up in Wethersfield, a bordering suburb. Otherwise, I really didn't want to read this book whatsoever and certainly would never have picked it myself. (In fact, during many parts of this book, I kept asking myself why on earth we had chosen this particular memoir from all of our available choices. Just a very odd choice, or so I had thought.)

Luckily, a friend kept urging me to ignore my preconceived notions. I am so glad that I was 'forced' to read it; it really moved me and I have now discovered a writer whom I will add to my list of favorites.

At times, I did find the book too show more Hartford-rich in the details (perhaps a bit tedious to someone not connected to Hartford history) but I loved how Ms. Tirone put forth her story - a sometimes difficult story to fathom - with such entertainment value and insight.

This book proved to be well worth the read once I got to the extremely well-put ending chapters.

After finishing this book, I marvelled at her incredible story of self-discovery, her unrelenting spirit that prevailed despite such a negatively remarkable childhood, the never-ending love she realized for her brother and her quest to 'set the record straight' about Irene's death.

I feel better for having read this book afterall, and I look forward to reading more of Ms. Tirone's works. show less