The Girl Who Outgrew the World
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- $5.99
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- $5.99
Publisher Description
When precocious Lilly, an eleven-year-old, undergoes an inexplicable and startling growth spurt, her father and doctors decide to take drastic action to curb what they see as a dangerous development. Faced with condescending treatment and cruelty, Lilly escapes and embarks on a journey to discover her true self. Zoje Stage's new novella is a parable for how patriarchy treats the female body (and, by extension, the female mind and soul) and the objectification of girls. "A perfect blend of "The Wizard of Oz" meets Jerzy Kosinski, The Girl Who Outgrew the World reminds us of the parts of childhood too painful to remember, the people around us, who kept us small. But this time the story's rewritten: at last, it's the girl who gets to go on an epic hero's journey. Fabulous in every sense of the word." – Sarah Langan, author of Good Neighbors
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This modern feminist folktale from Stage (Getaway) hides dark themes within a deceptively whimsical exterior. Eleven-year-old Lilly Wolf has a growth spurt that won't stop. She towers over everyone around her, and is increasingly treated as both monstrous and broken by the adults in her life. When she overhears her doctors planning to "cure her" using dangerous radiation treatment, Lilly runs away. She seeks shelter with one of her doctors, who takes advantage of that trust and rapes her. Fleeing after the assault, Lilly travels into an increasingly strange and wondrous wilderness, seeking a haven where she can be herself. This relatively short novel doesn't allow much room for Lilly to process her assault, leaving that thread feeling unresolved and the rape itself more like a cheap plot device than a realistic trauma. It mars an otherwise clever double metaphor for the treatment of people with disabilities and the ways girls are discouraged from taking up space. Still, the subversive fairy tale world and engaging plot will draw readers in.
