The Torn Skirt
"The Torn Skirt is a hot book, a thrilling romance of teen rage and longing -- like S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, except about girls." -- Mary Gaitskill, author of Two Girls, Fat and Thin
At Mt. Douglas (a.k.a. Mt. Drug) High, all the girls have feathered hair, and the sweet scent of Love's Baby Soft can't hide the musk of raw teenage anger, apathy, and desire. Sara Shaw is a girl full of fever and longing, a girl looking for something risky, something real. Her only possible salvation comes in the willowy form of the mysterious Justine, the outlaw girl in the torn skirt. The search for Justine will lead Sara on a daring odyssey into an underworld of hookers and johns, junkies and thieves, runaway girls and skater boys, and, ultimately, into a violent tragedy.
Book Details
- Publisher: Harper Perennial
- Publish Date: Aug 12nd, 2008
- Pages: 224
- Language: English
- Dimensions: 8.01in - 5.30in - 0.56in - 0.37lb
- EAN: 9780061567100
- Categories: • Coming of Age• Literary• Psychological
About the Author
Rebecca Godfrey (1967-2022) was an award-winning novelist and journalist. Her books include The Torn Skirt, finalist for the Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize; the award-winning true crime story Under the Bridge, the inspiration behind a Hulu limited series starring Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough as Rebecca Godfrey; and her final novel Peggy, a fictionalized account of Peggy Guggenheim's coming of age. Godfrey earned her MFA from Sarah Lawrence College and taught writing at Columbia University. She lived with her husband and daughter in upstate New York.
Praise for this book
"I loved and believed that narrative of a 16 year old mind--immature, abandoned and yet exploding. It came from a heartfelt and true perception, an authentic writers' desire. Which made it rock." -- Thurston Moore, Sonic Youth
"The Torn Skirt is a hot book, a thrilling romance of teen rage and longing -- like S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders, except about girls." -- Mary Gaitskill, author of Two Girls, Fat and Thin
"The Torn Skirt inspired a range of rabid fans, from literary hipsters to renegade kids." -- Rolling Stone
"A serious bullet of a book....Godfrey constantly impresses with her precise eye and impassioned tone. A bright new voice." -- Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"No one understands the teenage mind like Rebecca Godfrey. An no one can penetrate its darkest recesses with such insight and compassion." -- Gary Shteyngart, author of The Russian Debutante's Handbook
"Captivating . . . Stark and bewitching . . . A voice that is fresh, disaffected and angst-ridden . . . Sara is afflicted with an overwhelming sense of compassion . . . Her world is a persuasive one, as malignant and addictive as a cigarette." -- New York Times Book Review
"A dizzying mix of hope and despair." -- Oregonian
"A wild, edgy ride...The Torn Skirt has enough drugs, parties, punks and criminal behavior to convince most mothers that locking their little darling in the upstairs bedroom is the safest way to go." -- Victoria Times-Colonist (Canada)
"[The] voice of the bad girls...[a] literary rebellion." -- Maclean's
"Unexpected, sharp as broken glass. She nails the dichotomy of teen fury and shoulder-shrugging apathy. A daunting debut that deserves notice...damn near pitch -perfect." -- Calgary Sun (Canada)