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Local Girls by Caroline Zancan

Contemporary fiction

Local Girls

Debut

We love supporting debut authors. Congrats, Caroline Zancan, on your first book!

by Caroline Zancan

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Quick take

Will the girls find the bravery they need (not the kind found in a beer bottle) to make it out of town?

Why I love it

Four girls on the cusp of adulthood, each dying to get out of their "burn-out" small-time town, have been close friends for years. One hot summer night, Sam Decker, a gorgeous, tabloid-worthy, A-list film star (think Ryan Gosling) walks into their local bar. The girls, astounded by his surprise appearance, clamor for his attention, and Sam is more than happy to oblige. What starts out as a raucous, alcohol-fueled night, however, will change their lives in ways they can’t begin to anticipate. Come morning, none of the girls will ever be the same.

The complicated and authentic relationships among the girls is the thing that really drives this story home for me. Both before and after the fateful night, Maggie, Lindsey, Lila, and Nina are bound together—and pulled apart—by the secrets they each carry. As with every group of friends, each person has their role to play: the optimist, the prankster, the dreamer, the stoic. But the girls are growing into women and their roles are changing as choices are made, connections are severed, and consequences become real.

Over their years of friendship, the group dynamic has shifted, and the glamorous Sam Decker is a catalyst that fissures the friendships. All of the girls will be hurt, and not all of them will heal. I was haunted by how the fallout from a single night can damage the long-standing love of childhood friends, leave wounds that will be carried for a very long time, and impact their futures in ways I can only imagine. That's the next novel I would love to read, telling the ongoing story of these girls as they become women. (Are you listening, Caroline? Time for a sequel perhaps?)

Will the girls find the bravery they need (not the kind found in a beer bottle) to make it out of town and find a better life? Not all the girls will make it but for the ones who do, it is their friendships that will make escape possible. And their one fateful night in a bar makes escape imperative.

Member ratings (78)

Contemporary fiction
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Contemporary fiction
View all
The Last Love Note
What Does It Feel Like?
Anita de Monte Laughs Last
The Wedding People
Honey
The Leftover Woman
The Same Bright Stars
Bye, Baby
Definitely Better Now
Swan Song
The Days I Loved You Most
The Connellys of County Down
Joe Nuthin’s Guide to Life
Jackpot Summer
Adelaide
I Might Be in Trouble
The Collected Regrets of Clover
Again and Again
Evil Eye
Black Cake
Maame
Romantic Comedy
Someone Else’s Shoes
Once There Were Wolves
We Are the Brennans
The Bad Muslim Discount
What Comes After
Olga Dies Dreaming
Last Summer at the Golden Hotel
Monster in the Middle
Nine Perfect Strangers
The Star-Crossed Sisters of Tuscany
The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes
Honey Girl
In Every Mirror She's Black
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?
Sankofa
The Unsinkable Greta James
The Love of My Life
The Five-Star Weekend
A Home for the Holidays
The Wishing Game
Behold the Dreamers
The Mothers
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things
Little Fires Everywhere
The Music Shop
Where’d You Go, Bernadette
The Reckless Oath We Made
When We Were Vikings
The Girl with the Louding Voice
A Good Neighborhood
Big Summer
All Adults Here
Happy & You Know It
Friends and Strangers
The Comeback
True Story
The Last Story of Mina Lee
Troubles in Paradise
White Ivy
This Close to Okay
The Chicken Sisters
The Prophets
In a Book Club Far Away
The Other Black Girl
Apples Never Fall
A Quiet Life
We Are the Light
The Most Likely Club
The Fortunes of Jaded Women
When We Were Bright and Beautiful
The Hotel Nantucket