Tomboy is a memoir of…well, a tomboy.

It’s a memoir that follows the author, going through her childhood and teenage years while being not quite a boy, but not quite a girl either.

The author Liz Prince has a knack for the kind of narrative that makes you feel right at home;  the character being the kind you root for when the going gets tough.

However, it always seems the going is tough for Liz. Frankly there are some heart breaking moments in this story. Particularly when the spunky tomboy realizes during an elementary school sex-ed lecture that she really is a girl–and she will never become a free-living boy.

She then runs into the bushes at recess and prays to God to not make her into a girl but to please, please make her a boy.

The young Liz does not like playing house, or doing any of those “girly” things. Most of her childhood is spent running away from the idea of being a ‘girl’. Boys always seemed to have more fun, were allowed to be more aggressive, and being a girl was a detriment.

Some of the situations she gets herself into are not only funny, but have a heartwarming familiarity.While the theme is a tender one, the delivery is kind. Funny, quirky and interesting situations with an easy flowing dialogue makes this a wonderful read.

Though she got relentlessly tormented by her peers, and even encountered negative situations with friends, she kept her identity as a tomboy. Not quite a boy, but definitely not a girl.

Liz struggles with the idea’s of gender as well as the expectations they entail. She comes to terms with who she is with the help of an indie zine she picks up and is suddenly flooded with understanding.

“I wasn’t challenging the social norm, I was buying into it!” her adult self chimes in, as the reader is shown a scene of teen-aged Liz pouring over a zine.

The novel has a curious young girl wondering, questioning and thinking about who she is and why she can’t seem to fit in, with adult Liz stepping in and narrating some important scenes from her past–making sense of the events and their significance for herself and for the reader without compromising the feelings of confusion and discomfort that come from being in, or even remembering, these situations.

Being a girl didn’t have to mean dresses, butterflies and lilting flowers. That’s just what the social norm dictated. It’s a wonderfully crafted story that pulls at the hear strings and ends in bursts of understanding which were fifteen years in the making. Whether you are a life long Tomboy, the pretty girl at the prom, or a guy– this book has something for you. Everyone has felt confused growing up at some point.

Tomboy is a memoir of Liz. It is also a memoir of everyone who ever had trouble fitting in.

Story: Liz Prince  Art: Liz Prince
Story: 8.0 Art: 5.0 Overall: 8.0 Recommendation: Read