As a father of teenage girls, I’m often at a loss to being empathetic to them at certain points of their lives. I’m the parent of the opposite sex and can only hope to connect to them in a way which is both meaningful and long-lasting. Their connection with their mother is a guiding light to what they can expect as they grow into womanhood. Despite this fact, my need to comprehend what their lives are, the struggles they deal with, and their hope and dreams, is central to my love for them.

When I was a teenager, I often tried to understand the opposite sex, whether it be how to get their attention or why I could not get the attention of the ones I did like. As I got older, I often found this to be a more difficult quandary to disentangle. Each woman I encountered were different from the other. The mystery remains to this day for me as the women I meet are just as enigmatic and my teenage daughters even more so. In Phoebe Gloeckner’s The Diary Of A Teenage Girl, the author gives readers a chronicle of how it was for one teenager and most assuredly for many young women.

We are taken to 1976 San Francisco, where we meet our protagonist, Minnie Goetze. It was a time when the counterculture went from flower power to the early inklings of punk rock. She’s a young woman whose sexual awakening leaves her confused, amazed, tantalized, and at every turn unsure of herself. She lacks the self-confidence most teenagers exhibit at some point. As her curiosity surrounding the act of sex becomes increasingly restless, her interest in her mother’s boyfriend, Monroe, becomes fevered. She eventually asks him to “ deflower” her, an act that she would repeat several times, and in some strange way, gives her agency over her sexuality, her need to be noticed, and to be loved. As she would ultimately move on from Monroe, but her promiscuity and her abuse of habitual substances spiral into one would see as a call for help as the two sins will lead her to some very harmful situations. Situations that she merely sees as rites of passage and as her mother discovers what her offspring encounters she is more paralyzed by what her daughter would think if she knew that her mother knew what was happening.

Overall, a tender, heartbreaking, and at times, cringe-worthy book that gives readers a raw unfettered look at the struggles of growing up as a teenage girl. The story by Gloeckner is honest, intense, and unflinching. The art by Gloeckner is unique and awe-inspiring. Altogether, a story that will affect each reader differently, but will ultimately have you root for Minnie.

Story: Phoebe Gloeckner Art: Phoebe Gloeckner
Story: 10 Art: 9.7 Overall: 9.7 Recommendation: Buy