By Tiffany Aynda

Dolores Price is not your average thirteen-year-old American girl growing up in the 1950s. Wally Lamb’s She’s Come Undone is an amusing life story of an outspoken, insensitive wisecrack. However, deep inside that hard shell of arrogance and whit lives an insecure, unconfident girl filled with brokenness.

Lamb poignantly and humorously delivers a small tale of the underdog and its bad day. He captures the humor in Dolores’ most depressing moments. With vivid and comical language, any reader is bound to be left in an endless droll.

The story first takes place in 1956. Her father is a truck driver who works for an old, rich widow. Dolores’ mother, like most women from her generation, was unemployed. Unfortunately, Dolores’ idyllic family is destroyed. After the death of Dolores’ unborn brother, her father abandons the family for a younger woman and leaves her weak, depressed and anxious mother to raise her alone. To cope with the separation of her family, Dolores wallows in her grief, spending countless hours in front of the T.V. munching on Twinkies, Mallomars, potato chips and soda; ultimately earning the title of a bona fide couch potato. Before Dolores even tries to get up from her couch, she became a beached whale, reaching a weight of 257 pounds. Now, in a desperate attempt to win back her life, Dolores leaves home and essentially bids her childhood goodbye. It’s only after Dolores leaves home does she become undone from her apathetic, boring lifestyle and discovers the true meaning of life.

This book exposes the reader to the pain and anguish of life’s complexities but also invites readers to feel the humor through it all. Although the book may seem lengthy, it does not let down the reader’s expectations of a series of dramatic episodes. Lamb has the ability to make language not boring. He keeps the readers interested. The book invites readers to approach life’s flaws lightheartedly but fearlessly. Although Lamb uses comical language, his message to the reader is one of hope and inspiration. Life is all about change if you want it to be. Everyone can find a little bit of Dolores Price in themselves.

Reading the book is an especially memorable experience for any girl. Throughout Dolores’ insecurities of puberty and growing into womanhood, the reader is reminded of what it is like to be a social pariah, feeling awkward and out-of-place, overly physically conscious and on the brink of insanity. From this book, readers can learn to appreciate every life experience and that every life experience has a life lesson that ultimately determines character and identity. From this book, every reader will gain a better perspective of growing up.

She´s Come Undone is a remarkable story about a 13-year-old girl experiencing adolescence in the 1950s. (Image courtesy www.barnesandnoble.com)