Girls on the Verge - by Vendela Vida (Paperback)

About the Book

In her first book, Vida explores a variety of rituals that girls have created or embraced in order to leave their childhoods behind. Vida doesn't just observe, she actively participates in some--going as far as experiencing sorority rush, a debutante ball, and a witches' coven, among others.

Book Synopsis

In a fascinating look at how young women are coming of age in America, Vendela Vida's Girls on the Verge explores a variety of rituals that girls have adapted or created in order to leave their childhoods behind.

Vida doesn't just observe the rituals, she actively participates in them, going as far as spending a week at UCLA to experience rush--she emerges a Tri-Delt. She also goes to Miami to learn about the "quince" (the Latin American celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday), to Houston to take part in a debutante ball, to Los Angeles and San Francisco to talk to female gang members, to Salem, Massachusetts, to interview a coven of witches, and to Las Vegas to watch young brides take the plunge--some of them in drive-through wedding chapels. With humor, insight, and illuminating detail, she explores girls' struggles to forge an identity and secure a sense of belonging through various rituals--rituals that they embrace without necessarily understanding the comforts they seek or the repercussions of their often all-too-adult choices.

Review Quotes

"Vida has written a thoroughly enjoyable book . . . well-reported and entertaining." --Kirkus Reviews

"Vida is a good writer, and clearly feels an affinity . . . with her subjects." --Seattle Weekly

About the Author

Vendela Vida graduated from Middlebury College and received her MFA at Columbia University. Her work has appeared in Vogue, Jane, and other publications. She lives in Brooklyn. Girls on the Verge is her first book.