A review by bluedilly
Pizza Girl by Jean Kyoung Frazier

medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I realised that directness wasn't a quality I was used to, that the conversations I had were often dictated by others and made me feel nervous, like I was trying to transport a handful of sand from location A to location B without losing a single grain. Conversations full of questions that were looking for very specific answers, leaving no room for any bit of thought or meaning.

So, funny story. The Storygraph recommendations algorithm suggested Pizza Girl to me when I was looking for something similar to the Heartstopper series! I could immediately tell from the genres, moods, and synopsis that it wouldn't be that kind of vibe, but it did still catch my attention, so much so that I tracked down the audiobook and started reading it immediately.

For about the first third of Pizza Girl, I really thought it might become a new favourite. Like the protagonist, I was an eighteen year girl in 2011, and this book transported me back to that time. I was reminded of all the quirky, low-budget indie films which were everywhere back then, as well as the types of young adult novels I grew up with, the ones which somehow managed to portray the absurdity within the mundane, with messy, flawed, complex protagonists. (Speaking of, I'm surprised that this isn't listed under the Young Adult genre, but I guess readership trends change?) 

Anyroad, so I was loving this, I was loving the slice of life pacing, the nostalgia, and the autistic girl energy, but the more it went along, the more I lost the thread of what was supposedly going on in our titular Pizza Girl's mind. It was as if, the more "wacky" the plot became, the more boring and unclear she became as a character. I'm still not sure what she was thinking half the time, or what the motivation was behind some of her actions. Maybe there was no motivation. Maybe the whole point was that she was so lost and young and grieving and drunk that she was operating in "no thoughts, head empty" mode, constantly oscillating between apathy and desperation. I guess I can try to make sense of it that way, if I really try. I don't know. I just know that I kind of had to force myself to finish this one.

I'd still totally watch an A24 adaptation, though. And I hope Jean Kyoung Frazier keeps writing!

P.S. The audiobook reading by Jeena Yi is superb! Her acting talents, as well as the voices she used for each character, really brought them to life!

I remembered being a quiet little kid, constantly aware and uncomfortable with the ways grown-ups talked to me, how much they seemed to want from me.
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