BOOK REVIEW: The Girl Factory

For me, belonging to a book group has so many advantages. I love to hear the different interpretations that are voiced around the room as we each bring ourselves into the story. Maybe even more important for me, is that books are chosen that I would never discover on my own. THE GIRL FACTORY, a memoir by Karen Dietrich is one that I probably would have passed over,

In 1985, Karen is eight-years old and living in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. Her parents work at the local glass factory on different shifts, one going to work as the other parent returns home. Not fitting in at home or at school, Karen explains that there is a factory some place where little girls are made. Some roll off the assembly line, shiny and perfect; others are sent to the scrap heap where the broken pieces are reassembled to make the less than perfect ones. She is the latter.

Karen is a gifted student who is fascinated with learning. She is obsessed with the full meaning of words, the superstitions that help her to keep her world under control, and her own body. Watching the more popular girls as she enters junior high school, she feels that sex must be the answer to popularity. Her first encounter only makes her feel empty and more alone.

We follow Karen through high school and college. We leave her as she sets off to start a new career and a new life. At the end of the book, I was truely wishing her well.

The strength of this book is that we see the family and school friends through Karen’s eyes; we hear only hints of family secrets as she grows. Dietrich gives us enough information, but allows the reader to come to his or her own conclusion about people and events.

The author’s obsession with words as a young girl pays off beautifully in this book. The use of language is precise and poetic. Glass and factory become metaphors to explain how fragile things are and that some people come out flawed.

Karen Dietrich’s family has questioned the veracity of THE GIRL FACTORY. I can not verify their claims, but I can state that the book is an honest portrayal of a misfit teen growing up in the late 1980’s, or maybe any time in history.

I liked THE GIRL FACTORY. Now, I cannot wait until our book group meets to hear what the rest of the ladies have to say.