Greta
J. S. Lemon
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published September 10, 2024
Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads
About Greta
J. S. Lemon’s middle grade debut is an utterly transformative, fiercely original, and surprisingly funny story about consent, friendship, healing, and a beauty that transcends all else.
Greta Goodwin’s life is changing. On top of moving to a new neighborhood far away from her best friend, Lotti, she’s also starting middle school. Greta isn’t totally ready for boys, bras, and bad cafeteria food. She still feels like a little kid compared to those female classmates who have suddenly matured over the summer. Girls who are now objects of curiosity, scorn, and entertainment for everyone else. So Greta adopts a new “Do not call attention to yourself.”
But at her first-ever middle-school party, a boy does pay attention to Greta. At first it feels good. And then it feels awful. Aggressive. Abusive. In the aftermath, Greta can’t make sense of what’s happened, let alone talk about it—even to Lotti. Impossibly, Greta’s body starts to change, and in a vastly different way from everyone else’s.
What follows leads Greta to believe the world might finally see her as she truly ethereal, powerful, and free. Reminiscent of Kafka’s Metamorphosis and sensitively told, stunning modern classics like Fighting Words and The Thing About Jellyfish, Greta will transform readers just as Greta herself is transformed.
My Review
I feel like this is one of those books that will make people uncomfortable simply by existing. A middle grade book that discusses sexual assault? Pretty shocking, sure. Is it as shocking as how often this kind of thing happens, though?
One of the things I really appreciate about this book is that the attack is presented only briefly. It focuses primarily on what Greta feels and how she responds, keeping her experience centered.
I love the symbolism of her transformation. She’s beautiful, before and after, and it feels like an expression of her true self rather than some kind of punishment or harm done to her.
For me, one of the hard things about the book is that the harm doesn’t get directly addressed. That feels uncomfortable. (Too often true in real life, and that’s also uncomfortable.) It also feels uncomfortable to me that the transformation separates her from her friends and family. Greta is happy, so she doesn’t view this as a bad thing. But for them, it is a kind of change that means they give up the kind of relationship they had with Greta.
What’s interesting to me about that is that those other kinds of resolutions– the perpetrator being confronted, the family hearing Greta’s story, etc– are things that would satisfy us as readers and observers.
Instead, the outcome of the story centers Greta’s healing and wholeness in a way that isn’t beholden to anyone else in her life. Once I saw that, I couldn’t stop thinking about what a powerful experience that is for someone who has been harmed. To remain centered in their own story. To experience a healing transformation and feel more whole and more oneself. Wow.
Conclusion
Greta is an unusual, imaginative book that probably won’t appeal to everyone. What it does really well, though, is keep the assault survivor’s story centered in the narrative, allowing her to experience healing and wholeness. It’s a powerful story perfectly tempered for a younger audience.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Representation
Greta’s little brother has an unspecified learning disability.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content
References to changing bodies because of puberty. Greta sees Lotti making out with a boy. Kissing between boy and girl. Brief description of forceful kissing and groping.
Spiritual Content
Greta senses something happening in her body, a transformation that feels more true to who she is.
Violent Content
See above.
Drug Content
None.
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