August 2017: 10 books and scripts read

I read many brand-new stories this month, but the one that stood out to me was one I've read before, ten years ago: Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr.

The re-read was prompted by the film adaptation, which premiered on Lifetime at the end of July. The screenplay by Laurie Collyer and Emily Bickford Lansbury was pretty faithful to the book and, on multiple occasions, the script included exact lines of dialogue from the book, but I still felt the book was more powerful, thanks in part to the first-person narration which allowed readers to get into the protagonist's mindset and memories. I wish the film had included her journal; the story Deanna wrote was revealing and therapeutic, and I loved rediscovering that when I read the book again.

Read my review of the book.