false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1185078993m/1551143.jpg 1551143 2 Elizabeth McKenzie's <I>Stop That Girl</I> is a series of chronological stories that, taken together, uncover the life story of Ann Ransom, a native Californian who moves from childhood to adulthood with poise, intelligence, and humor. When we first meet Ann in the collection's title story, she is a spunky eight year old living with her mom in Long Beach. Featured characters include Ann's mom, her grandmother Dr. Frost, her sister Kathy, and three or four of her romantic interests. The state of California itself serves as an important supporting character, helping to keep Ann rooted in time and space as she moves through each chapter of her life. <p> While each story is unique in its own right, McKenzie's lyrical style makes it easy to string each episode together to form the consistent thread of Ann's life. In one of the early stories, ten-year-old Ann attends a neighborhood party on her own, apologizing to the host for her parents's absence while attempting to fulfill the family's social obligations with the grace of someone well beyond her years. ("I make it my business to look as enterprising ad possible, a team player, someone you can count on, someone who never lets you down...") As she gets older, Ann continues to play the role of "normal one" in a family of eccentric personalities, while simultaneously attempting to forge her own identity as a young woman. In one climatic story, Ann's grandmother pays her a visit at UC Santa Cruz on the same day as a monumental appearance by Allen Ginsberg. What follows is a car chase that culminates in a showdown between Ann, her boyfriend, and her grandmother that perfectly illustrates the push-pull dynamic which seems to define Ann's life. <p> For Ann, each step forward brings with it a reminder of a past that she doesn't necessarily want to forget. It is this haunting inability to escape her past, to in fact embrace her past in order to move on, that make Ann such an endearing character and her creator such a gifted storyteller. <I>--Gisele Toueg</I> 472306 15 2 2005 Stop That Girl: A Novel in Stories total:51|5:6|4:8|3:27|2:7|1:3| 51 160 79 9 4 2 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Sep 19 08:10:13 -0700 2007 Wed Sep 19 08:10:54 -0700 2007 2 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Mar 22 19:28:51 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 21:30:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Jun 20 07:17:13 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 21 22:31:35 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 10:32:46 -0800 2009 Wed Jan 14 10:36:18 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Sep 20 10:11:44 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 10:12:11 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2005 Sat Jan 05 15:55:36 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 05 15:55:48 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jul 07 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 06 19:08:35 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 07 18:07:30 -0700 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Sun Nov 16 17:28:34 -0800 2008 Sun Nov 16 17:29:52 -0800 2008 1 0 false false Thu Jan 24 06:21:15 -0800 2008 Thu Feb 07 10:46:36 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Mon Nov 09 21:05:52 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 09 21:05:52 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Thu Nov 05 17:23:16 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 05 17:23:16 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Nov 04 18:49:21 -0800 2009 Wed Nov 04 18:49:21 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Nov 01 12:11:44 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 01 12:11:44 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Sep 14 10:59:27 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 14 10:59:27 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Sep 04 22:54:47 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 04 23:29:58 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Aug 29 16:25:40 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 29 16:25:40 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sat Aug 01 13:22:09 -0700 2009 Sat Aug 01 13:22:09 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jul 26 06:19:28 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 26 06:19:28 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Fri Jul 24 12:19:59 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 24 12:19:59 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Mon Jul 27 09:57:22 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 07:18:22 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 27 09:57:22 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=1551143