Perfect Little Mannequin Girl
Ellen Litman’s “Mannequin Girl”
Mannequin Girl is a novel about following Kat, a little Jewish girl growing up in 1980s Russia, as she transitions from a misshapen girl with scoliosis and a metal brace into a woman at her private boarding school. But, the thing is, I really summarizing a book into one sentence, and Mannequin Girl is a perfect example why.
You hear “little Jewish girl in Russia” and immediately think of the daughters in Fiddler on the Roof (or at least I do). Can Kat wear skirts? If her father already looking for her husband? Similar questions? No. Kat’s just happens to be born Jewish, just like a girl happens to be born with dimples, and with her parents, their ethnicity has little importance day by day.
You hear “Russia in the 1980s” and think, “oh wow! This must be literature about how horrible the country was, how oppressed these kids felt! How freedom tasted so close!” Again, not so much. Sure, Kat’s parents make jokes that equated “Communism will be here in 2000!” with “when pigs fly!” and gravitate towards the arts that subtly criticize the government, but really, the way they talk about it isn’t anything more than some people talk about Obamacare.
You hear “transforming from girl into woman” and think it’s gonna be another one of those Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret tales of first crushes, first periods and just middle school drama. If you haven’t caught the pattern – not true in the slightest. Sure, she has a crush in the book, but she also has Dreams and Goals and her own shit going on. She’s more mature in middle-school than a lot of adults you probably know.
So, all those worries aside: here’s what Mannequin Girl is really about:
7-year old Kat Knopman is a precocious little girl (the best kind, of course) who needs her parents as much as they need her. Both parents are young, intellectual teachers who’d choose principles over common sense. Anechka, a moody, sometimes harsh but ultimately compassionate woman is her mother; her father the absent-minded, lovable and kind-hearted Misha. It’s neither the fault of Anechka’s coldness or Misha’s carelessness, though they may believe, when Kat is diagnosed with an early case of scoliosis and it’s determined she’ll be spending her school years in a heavy metal brace to correct her spine.
It’s not as dreary as it sounds. Yes, it is a boarding school for infirm children, hunchbacks, girls with birdcage brackets around their tiny frames, but other than that, from all accounts, it’s not an unpleasant place. The kids can be cruel – the main gaggle of girls excludes Kat from their play based on her last name, the boys even stay apart from this outcast. Nevertheless, she’s a clever girl. It doesn’t break her.
By the time we meet up with Kat in 7th grade, she’s made a best friend with one of the richest girls in the school and found her clique with the drama kids. Her parents are now with her at the school, a blessing, really – not only do they have secure teaching jobs, they’re also in charge of the Theatre, including musical shows, dramatic readings, etc., which seems to be the perfect place for these two dreamers. It’s in this school that Kat finds her place – as a mentor to students falling behind, as a trusted ensemble member of her parents’ productions. Whenever something threatens the place of Kat and her family within the school, however, is where the trouble begins.
Personally, I loved this book. But I also love books about middle-school girls, especially the awkward ones. Mannequin Girl, however, is so much more than that. It’s the story of a young spirit reaching to find her place in the world. It’s the story of girls hiding behind a crush on the perfect looking boy, knowing her looks (or in this case, brace) may keep him from every noticing her. Think of this less as a tween melodrama, more of A Separate Peace. And seriously – think of it often. Especially while inside a Barnes & Noble where you have the chance to purchase this novel and read it for yourself.
