Polly

by Amy Bryant

If you're looking for Polly Clark, she'll be the girl wearing Doc Martens and a Bad Brains T-shirt at the punk show. She'll be (almost) losing her virginity to a high school dropout, accompanied by the Beastie Boys' "No Sleep Till Brooklyn." She'll be looking for her artistic soul while trying to solve the mysteries of guys, life, her seriously dysfunctional family . . . and herself.In eight chapters, Polly is shaped by eight relationships in this honest, tender, original, and utterly endearing story of one girl's stumbles and successes in the world of punked-out 1980s suburban romance -- the unforgettable debut of an extraordinary new voice in contemporary fiction.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Coming Of Age, Romance

254 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one adult novel that should have been marketed as a young adult one. Really, it's YA lit. I don't know what Harper was thinking. [return][return]Polly is a teenager full of angst and the novel is divided into the names of the men in her life. She dates some real losers, probably because her real dad is off drinking himself silly and ignoring her. Her beautiful mother remarried when Polly was young, but it hits Polly really hard when her real dad disowns her so her step-father can adopt her. Polly is really into the punk rock scene in D.C. and spends her high school life going to concerts, drinking, and smoking. By the time she gets to Virginia Tech, she's settled down a bit, and after one fun and footloose semester, settles down into art and math. She works at the college radio station and even works at the Disney store in the mall when she's home over the summer. This is your typical coming-of-age bildungsroman story, but Polly does get raped by an acquaintance when she is home from college. She doesn't report it, but does end up telling her friends and her mother. She also has a turning point in her life when she realizes that her boyfriend is a loser. Hello! The readers know it, but it takes Polly awhile to see it.

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was tempted to give this a 3 or 3.5, but like the rating says, I really liked it. Polly tells the story of a girl attempting to find herself through music, hobbies, friends, and boyfriends, the latter of which gets her into the most trouble, and ironically the most insight. All the chapters are named after a boy who's shaped Polly for better or worse from junior high all the way to college. I've never read a coming of age novel that follows our protagonist for this long, and I've gotta say, I want more of it. The backdrop of the 80's is perfect, seeing as the 80's had the polar opposite of social scenes: preps or punks (I suppose burnouts are housed beneath that broad umbrella too), which is exactly the switch Polly makes: the first chapter sees her trying out/making the majorettes, only to be bullied by the cheerleaders,beginning her disillusionment with the mainstream, causing her to stray to the outsiders, complete with a musical awakening. The text reads like the painful/cringe worthy parts of a diary, which makes for an authentic take on adolescence. Who honestly looks back on their teen years and thinks, "Oh yeah, I was totally rational back then. Breezed right through that heartache. Too young for "love" anyway." I'd like to meet you. Many people saw Polly's behavior as "slutty" (careful in this political climate), defining herself by recklessness and letting boys fill her emotional void. And yes, because she's lost with the two father figures she has: William is too tough on her, but her actual Dad won't bother beyond a phone call till the very end. If you want to get analytical (and you know I do), I think Polly wants normalcy, despite reveling in the whole, "I'm a poet no one understands". I believe she's either trying to lock down herself/happy ending early (something her mother didn't do), or more likely she's a small town teenager looking for someone to take her anywhere. Curiosity is both her downfall and lifeline, and that's more than normal. Teenagers have to mess up so they can know who they are and how to fix themselves. It's fitting the final chapter is called "Polly", because that's who defines her in the end; instead of going out with the cute guy from the library, she heads back to her apartment, content on listening to her friend's radio show. I like to think Polly represents a part of all us rebellious girls, who finally got the hobbies and happy ending once we stopped fighting ourselves and began defining them instead.

[Sophie Caligiuri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Compulsively readable at first, but falls apart slowly towards the end with the insertion of a darker plot which made it feel like it was trying to decide what kind of book it was too late. I liked Polly, and although I was worried a book based around a girl’s (turned woman, by the end) relationships with men would be male-gazey, the author did a good job balancing out all the characters and made sure Polly was still the star.

(still reading randomly down the bookshelf)

[Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew Amy Bryant was something special from the moment I finished the last page of POLLY and I immediately wanted my best friend to read it. Like a great coming-of-age novel should, Bryant perfectly captures the highs and lows of adolescent love and sex. Our narrator, Polly Clark is self proclaimed music maniac who’s into punk rock, experiments with drugs, and is attracted to the bad boys at school. But under her black eye-makeup, band t-shirt and doc marten boots, she has certain vulnerability and tenderness that makes you wish she was your best friend.

Bryant’s story follows Polly as she confronts the meaning of her sexuality and navigates the emotional battlefield of ‘80s suburbia. Beginning with Polly’s first kiss in junior high, in 7 chapters she experiences 7 different relationships that define her journey to adulthood. From Tommy at the roller rink, to Jason the soon-to-be high school dropout, to Ian the British music snob in college, with each boy Polly learns a little more about herself and little more about the difference between love and sex. Along the way she must come to accept her stepfather and come to terms with her absent real father. Helping her through it all is her circle of misfit friends that are always by her side with a shoulder to cry on or an extra concert ticket.

No matter what age, readers will come to POLLY and fall in love with it, the same way they do their favorite song. A song that hits the right note and perfectly says everything you’ve always felt.

This is the first book by a wonderful Brooklyn author. It's great for anyone that grew up in the '80s and loves to rock.

[Wufusk · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually enjoyed reading this book, but I would never in a million years recommend it to a teenager. It might be something for a young parent to read - as an example of how NOT to raise children. Polly's parents do not make her feel loved, they do not talk to her about sex, drugs, or anything else, they give her few chores and no boundaries whatsoever, and as a result shes smoking, drinking, doing drugs, and sleeping with boys at the age of sixteen. She's a not-very-smart teenager, and her character doesn't grow at all in the book. Usually in a coming of age novel, or in any novel, really, the protagonist is supposed to grow, to learn things - to at least change in some way. But in the last chapter, she's still dating the bad boy. He physically abuses her and almost gets her arrested, but still she goes back to him. She's proud to be the girlfriend of this violent, uneducated, criminal. At 16 she would sleep with anyone she thought was cute - and then, after having sex they would be boyfriend/girlfriend and start to get to know one another. And at the end of the book she's learned nothing, but continues in this self-destructive behavior. The book brings up the subject of birth control, but it never once mentions the dangers of sexually transmitted disease. When the girl is raped, her mother comforts her by giving her a hug and saying "This happens to a lot of women." Never once does anyone advise her to report the incident to the police. On the upside, the book has made me appreciate my strict, square parents a bit more than I did before. At least when I got out from under their thumb I was a few years older than Polly, and better able to handle myself.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book, but am a little confused about who its target audience is. It was written more like a book for a teenager, but so much of the story depends on the 80s pop-culture references that I doubt current teens would find it engaging.

The story follows Polly from 7th grade into her sophomore year of college through eight *relationships* with boys that shape her life. Music and boys. Boys and music. Relationships with parents and friends. Cliques. Sex. Drugs. Alcohol. A lot of smoking. It's not one I'll pass along to my daughter.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really smart coming-of-age chick lit book that examines the complexities of relationships and the coming to terms with a kinda dysfunctional yet kinda normal family. I liked all of the musical references and the throwbacks to 80s culture. With Polly, the protagonist, you get don't know whether to feel sorry for her misinformation (especially when it comes to the boys) or hug her. The format of the book, which divides the chapters into Poly's different boyfriends, is great but I often lost track of which boyfriend did what.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

The author was a jr-high friend of my sister -- I hoped I would recognize my sister among the suburban metalheads and mean girls, but no such luck!

Not really a novel, more like 8 versions of the same story: alienated, insecure, wistful Polly gets involved with a boy, but things fail to work out for no apparent reason.

("Polly"? Who in our neighborhood/county/region/generation was named "Polly"? There was Sweet Polly Purebred on the Underdog series and that's...about... it!)

[Xxcreativebunnyxx · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so raunchy and taboo, but yet behind all of that it actually manages to keep a solid story line.

[Skye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where Do I Begin ?

Hmm This Book Was A Good Coming Of Age Story
Though It Had It's... Moments
I'm Glad I Read It

[Julian Dunn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading Polly more than I thought I would, since I usually have an allergy to "young adult" fiction. The book starts out with Polly on the cusp of entering high school, so initially I wasn't sure whether the juvenile language was because the author was adopting the voice of an eighth-grader or if the whole book was going to be like that. Fortunately, it was the former.

Polly's progression from teenager to college freshman to college senior is seen through the lens of the boys that she dates or encounters, one per chapter, as well as through her participation in the DC punk rock/hardcore music scene of the 80's. ("Encounters" is also a euphemism so I don't give away any spoilers; let's just say that some of her relationships are shallower than others, and one of them is traumatic.)

Although I'm a bit younger than the fictional Polly, the descriptions of her experiences in high school and college brought back a lot of memories for me. In my youth I experimented far less than Polly with sex, alcohol, drugs and music (okay, maybe not music, as I went to a lot of shows in college) and yet the main thrust of the book -- experimentation is how kids find out who they really are -- holds true for both Polly and myself. Despite her rebellious choices of boyfriends, clothing, music and life priorities, Polly is fundamentally a good kid and she turns out fine.

I would have liked to have had a bit more depth to some of the supporting cast, like William, to understand his motivations behind why he's so hard on her, as it's only addressed perfunctorily and near the end. The same goes for Polly's dad; we never really hear why he leaves her mother. Overall, though, as a debut novel, it's pretty good, because I think Bryant is writing a lot from her own personal experiences. Write what you know.

[Heidi Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a love letter to teen girls that came of age in the 1990’s. My cousin Leslie T loaned me this book. She grew up in Reston, VA. It was a walk down memory lane for her & for me even though I was not a teen there at that time. I could hear the music, see the flannel, combat boots & miniskirts, & taste the cheap beer as I read this book. Very poignant and took me back to those days filled with angst trying to navigate boys & school & parents.

[Vanna]

DNF page 36

I wasn't really getting the references and its heavily referenced. I found the first chapter to be interesting but once the second chapter hit, I lost interest in the writing and struggled with all the references and not just skimming it.

This was a book I had read before when I was younger and liked but it doesn't seem to hold up.

[YoSafBridg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amy Bryant has written a character in Polly, her first novel, that sometimes feels achingly close to my own, from some of the hateful notes she gets, to the crushes without reason, to the taunts, to the up and down emotions, to the ever-changing cast of best-friends, to the distant father~though i guess at least some of that is just typical teenage shit. Polly is told through successive relationships with the boys in her life, beginning with her first, Tommy Ward, who after she skates with him during a slow song at the skating rink, asks her to "go" with him the next time he sees her at school, and after that they are "going together" until cruel taunts drive them apart.

Next comes the dull-witted, going-nowhere Jason whose favorite pastime is dropping acid. He leaves notes for Polly addressing her as "Sweaty" which she knows means Sweetie. Jason is followed by many more who Polly feels ill-defined feelings of attraction for and they don't quite return her affection in kind. Unlike Polly most of my early burgeoning womanhood was spent lusting, questing after boymen who barely, if at all, knew i existed and it was probably better that way. I did however spent a lot of time around boys because, during my high school and early college years, for whatever reasons they were my "buddies", i somehow always got along better with the guys than the gals~go figure.

Polly is a story of stumbling through adolescence toward womanhood with little guidance and less male reassurance. It is told against the backdrop of the D.C. area 80s punk music scene. I was surprised that, even though i was across the country at the time, i seemed to be attending many of the same shows (one of the highlights of my young, disaffected life was when i got to party with Bad Brains after one of their shows). I may not have been involved in the "relationships" that Polly was, and i don't feel i was quite as uninformed as she was in her approach to sex (i think i might have been better off without her boyfriends for much of my younger life~or any boyfriends for that matter~i was always more of an independent roller {love-em-and-leave-em is the image i would have you believe, tho it was not quite so}~when i did end up with a boyfriend {by accident, almost, at the end of college~and i did discover years later that the one love i believed unrequited for years thought i was his one love too~or so he rewrote it later, but that's one of those oh-wells} it was always a surprise to everyone, most of all myself~this is all one long run on sentence that is better written in my own unwritten novel...), but her life was definitely one i could relate to. This is my kind of chick lit!

[Lori Duff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wonder sometimes if I spend too much time judging books by their characters instead of the way the characters are written. I think I would have liked this book better if I liked Polly better. She's smart and unique, and she makes her own way in the world, so there's that. Through no fault of her own she is dealt dysfunctional parents -- a completely absent biological father who gives her up for adoption to her highly critical stepfather, and an absolutely clueless mother. Her bad decisions and questionable choices are clearly the result of her parenting. That isn't where she lost me -- she lost me when she did not seem to learn from any of her mistakes, spend exactly zero time reflecting upon them, and merely got older as the book went on, rather than growing as a person. I get that her mother is clueless, but really, I find it hard to believe that there is any mother on the planet who [SPOILER ALERT] would react to "I was raped" with "Now now, there, dear, it happens to the best of us." Her critical stepfather/adoptive father, while his method of delivery could have used some work, actually had some good points to be made and legitimate criticisms, but he gets relegated to the role of bad guy. Although their relationship improves a little throughout the book, there doesn't ever seem to be any recognition of his efforts. In the meantime, her completely absent and useless bio father gets a complete pass, even after years of reflection.

That said, it was a compelling read, and an interesting approach to writing: the story is told in eight chapters, each reflecting a relationship with a boy, going from her early teen years to middle college. Polly is not your typical teen character. It gets points for creativity and ease-of-read, which is not always easy to pull off with me, when I can't relate to the characters. So clearly there is some writing skill there, which is why I put the first sentence in this review.

I'm not sure who the target audience is for this book. It is probably too 'young' for most college students. Normally, it would be the kind of book that my advanced middle schooler would read, but the level of debauchery, while realistic under the circumstances, means I won't let him read it. Polly is not a role model for impressionable young folks, and this isn't really an adult book.

[Megan Reigner · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book is about the title character's relationships with 8 different boys. The first few chapters felt like I was reading a punk rock zine.

But then she gets raped, which yeah, sucks, but seemed completely unnecessary. It's a great subject to explore, but it wasn't the focal point of the book. The author dealt with the rape in a terrible way. For one thing, when Polly tells her mom, her mom is just like "Oh, that sucks. It happens to a lot of women," and then that's totally it until later in the book the two are out and about and see the rapist. Her mom just tells the rapist "Stay away from my daughter!" and that's it.

In my mind's eye I was like oh snap, her mom's going to go all "terrible as the Morn! Treacherous as the Seas!" Galadriel on the dude. Not so much.

Punk Rock Polly just sort of gets depressed about it instead of getting all riotgrrl and standing up to the dude like I was kind of expecting her to do. She could have been a strong character, but alas, she ended up average, which is fine if you aren't billing her as "the girl wearing Doc Martens and a Bad Brains T-Shirt at the punk show" on the back cover.

I know DC Hardcore girls are just as vulnerable as the next girl, but it's a fictional story; she could have gone anywhere.

I liked the author's style of writing, an the character compelling even though I spent half the time thinking "oh, honey, no." and shaking my head. I know I'll never be able to truly relate to a character who is blase about taking acid. "Oh so we split a tab and then tripped in the middle of the hardcore show. It was cool."

[Ethan Minsker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Polly is about a high school girl navigating relationships. Set in Reston, Virginia, outside Washington, DC during the late ’80s and ’90s—a time when the DC hardcore scene was at its most innovating. Polly is broken into chapters titled after the boys she dated. I grew up in Washington, DC during most of this time and I wondered what it would’ve been like to grow up in Reston or any part of Maryland or Virginia as a punk rocker. Before I got into punk rock I spent plenty of time in Reston. My friend Larry had a house just as Polly describes, hidden amongst the woods with bike paths connecting the neighborhoods. Larry’s father worked for Black Sparrow, a military contractor. I remember seeing illustrations of what would later be called drones on their coffee table. The FBI tapped Larry’s phone at all times in case someone from his family was kidnapped by the Russians. When I called there was always a second click on the line. Larry would talk about weed, sex, and anything he wanted to. The rule was unless there were Russians making demands it was off limits. Reston was full of secrets in layers. This is the setting for Polly.
I’m a father of a 4-year-old girl. There were points in this book that I wanted to scream at Polly, “Don’t do it!” but that is a testament of Bryant’s writing ability. This book has heart; it has tenderness and bravery too. We ask our kids to be individuals but whenever they think for themselves most parents come down on them for not being just like they were. Polly might be a book that parents of young girls are afraid to read but they absolutely should.

[Tanya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Polly is about a girl named Polly Clark who lives in Reston, VA with her mom and step-father. The book is set during the 80's and music is a huge part of the story. Starting off with The Go-Go's and ending with grunge in the early 90's as she's in college.
Each of the eight chapters is named after which guy she likes or is dating during that time period. The story jumps a year or so in a few places, but she never seems to find the right guy for her. Most of her relationships are based on lust. She only seems to be truly happy when she's at concerts, which she tries to go to as often as possible.
Her relationship with her parents seems strained at times, but her mother does care about her. She's usually surprised when William, her step-father, does something nice for her. Her friends are a major part of the story and they help her get through some tough times. I'm happy that she had them and they made the story better.
Once she goes to college things start out rough for her, but they get better after the Brendan chapter. She discovers that she really likes art and she gets closer to her college friends. She also seems to grow up a bit and be more careful.
It was really neat reading about all of the 80's punk and hardcore bands since I've listen to most of the ones mentioned in the book (The Ramones, Minor Threat, etc.). I also liked the interview with the author that's in the back of the book. It gave some great insight into the story, much of which is based on the author's own life as a teen.

[Marnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this book would be good because it's about the 80s, my favorite decade, & it has a lot of pop culture stuff. I loved the 1st chapter, I'd give it 5 stars if the whole book was like that. It's about how she doesnt fit in on the drill team & quits because the other girls are being mean to her, & how she meets her first boyfriend at the roller rink. But it goes downhill after that. In each chapter Polly has a different boyfriend, & each one is a bigger jerk than the last. There's even a whole chapter about this jerk that rapes her, & he's not even her boyfriend. Polly gets into the punk scene, something I was never into, & uses a lot of drugs. I thought it was stupid that the author named her Polly after a Nirvana song. Polly would have been born around 1970, way before Nirvana, & besides, no one in the 80s was named "Polly." Girls had names like Melissa, Heather, Tammy, & Stacy, the names of her classmates listed on the first page of the book. Maybe the author just wanted to show how "different" she was, I dont know. Maybe I'm silly but I'd rather read a story about a girl in the 80s with less angst & the kind of fantasy teen years I wish I had. That's probably why I loved "Sweet Valley High" so much in high school.

[April · Rating 2 out of 5]

Polly is more of a book for young adults that was published nearly twenty years too late. I really wanted to like this book, but it did not live up to my expectations. In some ways, it was kind of fun, cause reading I felt like I was a teenager again, remembering what it was like to be in high school, listening to music, going to shows, and chasing boys. It bothered me that this character was named Polly, and according to the author she was named after the disturbing beautiful Nirvana song of the same name- about a girl being assaulted. The cultural references and the setting are cool, but the characters are soooo boring. I wanted Polly to do something crazy, but she never did. The most interesting characters in the book were "T-Shirt Boy," the older boy Polly meets at a show was somewhat interesting, along with the British DJ she meets in college. Polly was so bland I had a hard time wondering what guys saw her. She didn't seem edgy or punk at all, in fact, a little nerdy. She was middle-class girl from Virginia with a summer job at the Disney Store in the mall wearing a skirt and loafers. How lame.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Safia Abdul for TeensReadToo.com

Polly is a tough but also very vulnerable girl. Beginning from middle school and through college, Polly's got a string of boyfriends--a variety of punks and drunks. And she's got a story to tell about each one of them--from Tommy to Todd.

With an acid-tripping high school dropout, she experiences her first heartbreak. Later, while in love with an older red-head, she gets cheated on with not one, but two other girls. In college, she loses her virginity with a DJ and then later dumps him. Moving on, she's later raped at a party during spring break. Rejected, hurt, confused, humiliated, or dumped, Polly remains true and spunky to the end.

Author Amy Bryant's debut novel about a teenage girl living in the suburbs of the 1980s is strong, honest, and at times easy to relate to. Pick up a copy of POLLY and enter into her world of punk music, drugs, and hooking up with guys.

Recommended for girls who know what it is like to be misunderstood!

[Donna · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a quick and easy read. Polly grows up outside of DC and loves punk rock. She is smart kid but struggles with her parents about her drinking and staying out late. Each chapter is about a new boy in Polly's life. Each boy is more terrible than the last but you can see some vulnerability in a couple of the boys. That perhaps they are not bad kids but just still to immature to know what they want and how to be in a relationship. But the good thing is neither does Polly and she consistently goes back to these boys after they treat her bad until she decides, I just don't want to date him anymore. I would have enjoyed the book much more until one simple sentence buried at the end of the book discredited the only boy I liked and felt that the had some merit as a potential partner for Polly. It was very upsetting and thus ended the book.

[snackywombat (v.m.) · Rating 5 out of 5]

The reasons I liked this book: cool main character, features the early '90s DC hardcore scene, lots of teenage angst (my own writing specialty), interesting structure (chapters are ordered by boyfriends), some important messages for the YA reader (think alt-Judy Blume), un-preachy story of a misfit.

The reasons I didn't like this book: writing was pretty lackluster, never really breaks into the character of Polly's head, doesn't explain why Polly's taste in men digresses into abusive relationships yet has a happy-go-lucky epilogue, music scenes/mentions tended to be gratuitous.

[MariNaomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captures a number of things perfectly, including youthful awkwardness, the importance of music as a teen, rebellion from one's parents (even if, in retrospect, they aren't that bad), that caged-in feeling you get when you're living under your parents' rule, confusion about boys and how to relate to them, the eighties from a perspective of a punky girl... I enjoyed this book more than I can say, and intend to lend it out to my BFF immediately. Oh, and did I mention it's funny on top of all that? I really couldn't put it down.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is YA, but the content isn't. I enjoyed the book, and thought it was a great representation of a coming-of-age story about a real girl. Nothing is glossed over in the book, it cover body image, sex, and rape. It follows a girl from about middle school into college. The enticing aspect is that she is very real and so are her friends and boyfriends. Unless you have hangups about reality, I'd recommend this book to anyone of an age that would read Judy Blume's Are You There God, It's Me Margaret, or older.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I give a book 2 chapters to grab my attention. This book failed. By chapter 3, I was bored with no motivation to keep reading.
Each chapter reads like a short story in Polly's love life. Other than reminiscing about the bands mentioned, there is nothing interesting about Polly pining after boys. There's no climax to the "relationship" and the story before and after she meets said boy is uneventful.
Maybe I'll try to reread this book some day. But for now its going back on the shelf.

[Vanessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

i liked this book quite a bit. 4 stars seems like a lot, but i read it without falling asleep once. so that's something!

8 short chapters spanning from 8th grade until college. each about a guy. each about growing up in the 80's from the eyes of a smart but still confused punk rock girl.

very sincere. very fresh. very good!

[Jessica Cuddy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books to this day.
It really is a good representation of what a girl goes through when she grows up, and learns that she will not be accepted by everyone. This is the best coming-of-age novel I have ever read, because it explores the reasons why growing up is not easy for a girl... especially a girl who decides on her own that she does not fit in.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Literally the only thing that has stuck with me from this book that I read three years ago is the No Sleep Till Brooklyn thing. However, if I can still remember it more than three years later, it must have been a well written book.

[Meaghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

i am a happily forever after kinda girl when i read and this wasnt that kind of book. having said that, i did enjoy the style of the book, with each chapter focusing on one boyfriend and the development of polly. i wish the relationship between her and her parents had been explored more.