So I am going to take a slight departure on food for this post. After I reviewed Family Meals by Chef Michael Smith, I received a copy of Virgin by Radhika Sanghani from Penguin. I love getting lost in a good piece of fiction and it is even better when it funny and I find myself giggling or snorting, often times in my case. My review of the book is below and I kind of wish that I had this book at the beginning of the summer, to start with a good laugh rather than the end of summer as I am slowing getting my head around going back to work. But it is still a worthwhile read and thoroughly enjoyable. I promise my next post will be about food as I have made a few awesome things over the summer and I finally have a BBQ! Another way to cook even more real food! Enjoy the review and get a copy of this book, it is worth it.
The book Virgin by Radhika Sanghani, a British journalist and first-time author,
is an hilarious take on a very tricky and taboo subject when it comes to sex. So
often today we see teenagers trying to shed their mantle of youth i.e. their
v-card, thanks in large part to mass media, in such haste that they don't stop
to think of the emotional and physical consequences of having sex before they
are ready. The feminine heroine/ antagonist of this novel Ellie Kolstakis is
embarrassed by the flashing cursor over one word on her medical file at her doctor's office
that just screams virgin at her. And it sends the 21-year-old into a complete
tailspin thinking that a one night stand is the only way to go. Instead of
embracing her uniqueness in holding on to something that she has complete
control over, she wants to be like everyone else that she knows; like she feels
she is on the outside staring at the cool kids, including her bestie
Lara.
After a fight with Lara, Ellie teams up with her new friend Emma,
from her literary class to begin looking for the person who will help her
cash in her v-card for experience. Little does Ellie know that in order to gain
experience in all aspects of life, including sexually, you must gain confidence in
yourself and your abilities first. Ellie is clearly lacking in confidence as
evidenced in the clothing scenes, where everyone compliments her on what she
does have and Ellie focuses primarily on what she is lacking.
Even after she
meets Jack and begins her trial writing for the Pi Team, her angst builds up
about the fact that Jack has not texted her and when he finally does, she
realizes she is entering unfamiliar territory, but feels that Jack will be the
one who gets to "devirginizer" her. Ellie is relatable and quirky when it come to
Jack. I think most women who are dating, in this day and age, can relate to what
Ellie is feeling regardless of how old they are. The dating world has become so
convoluted what with texting, the online scene and the bar scene that take and
devalue emotion at the basic level and leaves people wondering how the opposite
sex even end up interacting with one another at all.
Ellie's foray into
blog writing or vlog writing turns her adventures from Brazilian waxing gone
awry, coupled with Emma's contributions about her sex life to Ellie learning to
pleasure herself into hilarious pieces that the reader can completely identify
with.
As the book progresses, Ellie does not lose any of her endearing
charm or quirkyness and her new found confidence helps her to accept parts of
her past that she cannot change and embrace the parts of her future that are
slowly being laid out for her with her hard work in accepting who she is. While
the ultimate goal was for Ellie to lose her virginity, it was also became about
her learning to accept who she is and what she can and will achieve if she has
faith and accepts that things will happen and not necessarily in the time frame
that she wants it to; but it will happen with determination and courage that
evolves with maturity.
I recommended this book to anyone who is looking
for a lighthearted look at the female perspective of sex and relationships, or
who just needs a good laugh while reminiscing about the "firsts" of everything
related to sex, dating, friendships and relationships. I think we can all see a little piece of Ellie in ourselves.
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