Anatomy of a Single Girl
Written
by Daria Snadowsky
Reviewed
by Meira.Elena
Age:
14+
Lexile: 810L-1000L
Anatomy
of a Single Girl is the sequel to Anatomy of a Boyfriend. In
this story, Dominique is a premed student still recovering from heartbreak. She
meets Guy, a cute and nerdy frat boy at the local college, and they spend the
summer together. Dominique learns more about romance and letting go than she
does about medicine, and when she returns to college in the fall, she is practically
a completely new person.
This
story is well-written and enticing- especially to high school seniors looking
towards college. It answers a lot of our questions and quells some of our nerves
as we look towards not only a new physical environment, but a new social one as
well. Dominique starts off as a stubborn girl, incapable of letting go and
changing. But by the end, she has grown and matured a little more, and is surer
of herself and who she is as a person than ever before. The best way to tell if
a character is well-developed is through the changes in perspectives the
character goes through. Dominique is a relatable character in that she is never
perfect, but she grows and gets better as a person.
I
had the fortune to interview the author, Ms. Snadowsky.
EP: When did you realize that you wanted to be an author?
DS: When I finally had some free time. When I was 22 I lost my
magazine job, so I started writing to fill the time in between job interviews.
I had a full-length manuscript by the time I began law school at age 24.
EP: Do you have any habits while you write? (I.e. you drink a lot
of tea, you pace, you blast music...)
DS: Snacking on dried fruit.
EP: Why did you choose this topic to write about?
DS: All young couples still in school face a serious dilemma:
Either they can try to stay together and see what happens, or else they can
break up and get on with their lives with the faith that they’ll get back
together when they’re older if they’re really right for each other. Of course
the latter option makes a lot more sense … but if you have good chemistry with
someone, it’s difficult to imagine breaking up “proactively” even if the timing
is bad. And if couples do choose to break up proactively, they face another
decision…do they break up right away, or do they stay together and “have fun”
until graduation or some other major life event separates them? And will
staying together make breaking up even harder? Etc. So I wanted to portray this
kind of crossroads in a YA novel.
EP: Do you start off on pen and paper or do you go straight to the
computer?
DS: Computer. My handwriting is illegible, which is a shame.
Penmanship is a lost art.
EP: Any advice for aspiring authors?
DS: Just remember that writing requires a lot of re-writing. I
remember being really bummed when my high school teachers returned my papers
dripping with red ink (which today I supposed has been replaced with Microsoft
Word track changes). I wish I appreciated then that revision is your best
friend. Sometimes you’ll “get it right” in the first draft, but most prose
benefits from aggressive editing and some time away.
EP: What are the hardest parts of being an author that you have
had to face?
DS: Making time to write.
EP: Where there any events or situations that you wrote originally
that ended up being cut?
DS: There was one dramatic scene on a beach where Dom meets up
with an ex to talk as friends, but then he says something insensitive, and she
slaps him and calls him names before running away. I think we’ve all felt that
way at one time or another, but it felt too forced and movie-ish.
EP: What message, if any, do you want readers to get from your
writings?
DS: Both Anatomy books are nonjudgmental. They
simply present Dom’s thought process and the consequences of her actions so
that readers can formulate their own message without being swayed by the
author. That being said, I do hope the books empower readers—especially high
school girls—to think seriously about what they want out of a relationship and
not to compromise on their needs. It’s insidiously easy to “lose yourself” in
love or lust, or to settle for something you’d never wish on your own best
friend.
EP: Do you have a specific writing style, or a signature?
DS: I’ve written only two books, so I don’t think I can lay claim
to any authorial fingerprint. But my goals in writing the books were to keep
the actions and thoughts as realistic as possible so that any reader can find
him/herself in the protagonist’s shoes. I hope the books are entertaining and
escapist and educational, but mostly I hope they’re a source of empathy.
EP: Which books/authors have influenced you the most?
DS: Judy Blume’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret and Forever…were
my two bibles growing up. Her ability to tell relatable stories in graphic but
not gratuitous detail was the inspirations for both my books.
EP: Do you feel any connection to your characters?
DS: Definitely. Like Dom, I’m hypersensitive and over-analyze
things, and like Amy, I have a bawdy sense of humor, and like Calvin, I know
what it’s like to love someone who wants you just as a friend.
EP: Do you believe in writer's block? (I was once told it was an
illusion, so I'm curious as to what you think.) If so, have you ever
experienced it and how do you surpass it?
DS: Certainly, there are days when the words don’t come easily.
Sometimes things in your personal life make it difficult for you to surrender
your anxieties and worries and to escape into the land of make-believe. I find
it helps to do something mindless, like taking a walk or running errands, to
jostle your brain back into productivity.
EP: And finally, vanilla or chocolate pudding?
DS: Both, swirled together, and topped with whipped cream and
chocolate shavings.
