Blueprints for Building Better Girls

Elissa's Schappell's Blueprints for Building Better Girls is another book I found via "Book Page." It is a collection of short stories that all feature women in different stages of their lives. I loved how the stories overlapped. For example, a character who was mentioned in passing in one story would later be featured in another set ten years later. Like book ends, the first and last story both feature the same character, narrating her story in first person. I really enjoyed Schappell's prose and the stories she told. My favorites were probably "Elephant" (about two mothers who bond at a park), "The Joy of Cooking" (about a mother fretting about her daughter who has battled anorexia), and "I'm Only Going to Tell You This Once" (about a mother worrying about her son who has fallen hard for a girl that reminds the mother of herself when she was young and about how badly she hurt two men in particular). I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in women's experiences and identity.