Book review - A Girl in Three Parts

Title: A Girl in Three Parts
Author: Suzanne Daniel
Genre: historical fiction
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Rating:

a thinker

Summary (provided by publisher):  A story of sisterhood, solidarity, and finding your place in a changing world, A GIRL IN THREE PARTS is part Eighth Grade, part Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and entirely original.
Allegra Elsom is caught in the middle. Some days she's eleven, and others she feels closer to nineteen. Some days she knows too much, and others she feels hopelessly naive. Some days she is split in three, torn between conflicting loyalties to her grandmothers, Matilde and Joy, and her father, Rick--none of whom can stand to be in a room together since the decades-old tragedy that hit their family like a wrecking ball.
Allegra struggles to make peace in her family and navigate the social gauntlet at school while asking bigger questions about her place in the world: What does it mean to be "liberated"? What is it about "becoming a woman" that earns her a slap in the face? What does it mean to do the right thing, when everyone around her defines it differently?
As the feminist movement reshapes her Sydney suburb, Allegra makes her own path--discovering firsthand the incredible ways that women can support each other, and finding strength within herself to stand up to the people she loves.
Readers will not soon forget Suzanne Daniel's poignant debut, or the spirit of sisterhood that sings out from its pages.

My opinion: Many authors present us with a protagonist on the cusp of adolescence, learning what it means to grow up. They are learning what they think about issues, learning to stand up against small injustices. And that's the difference here. Because Allegra is confronted with both unfairness in her immediate environment and the larger injustice of being a woman in a world that does not value her. She sees abuse and oppression and the expectations of women. Even the ways that well meaning desires of the adults in our lives for us to have things "better" can put damaging pressure on us. The central idea is still that a girl must find her voice, to express her own desires and feelings and not simply fall into the role others have made for her. Due to the frank talk about domestic violence this is not a book for a very innocent reader. But for someone prepared to handle the emotional journey it's beautifully heartbreaking.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley