Local Girls

By Alice Hoffman

The New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic is at her haunting, thought-provoking best with these interconnected stories about a Long Island family.

Alice Hoffman casts her spell over a neighborhood filled with dreamers and dreams as she evokes the world of the Samuelsons, a family torn apart by tragedy and bound together by devotion. As Gretel grows up, she is witness to the breakup of her parents' marriage, the ups and downs of her cousin Margot's search for love, the deterioration of a brother who passes up Harvard for a job at the Food Star, and emotional explosions that shatter the suburban quiet...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
• Release date: May 1, 2000
• ISBN: 9781440673344

Alice Hoffman

Alice Hoffman is the bestselling author of twenty-one acclaimed novels, including The River King, The Ice Queen, The Third Angel, Here on Earth and Practical Magic (made into a film starring Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman). She currently lives in Boston and New York.

Book preview

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Shimmering prose ... a major talent. —Kirkus Reviews

Hoffman weaves small threads of wry magic into her plot ... [She] certainly knows how to captivate an audience. —The Boston Globe

Ms. Hoffman evokes the intimacy of close attachments—mother, brother, aunt, friend, neighbor, classmate—with tender humor and deceptively simple language. —Richmond Times-Dispatch

"She is one of the best writers we have today—insightful, funny, intelligent, with a distinctive voice ... [Local Girls] does a lot to show that Hoffman is an established artist at her peak." —The Cleveland Plain Dealer

Outstanding ... elegantly written. —South Bend Tribune

Gretel’s got a nice way of pointing out the dark side of the so-called good life. —The New York Times Book Review

The prose is fluid and even musical at times.

—The Washington Post Book World

Lovely ... Hoffman is at her tender best ... A second reading is even sweeter. —Deseret News

Hoffman explores her characters’ sadness with disarming wit; these stories are never depressing ... She has a light touch and a poet’s knack for making diffuse elements fall into place with seeming effortlessness.—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Local Girls is as comfortable and comforting as a book can be ... [Gretel is] a font of wry insights and ironic commentary on the adult world ... The heart of the book is a quiet wisdom about how and why we manage to go on in the face of loss; in the simple words of the narrator, how we ‘decide to live."’—Marion Winik, Newsday

Charming.—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

A graceful and lovely book ... Readers who haven’t read Alice Hoffman would be well-advised to start now.—The Buffalo News

This series of vignettes about Gretel Samuelson’s teenage years is told with wisecracking humor and poignant honesty. A book that’s sure to strike an empathetic chord with readers.—School Library Journal

Books by Alice Hoffman

PROPERTY OF

THE DROWNING SEASON

ANGEL LANDING

WHITE HORSES

FORTUNE’S DAUGHTER

ILLUMINATION NIGHT

AT RISK

SEVENTH HEAVEN

TURTLE MOON

SECOND NATURE

PRACTICAL MAGIC

HERE ON EARTH

LOCAL GIRLS

THE RIVER KING

BLUE DIARY

For Children

FIREFLIES

HORSEFLY

AQUAMARINE

INDIGO

001

THE BERKLEY PUBLISHING GROUP

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Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices: 80 Strand, London WC2R ORL, England

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.

LOCAL GIRLS

Copyright © 1999 Alice Hoffman.

These stories first appeared in Agni Review, Boulevard, Cosmopolitan, Five Points, Glimmer Train, Kenyon Review, Ladies’ Home Journal, Redbook, Southwest Review, and USA Weekend.

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

BERKLEY is a registered trademark of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

The B design is a trademark belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

eISBN: 9781440673344

PLEASE VISIT THE AUTHOR’S WEBSITE AT

www.alicehoffman.com

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Version_3

To

Jo Ann Hoffman

1950-1996

In Peace

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Dear Diary

Rose Red

Flight

Gretel

Tell the Truth

How to Talk to the Dead

Fate

Bake at 350°

True Confession

The Rest of Your Life

The Boy Who Wrestled with Angels

Examining the Evidence

Devotion

Still Among the Living

Local Girls

Dear Diary

One thing I’ve learned is that strange things do happen. They happen all the time. Today, for instance, my best friend Jill’s cat spoke. We were making brownies in the kitchen when we heard it say, Let me out. Well, we rushed to the back door and did exactly that. We experienced a miracle and now we’re looking for more, although Franconia, the town we live in, is not known for such things. Jill and I have known each other our whole lives. One house separates our houses but we act as if it doesn’t exist. We met before we were born and we’ll probably still know each other after we die. At least, that’s the way we’re planning it.

My mother and I left for Atlantic City so quickly I didn’t have time to call Jill. We told people we were on our way to visit an old aunt, but really our departure had something to do with love, or the lack of it, and the aunt doesn’t even exist. I know other people whose mothers suddenly pack up when their fathers drink or scream, but for us this is more serious. My mother doesn’t do things like go to Atlantic City. She doesn’t order room service and cry. She once told me that anyone who gets married had better like herself, because there’s nobody else in this world that she’ll ever really know, not truly.

We stayed in our room in Atlantic City for three days, and didn’t go outside once, thanks to room service. We ate like pigs and didn’t even bother to brush our teeth until my mother’s cousin Margot, who got a divorce last summer and changed the color of her hair to give herself an emotional lift, came to get us. She drove to New Jersey in the Ford Mustang convertible that she refused to let her ex have, since he’d taken her very soul and raked it over red-hot coals.

Get dressed right now, she told us.

We were wearing our bathrobes and watching an old cowboy movie, which, for some reason, made my mother cry. Maybe it was all those men on horseback who were so steadfast and loyal. Their own men had disappointed them, but somehow Margot and my mother both had hope for improvement. Frankly, I had more faith in the horses.

I mean now, Frances, Margot said, and because she meant business, my mother actually dressed and put on some lipstick and we went to a Chinese restaurant where the drinks came with little paper umbrellas, which I kept as a souvenir.

Listen to me, Gretel, Margot told me when we’d gone back to the room to pack and my mother was finally out of earshot. When a marriage breaks up, it’s the children who suffer, so baby, hold on tight. That’s why Margot was relieved that she and Tony had never had children, although she became teary whenever she saw a baby.

Margot is my best friend, but she’s completely full of baloney, my mother whispered as we were throwing our suitcases into the trunk. Take it all with a grain of salt. Maybe even a whole shaker.

Say what you want about the Mustang, it may be gorgeous, but it has very little trunk space. I had to sit in the back seat with the hair dryer and the makeup case on my lap all the way to Franconia, but that didn’t stop me from keeping my fingers crossed and wishing we’d wind up someplace other than home.

We’re in Florida for one week, the week when the turtles die on the beach and there are jellyfish in the ocean. As soon as we checked into the hotel, my brother, Jason, who likes to pretend he’s not part of our family, went out to study tide pools and no one has seen him since. My parents are here to try to revitalize their marriage, which seems a pretty impossible feat to all outside observers. Gretel honey, don’t get high hopes, Margot had already warned me when she took me shopping for a bathing suit, a mission which can give anyone with a less than perfect body a complete nervous breakdown. When it’s over, it’s over, Margot told me, and I had the distinct feeling that she was right.

Long before the plane touched down in Miami we could hear our parents arguing, and at the hotel they locked themselves in their room. If you ask me, working so hard at being married can backfire. It certainly is making my father nastier than usual. Not that his bad temper affects me. I keep my own counsel. I go my own way. I order room service and eat Linzer tortes and shrimp scampi alone in the room I was supposed to be sharing with Jason, not that he was ever planning to show up. Even though I was across the hall from my parents, I could still hear them fighting.

I went out to the beach late, later than I’d be allowed to if anyone knew I was alive. That’s where I met Jonathan Rabbit, who is now in love with me. He is known as Jack Rabbit, which makes me laugh out loud. Doesn’t it figure that the boy who fell for me would be a rodent? He lives in Atlanta and is in the ninth grade, and frankly he’s terribly boring. I let him kiss me once, but believe me, I did not hear bells. I only heard the jellyfish sloshing around in the water and the noisy beat of Jack Rabbit’s heart.

Florida didn’t do anything for my family, but at least it’s starting to be spring. Jill and I are keeping our eyes open for miracles. Jack Rabbit calls me constantly and that is something of a miracle. He writes so often you’d think his fingers would start to cramp up. I bring his letters to school, so everyone is well aware that I have a boyfriend in Atlanta. They’ll never meet him. They’ll never know it’s actually possible for a boy to be so boring you’d agree to kiss him just to get him to shut up. I should get paid to listen to him when he calls on the phone. I should get a dollar fifty an hour. Minimum.

Jill told me that when you’re really in love, you know right away. I’m not exactly sure how this happens. Is it like a flash of lightning? Like an angel tapping you on the shoulder? Or is it similar to choosing a puppy? You think you’re picking the cutest one, but really you wind up going home with the one who keeps insisting on climbing into your lap. That’s how we got our dog, Revolver. We thought he was so crazy about us, but it turned out that Labrador retrievers adore everyone. Well, maybe that’s what love is, a state of mind ready to grace anyone willing to accept it. Anyone who cares.

School’s out. Hurray. Life, however, is still so boring that I’m writing to Jack Rabbit every day. I go to the pool with Jill and take along my notebook and write until I think I’m going blind, then jump into the deep end. We are not going on vacation because no one in my house is talking to each other, so going anywhere together is definitely out. My brother’s on the summer science team at the high school, so he’s never home. My father is on an exercise kick and has joined a gym, so he’s never around either.

My mother and Margot and I spend a lot of time going to movies. It’s dark and it’s cool and no one knows if you’re crying, except for the person sitting directly beside you. Margot buys me anything I want, even Jordan almonds, which are so terrible for your teeth. She’s the kind of person who knows about love. She has men calling her in the middle of the night, but they’re all no good, or so she says. Just like Jill, she insists

Reviews for Local Girls

[clarerhoden · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I very much liked this book. The voice is perfect, and the swapping from first person sections to third person sections made very good sense as the narrative unfolded, and enabled the reader to get different and deeper understandings of Gretel.
I picked up this book from the pile my sister left for me, not for first choice (the cover didn't really grab me), but because I had an appointment to go to by public transport. (I prefer a physical book for the train/tram/bus scenario as it's safer - i won't miss a bell clanging while i have headphones in!). And it's a slim volume, eminently portable.
It delivered so much more than I expected. I had to put all my other books aside to finish reading it. Brilliant.

[kraysaulis · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Alice Hoffman has never really disappointed me with a book... Until now. I thought this book was lacking. Lacking the character development I'm used to from her. Lacking the magic I'm accustomed to. It wasn't the worst book I've ever read, but it didn't have the amazing quality all her other books have shared...

[paperbackpirate · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I was really excited to read Local Girls because Alice Hoffman is one of my favorite authors. Unfortunately I didn't feel like this book was as good as the others I've read by her.

The Local Girls must be Gretel, the main character, and her best friend, Jill. They are teenage neighbors who exact revenge with vandalism on people who have wronged them. Gretel's brother is a science genius in high school, but when he graduates he becomes a drug addict. Gretel's mom and her mom's cousin Margot are best friends who open a catering business together after they have both been left by their husbands for other women. Each character was really tragic but other than divorce I didn't see the cause for everyone's dysfunction. It was a really choppy, disjointed story.

My favorite character was Margot because she made fun for herself in creative ways.

I recommend skipping Local Girls and instead reading Alice Hoffman's superior novels, The Probable Future, The River King, The Story Sisters, or Practical Magic. If you decide to read Local Girls anyway, the good thing is that, "All author profits from this edition are being donated to breast cancer research and breast cancer care centers."

I really love the cover, which was illustrated by Maggie Taylor. I am thankful I read Local Girls because it introduced me to an amazing artist!

[periodista_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I just don't the comparisons to Jane Smiley. I don't get the comparisons of Jane Hamilton with Smiley either, but Hamilton is in a league closer than Hoffman is.

(Does anyone else confuse Hamilton with Hoffman? Hoffman is the one that dabbles with the supernatural. Unfortunately, she doesn't do so here).

Maybe she has improved over time. I read something by Hoffman that wasn't this bad (Here on Earth? Seventh Heaven?) Although this was first published in 1999, it is a collection of short stories about the same characters, so perhaps these represent early efforts. They don't seem to be anchored in any particular time. Somewhere between the 1970s and the internet age, I guess.

It's that chatty. women's magazine style in which characters have quirks but you never sense they are attached to a genuine recognizable characters. So we have these stories about the neighbor girl friends over time. In the first one. where they are junior high age, we get this chatty, first-person narrative in a voice that wouldn't pass the ear test of any adolescent in the Western world. All right, not as silly as Zadie Smith's and Updike's blunt stabs, but not good.

I was making comparisons with the cheezy but edible snacks of chick lit, but she even failed abominably at that. So aforementioned narrator (forget her name already) embarks on her first heated sexual relationship with a dumber, slightly older drug dealer. Now, sure, this happens all the time to teenagers, including to otherwise smart girls. Hoffman doesn't even try to convey the nature of the attraction or what they do in bed. Maybe some cool, witty remarks from this guy.

Also, her best friend has just been forced to dropout of high school on becoming pregnant; they've discussed abortion--and she doesn't even contemplate contraception? New boyfriend doesn't either? Didn't make sense in Dirty Dancing either. It's pretty evident that, yes, this could happen to narrator too.

I have similar objections to the perfunctory account of the brother's slide into drug addiction and doom. Does Hoffman even know what kind of drugs the boy is supposed to be taking? Sure, boys at the top of their classes can become enmeshed in addiction, etc. It's just that there is noting persuasive about this character or the sequence of events.

[mrn945_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was one of those magical little books that you come across once in a blue moon.
Local Girls is a short novel divided into little snippets of stories. Each story builds on those before it, however they are each a captured moment in the life of a women from girlhood to adulthood.

Although the book says that it is all told through one perspective, there were a few stories told through the eyes of others. Regardless, these did not take away from the flow or tone of the story. For example, the snippet where Greta's brother battles his particular demons would not be nearly as poignant told from another view - it has to be from him.

I also loved the themes which were illustrated throughout the stories. How do we define growing up, or growing up too fast? When is the right time to let go? How should we cope with loss? How do you define family?

Each individual is flawed, and therefore very real. There is something very human about each of these characters which makes you want more and more. Unfortunately, the book is very short - that would have to be my only complaint!

[sdunford_6 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alice Hoffman's prose floats and envelopes the reader - somewhere just this side of poetry

[goodnightmoon_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Roses. Cancer. Growing up. Drugs. This material seems familiar, but I don't really mind that Hoffman's themes are so well-developed; it's still an enjoyable ride. Two main takeaways: I wonder if Jason was a prototype for Sam in Skylight Confessions. That type of character is so hard to accept and understand, and I'm glad she's exploring the theme of drug use. And Hoffman's descriptions of death by cancer are, as usual, lyrical and gorgeous. "Objects were not as defined or as singular as they once had been. An apple was a beautiful as a kiss. Her daughter's face was no different from the moon." That's the kind of writing that keeps me coming back to Alice Hoffman.

[liciasings · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This collection of short stories is often sad, but in a beautiful way, with growth and hope. It reminds me of a close-up shot of a broken sidewalk, all dirty and cracked, with 3 beautiful flowers struggling to grow out of it. They grow strong and all the more lovely for where they are and how hard it was to get there. As always, Alice Hoffman's writing is thought-provoking and full of insight into characters and thier thoughts. Left me with a quiet, peaceful, good feeling.

[callista83 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Another awesome book by Alice Hoffman. It's so hard to explain what it is I like so much about her books. Her writing style is so unlike any other I've read. What's even more interesting with this particular book is that each chapter does not take place directly after the previous chapter. Sometimes days have gone by, sometimes years. This really makes sense because not every day of someone's life is noteworthy.

The story is about two girls, Gretel and Jill and their families and lives. Both of their moms are ill albeit in different ways and Gretel's brother turns from scholar to a nobody. There are some very sad parts in the book but I found the whole thing gripping. I had trouble putting it down to get things done.

[eilonwy_anne · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Imbued with a charming voice, these very short stories draw you into the story of Gretel Samuelson's adolescence and keep you flipping pages. I finished it in practically one sitting (airport, airplane...that's about one sitting.) A quick and moving read.

It does move, over the course of the book, from mostly first-person stories to third-person stories, as the content becomes more serious. While this saves the author from having to render dramatic, emotional events in a first-person voice that might overwhelm, it seems, by the end, a possible misstep. We lose the Gretel we loved from the first page, and even if losing her was part of the journey, I wanted to, and felt I deserved to, have her again by the last page.

[bastet_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A lovely compilation of short stories that all fit together to a remembrance of teen angst. I true stunner.