The excitement of college, for most high school students, is one emotion teens do not want to ignore. College Girl by Patricia Weitz is an insightful book, it teaches life lessons teens will find themselves learning in the near future. I read it to enlighten my views on college life.
I could relate to the main character (Natalie Bloom) who was in her final year of college at UConn.
At first, the cheesy title made me wonder if it was going to be another exaggerated story about college students and all of the labeled clicks. To my surprise, it was actually a well written novel about a teen girl with an impressive GPA, pretty looks, but strangely, many insecurities. She left behind her self respect for a guy, and was forced to face the pressures of sex and drugs.

Weitz was realistic when describing certain situations, such as parties that Natalie went to, and the experiences she had. Although it emphasized the thrill of college, it also illustrates the problems with relationships of all kinds and issues people face within themselves. In fact, the book is quite depressing. It starts off setting the scene, with Natalie walking through the campus on her way to the library with a negative attitude toward her peers. She felt like a social outcast but even when she got invited places she makes excuses as to why she can not go.
Later, after meeting a guy, she leaves the library to discover a world outside her books. He pushes her outside of her comfort zone and gets her to do things she wouldn’t normally do. The further she fades away from herself the more lost and alone she feels.
Weitz does an excellent job portraying Natalie’s emotions. She made me feel like I was there with Natalie through her journey of self destruction. At one point Natalie chooses to cut her hair up to her ears in hope to be less attractive. Many people may feel sorrow but others could see this as a sign of strength that she is finally doing something to show that she doesn’t need to be with anyone.
In the end, I closed the book feeling a sense of relief for Natalie. Many people can relate to Natalie and understand how she got herself into certain situations. I felt like the book took me through a rollercoaster of moods and eventually dropped me off feeling good about it. Most of all, I liked how it was realistic to this time in age for college students.
College Girl is a modern outlook of college and I recommend it to girls who plan on or are having second thoughts about going to college.