Most of us probably know what it feels like to move on from your first heart break, your first kiss, your first love, and your first time. Everything you knew shattered into a million different pieces. What does one do when all those millions of pieces join back together? Do you fight it or accept it? Or, if you’re anything like the protagonist Dominique, in the Anatomy of A Single Girl by Daria Snadowsky, embrace them both?
Dominique, or Dom, is moving onto college, leaving behind her old life and first love. Everything she held secure is now a raging mess, confusing her even more about the uncertainty of life. This book takes place months after her breakup with Wes, her first love. Dom is convinced that there is no way things will go back to the way they were so why not have fun instead?
I enjoyed this book because it covered everything that the first book (Anatomy of a Boyfriend) didn’t, and a lot of the important things that other novels don’t cover. Like friendship (and how even those suffer breakups), the after period of a breakup, the rebound, and the friend you wish you could be with even if you’ve never felt that way towards him. And it talks about those awkward first visits home after you’ve been away at college.
Dominique changes her stance on everything she held close and lets loose her inner female. It’s really an inspiration for all girls who’ve been or are in the “after breakup phase.” Dom becomes bolder and more open to people, forging new relationships and allowing herself the freedom she thought she didn’t want. She’s not sure if she’s ready to fall in love again with someone, but as soon as she meets Guy, Dominique can’t help feeling an instant connection to him. Guy is much more than just a pretty face; he’s intelligent, experienced, and self-assured, but not in a cocky way. The more they see each other over the summer, the more Guy changes Dominique’s preconceptions about committed relationships.
The novel doesn’t romanticize anything. In fact I’d recommend Anatomy of a Single Girl for mature Young Adult readers and would consider the book to be in the rising New Adult genre. It’s a coming-of-age tale for that transitioning stage of your life when you’re not quite an adult but not really a teenager anymore either.