Critic Maureen Corrigan on one of her favorite books of 2012:

The ragged-but-resilient young narrator of Girlchild, a striking debut novel by Tupelo Hassman, can tell readers a thing or two about what it’s like to grow up without safety nets.

Image by Mr. Andrew Murray via Flickr Commons

For every kid who’s ever been smothered by parental concern, there have always been plenty in America and elsewhere who’ve been left to fend for themselves. One cold consolation these kids have is that their stories usually make for better literature.

Tupelo Hassman’s debut novel stars Rory, a resilient-if-ragged life force raised in a Reno trailer park who adopts a tattered copy of The Girl Scout Handbook as her Bible. Rory endures sexual abuse, the death of loved ones, and everyday invisibility — all without playing for our sympathy.