Welcome Back, Booklovers! So I read Joya Goffney's first book Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry and really enjoyed it. So when she offered me the chance to read her sophmore novel Confessions of An Alleged Good Girl, of course I said yes.
Monique is a preacher's daughter who has been dating her boyfriend, Dom for two years and has been trying to have sex with him but for some reason each time her body rejects him and they can't continue. So after the 29th time Dom decides he's tired of waiting and breaks up with her. When Monique decides to sneak to the women's clinic for a check up beyond her strict parents back's she runs into Sasha, a girl from her church to whom they constantly compare her. Sasha ends up becoming an unlikely ally to her along with Reggie, the town bad boy. With a self diagnosis of vaginimus they set out to help Monique acquire dialators and fix her issues.
I had spoken recently about wanting to see more books that do feature religion in some capacity even if it's small. Religion is a central part of many of our lives but suprisingly I only come across it a few times a year in books. Monique is at that age where you question your unbringing and feelings towards religion. She's not sure how she feels about Christianity and part of the reason is her family's fear mongering. Even though she wants to have sex she doesn't realize the damager her parent's feelings toward pre-martial sex and being the perfect Christian girl have caused her. While Sasha loves church she's still able to be open about her sexuality and enjoy secular music. And her relationship with her mother is more open and honest.
I also thought the family dynamics in were well explored with multiple examples of different dynamics. You have Monique's traditional two parent household where her parents though well meaning display toxic parenting styles. Throughout the book as Monique grows you also seem them change a little but it's not an instant change and the changes are realistic. Monique's Aunt Dee is the cool auntie who teaches Monique how to understand some things from her parent's perspective. And we meet Reggie and Sasha's mothers who are more relaxed in parenting styles and have more open relationships with their children.
I loved the theme of taking control of your body. I never heard of vaginimus so it was a learning experience for me too. And so many of us are not properly educated about women's bodies and this book made what can sometimes be an uncomfortable conversation easy to digest. Joya Goffney does a great job tying religion, family, and sexuality together in such a seamless way while also infusing plenty of humor.
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