I am a thirteen year old girl.

Apparently, at least. A few weeks ago, a friend gave me her copy of Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. She'd read it for a book club and thought I'd like it (especially since she knows about all of my aborted efforts to write for young adult girls). I didn't pick it up right away - I had to finish the Jeffrey Steingarten book, then I got wrapped up in the Sunday Philosophy Club book.

Day before yesterday, though, I started it. And I finished it yesterday. This morning I went to the library and got the second in the series. I'm almost finished with that one now. They are so good.

They're not delicately and preciously written like the expatriates, or intricate and layered as Harry Potter. Or about food, like all the other books I've been obsessed with lately. They're just really good books about teenage girl relationships - friendships, relationships with parents, and with guys. They are also exactly the type of book I wish I could write for teenage girls.

Frighteningly like reading my diary, circa 1990.