ISBN: 0-88739-232-6
208 pp.
Size: 6 x 9
Pub Date: 7/2000
Paperback Original
Price: $13.95
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Wannabe
Kathy Coudle King
Wannabe is the story of Kimmy, a "gringa" growing up in the Cuban-American town of West New York, NJ, during the 1970s. Kimmy's experiences are spiced with the Cuban culture she wishes she could call her own. The story explores the rites of passage Kimmy and her best friends, Letty and Gabby, endure as they discover the world which is open or perhaps limited to them as females. Following these young girls through their "rites of passage," we witness how being a Wannabe can become a detrimental habit.
"I knew that morning that the changes in our friendship had begun in earnest. Bras and periods were natural transformations, ones I'd eventually catch up to. There were other things going on, subtler shifts in our personalities that would be more difficult to reconcile. Gabby would stop telling me every little thing that crossed her mind, and I would stop mindlessly idolizing her....Letty became more than a [cheerleader]. She became our leader. For years afterward, every choice I made-clothes, fashion, boys, school-was shaped by the question, 'What would Letty do?' I was a wannabe..."
Review: "Kathy Coudle King's book Wannabe is of the rites of passage. It is an intimate examination of the changes that girls experience as they move into womanhood. It is a moving, poignant account of growing up female. It is not only exciting, but fast moving, and even humorous at times, but also an insightful account of those years of change."
-Dorreen Yellow Bird, Grand Forks Herald
Bio: KATHY COUDLE KING has been writing for the theater since her undergraduate days at Tisch school of the Arts, NYU. Her work focuses on giving voice to women whose stories are too seldom heard-survivors of domestic violence and eating disorders. She teaches English and Women Studies at the University of North Dakota, while raising three small children.
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