The Nearly Girl by Lisa de Nikolits

A Throwback Thursday Fiction Review From 2016.

The Nearly Girl is a quirky exploration of people’s peculiarities and is riveting to read.

“This latest book from [Lisa] is a true exploration of the human spirit. Anyone who has ever felt like they’ve slipped through the cracks or been lost in life can relate to this captivating story.” - Canadian Living

Amelia, the novel’s young protagonist, signs up for group therapy to assuage her teenage angst; she feels like an outcast and just yearns to be normal. Amelia thinks her parent’s foibles have marred her like most young adults. Her father, Henry, is an acclaimed, outré poet with preternaturally dark tendencies and her mother, Megan, is an aloof, withdrawn woman who shirks all parental responsibilities—finding solace in suntan booths and the gym instead.

In the group, Amelia meets a motley crew of characters with a panoply of idiosyncrasies: an obsessive hoarder, someone with anger management issues, a business entrepreneur who can’t speak in public, etc. To overcome their issues, Dr Frances Carroll, the group’s unorthodox psychotherapist, urges them to D.T.O.T (Do The Opposite Thing). Like the chorus of a song, D.T.O.T becomes the group’s mantra—their incantation. Rather than helping them, however, D.T.O.T turns out to have very deleterious, even deathly effects. The novel culminates when Dr Carroll’s true colours start splattering off the pages like a Jackson Pollock painting: Chaos! Bedlam! Insanity! The climax of the book, these thrilleresque scenes are wildly entertaining and incredibly intoxicating. Discovering why Dr. Carroll has become so unhinged is also adrenaline, swift page-pumping stuff.

To survive Dr Carroll’s twisted plot and persona, Amelia—ironically—will have to harness and embrace her unique traits. To successfully pull it off, she’ll also need the love and support of her zany family and friends.

While therapy is typically designed to help people sort out their feelings, The Nearly Girl questions—might even mock—said practice. Ultimately, The Nearly Girl finds strength in her own perceived weaknesses. Everyone should nearly be as lucky.

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About the Author

Originally from South Africa, Lisa de Nikolits has lived in Canada since 2000. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and Philosophy and has lived in the U.S.A., Australia and Britain. Lisa lives and writes in Toronto.

Book Details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Inanna Publications (Aug. 30 2016)

• Language ‏ : ‎ English

• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 312 pages

• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1771333138

• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1771333139