Toni Goldblatt never feels quite as she should. Everything – from her body to her parents to her religion – seems somehow off. The daughter of Holocaust survivors, Toni (short for Antonia) is an only child living in 1950s Montreal. Her mother spoils  her with frilly dresses and can’t understand why Toni prefers to careen through the neighbourhood with a ragtag team of boys instead of playing the princess. Only when puberty hits does Toni begin to realize that her disinterest in all things girly runs deeper than a distaste for cap sleeves and rickrack trim.

Gabriella Goliger sets the stage early for Toni’s transformation from tomboy to defiant lesbian. Even as a child, Toni feels uncomfortable in her own skin, and as she ages, her growing awareness that her feelings are not considered “normal” is intensified by her struggle to cope with competing adolescent concerns: physical development, loneliness, and the generational divide between parent and child.

The book covers Toni’s formative years from childhood through university, and she is a fully realized character. Though the narrative is told in the third person, it feels quite introspective. When Toni interacts with other characters, her flashes of anger, wit, and humility are surprising and welcome.

Girl Unwrapped is a pretty standard coming of age story, but it is well handled. Despite the fact that it informs the bulk of her angst, Toni’s sexual preference is merely one facet of her life that she needs to figure out, no different from her religious beliefs or her intellectual pursuits. Her relationships with her parents, her mother especially, are touching and true to life.

Although this is only her second novel, Goliger’s precise writing shows the hallmarks of a seasoned professional who knows exactly how to engage her reader: thoughtful prose, vibrant imagery, and compelling characters. Girl Unwrapped is a universally approachable story of self-discovery, told by a skilful and poised writer.