When twenty-year-old Natalie transfers to the University of Connecticut from the nearby blue-collar branch college, she thinks she has finally arrived. But, attractive and ambitious, she is also ashamed of her working-class background and intimidated by her new classmates. Worse still, she has practically no experience with sex - a fact that only increases her insecurities and social withdrawal. Afraid that she'll be found unworthy, she holds her fellow students at arm's length and finds herself, most often, alone.That is, until she meets Patrick, a handsome, confident senior, her fantasy (she thinks) of a cultured, intellectual Prince Charming - and everything changes. But the more intimate they become, the more Patrick brings out her worst insecurities, and we cringe in recognition as Natalie's behavior becomes increasingly self-negating in the presence of this young man, and ultimately even self-destructive, until she finally takes extreme measures to change their course.College Girl captures the sharp pain and excitement of youth, the thrill of infatuation and the ache of embarrassment, as Natalie both chases and runs from first love, berates herself first for keeping and then for losing her virginity, and generally fumbles her way through the last leg of the journey into independent adulthood. It is a moving and intensely real portrait of a character whose insecurities are recognizable to us all, and of a time of life that changes everything. Read Less