The Maturation Process in Virginia Ewer Wolff´s True Believer

Written by Virginia Euwer Wolff, True Believer is a story that showed a window into the life of a young woman named Verna La Vaughn who was facing the maturation process. During the story Verna La Vaughn overcame many obstacles in her everyday life. As the story began when Verna La Vaughn was 15, the story had a very eventful mood because Verna La Vaughn had many lessons to learn because she was becoming a young woman.

Verna La Vaughn was the main character and narrator. She narrated the story as though it were her diary, which she wrote in daily. Verna La Vaughn’s personal appearance was never discussed in the story; however the reader was informed about her family life. She lived with her mother in a small apartment where they had lived for her entire life. L Vaughn’s father had died when she was a small child and had always been heavily missed by La Vaughn and her mother. La Vaughn had much respect for her single mother for putting a roof over her head and for always showing her love even when it was not easy. La Vaughn also enjoyed taking care of children. Often, she would babysit for a single mother she knew named Jolly who had two teen pregnancies as well as working at the local children’s hospital folding sheets. Her desire to help children in need was quite commendable.

The story began when La Vaughn was just fifteen. La Vaughn described her school life and her two best friends, Myrtle and Annie. Myrtle and Annie had been her friends all throughout her childhood, but now, it seemed that the three friends were drifting apart as their common interests changed. Both Myrtle and Annie had become very involved in a religious youth group that La Vaughn had no interest in joining. La Vaughn felt that the leaders in the religious ...

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... Vaughn a more relatable character.

Similar to Korrina from Behind the Bedroom Wall, La Vaughn learned that those who are accepting of those they do not understand or always agree with lead happier and more fulfilling lives. Korinna realized this when she began to get to know the Jewish people in hiding in her home. Instead of hating them, she learned to be accepting of them and empathetic of their dire situation. Although, each of these stories took place under very different circumstances I feel that they both sent common messages to readers.

I would recommend this story to anyone who enjoys stories centered on the maturation of youth during their teenage years. I felt that the climax of this story was not as exciting as it could have been. However, the storyline was very interesting as well as entertaining. I look forward to reading other stories by this author!