I got this in the mail yesterday (having finally accepted that I would never find it at my usually well-stocked library) and have about three pages left. Yet I can't wait to begin writing about it, so here goes. How Sassy Changed My Life is pure nostalgia in paper form. I was an avid Sassy reader from seventh grade until the awful, much-reviled "Stepford Sassy" appeared in 1995 (the year of my high-school graduation--I came so close to having Sassy for my entire adolescence!), and this book just brought it all back. The magazine was so smart, so different, so witty, so aware; it represented everything I wanted to be. It spoke to me in a language I understood. I have always loved magazines, but now I put them in the recycling bin once they've been read. My Sassys, on the other hand, were lovingly archived in pink milk crates in my room for years. I read and re-read them to the point that I had much of the content unintentionally memorized. Sadly, I have no idea what happened to them. I guess I got rid of them, but I can't imagine what would have made me do that. I would dearly love to have them again.
Anyway, back to the book. It's a history of Sassy's brilliant rise and tragic (to its readers, at least) fall as well as a look at its impact on culture. The authors argue that today's girl culture was started by Sassy, and I believe it. That aspect of the book is valuable and feels like a vindication for those of us who feel a little weird about being so devoted to a teen magazine. However, the best part is all of the references to the fantastic articles that appeared in Sassy. Jesella and Meltzer are my heroes for including an excerpt from "Our First Annual Junk Food Taste-Off." (I remember "orange" being a category, along with the usual sweet, crunchy, etc.) Andrea (remember all of the writers and editors with whom we truly felt we were on a first-name basis?) describes pork rinds as having "the texture of sunburned skin." How do you not love that? The Taste-Off was one of my all-time favorite articles, along with the one about why you should date the exchange student, how to have a great crying fit (keep a picture of your ex-boyfriend or recently deceased dog on hand in case you start to lose steam), the road trip (including a stop at South of the Border!), and "How to Make Him Want You...Bad!", which mocks the catch-a-man tactics offered by other popular magazines.
So now I finally have the real story of what happened to Sassy (F you, Dale Lang and Petersen Publishing). It's like finally finding out why you were mysteriously dumped by the best boyfriend ever and realizing that it really wasn't you, it was him. I'm off to eBay now to see if I can score some vintage Sassys. Wish me luck!
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