The movie revolves around an aspiring young novelist must confront her past emotional trauma and to make decisions that will ultimately dispel her demons, bringing to light the love and creative voice she sought after many years ago.
Cohn ... adeptly balances elements of contemporary romantic comedy and scathing cultural criticism in a film that is obviously deeply personal and simultaneously universal.
From time to time, Cohn allows a few rays of light to penetrate the gloom and suggest that Alice may find a way transcend her despair. It's a small measure of relief from the overall mood of hopelessness.
Cohn displays deep sympathy with her protagonist's intersecting emotional crises, scripting a narrative that's intensely perceptive without becoming mired in mawkishness.
Washington Post
December 10, 2015
As Alice, VanCamp is exceptional, eliciting our sympathy even when the character is making maddeningly self-destructive decisions.
VanCamp gives a layered, memorable performance, while writer/director Marya Cohn, making her feature debut, has crafted a nonlinear story that artfully tiptoes between cliche and truth.
New York Post
December 10, 2015
Though its resolution is a bit pat, most of "The Girl in the Book" is a smart and pointed look at abuses of power and roles women too often play in the literary world.
So unpretentious that it could be accused of lacking style or vigor, writer-director Marya Cohn's maturely conceived, Kickstarter-budgeted debut swaps genders on the more traditionally male-driven story of a stunted coming-of-age.
