“What if I played football?” I ask. As soon as it’s out of my mouth, I feel stupid. Even suggesting it feels like I’ve overstepped some kind of invisible line we’ve all agreed not to discuss. We don’t talk about how Mara is different from other girls. We don’t talk about how Mara is gay but no one says so. But when I do stuff like this, I worry it gets harder for us all to ignore what’s right in front of us. I direct my gaze to Quinn. “What do you think?” “I think it’s frickin’ genius,” he says. After getting kicked off the basketball team for a fight that was absolutely totally not her fault (okay maybe a little her fault), Mara is dying to find a new sport to play to prove to her coach that she can be a team player. A lifelong football fan, Mara decides to hit the gridiron with her brother, Noah, and best friend, Quinn?and she turns out to be a natural. But joining the team sets off a chain of events in her small Oregon town?and within her family?that she never could have predicted. Inspired by what they see as Mara’s political statement, four other girls join the team. Now Mara’s lumped in as one of the girls?one of the girls who can’t throw, can’t kick, and doesn’t know a fullback from a linebacker. Complicating matters is the fact that Valentina, Mara’s crush, is one of the new players, as is Carly, Mara’s nemesis?the girl Mara fought with when she was kicked off the basketball team. What results is a coming-of-age story that is at once tear-jerking and funny, thought-provoking and real, as Mara’s preconceived notions about gender, sports, sexuality, and friendship are turned upside down. Britta Lundin's sophomore novel will give readers all the feels, and make them stand up and cheer.

A gripping look at sexuality, identity and growing up. It's not easy being a girl...

“A chilling novel showcasing Claire Douglas's trademark brilliantly claustrophobic settings and tightly plotted twists. Impossible to know which of the well-drawn characters to trust and very hard to put down.”—Gilly MacMillan, bestselling author of What She Knew From the Sunday Times bestselling author of Do Not Disturb, an electrifying tale of psychological suspense in which an unsuspecting young woman finds herself trapped in an increasingly sinister web of mystery and lies. CARER/COMPANION WANTED FOR ELDERLY LADY YOUNG FEMALE PREFERRED COMPETITIVE SALARY ROOM AND BOARD INCLUDED She thought she was safe. So did the others . . . At loose ends after the devastating death of her mother, Una Richardson responds to an advertisement for a ladies’ companion, a position that leads her into the wealthy, secluded world of Mrs. Elspeth McKenzie. But Elspeth's home isn’t the comforting haven it seems. Kathryn, her cold and bitter daughter, resents Una's presence. More disturbing is evidence suggesting two girls lived here before her. What happened to the young women? Why won’t the McKenzies talk about them? What are they hiding? As the walls begin to close in around her, Una fears she'll end up just like the other girls . . .

In Girls Like Us, Randi Pink masterfully weaves four lives into a larger story–as timely as ever–about a woman’s right to choose her future. Four teenage girls. Four different stories. What they all have in common is that they’re dealing with unplanned pregnancies. It's the summer of 1972, before Roe v. Wade. In rural Georgia, Izella is wise beyond her years, but burdened with the responsibility of her older sister, Ola, who has found out she’s pregnant. Their young neighbor, Missippi, is also pregnant, but doesn’t fully understand the extent of her predicament. When her father sends her to Chicago to give birth, she meets the final narrator, Susan, who is white and the daughter of an anti-choice senator.

Till now, Stephanie has done her best to play by the rules--which seem to be stacked against girls like her. It doesn't help that she wants to play football, dress like a boy, and fight apartheid in South Africa--despite living in rural middle England--as she struggles to find her voice in a world where everything is different for girls. Then she hears them on the radio. Greenham women--an irreverent group of lesbians, punk rockers, mothers, and activists who have set up camp outside a US military base to protest nuclear war--are calling for backups in the face of imminent eviction from their muddy tents. She heads there immediately, where a series of adventures--from a break-in to a nuclear research center to a doomed love affair with a punk rock singer in a girl band--changes the course of her life forever. But the sense of community she has found is challenged when she faces tragedy at home.

Every girl has wondered how they need to act or what they need to do to get a certain boy's attention. Now they can know! Chad Eastham will encourage girls to be confident in who they are and Whose they are. Girls need to know that they are treasures to be adored and that how she feels about herself is how guys will treat her. Chapter titles add fun and interest to this life-altering message. Guys Like Girls Who . . . Wear Jeans (comfortable with who they are and Whose they are) Know the Future (understand there is a 96% chance this is not the boy they will marry so don't act like they are) Leave Us Alone (have their own hobbies) Can Spell (can say "no") Eat Tofu (live a healthy lifestyle)

"Powerfully raw, deeply moving, and utterly authentic. Rachel Lloyd has turned a personal atrocity into triumph and is nothing less than a true hero.... Never again will you look at young girls on the street as one of 'those' women—you will only see little girls that are girls just like us." —Demi Moore, actress and activist With the power and verity of First They Killed My Father and A Long Way Gone, Rachel Lloyd’s riveting survivor story is the true tale of her hard-won escape from the commercial sex industry and her bold founding of GEMS, New York City’s Girls Education and Mentoring Service, to help countless other young girls escape "the life." Lloyd’s unflinchingly honest memoir is a powerful and unforgettable story of inhuman abuse, enduring hope, and the promise of redemption.