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Girl mans up
2016
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"In Ontario, Pen is a sixteen-year-old girl who looks like a boy. She's fine with it, but everyone else is uncomfortable--especially her Portuguese immigrant parents and her manipulative neighbor who doesn't want her to find a group of real friends"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

In Ontario, Pen is a sixteen-year-old girl who looks like a boy and she's fine with it, but everyone else is uncomfortable--especially her Portuguese immigrant parents and her manipulative neighbor who doesn't want her to find a group of real friends. - (Baker & Taylor)

Increasingly aware of her homosexuality and preferring to avoid looking too feminine, Pen is routinely mistaken for a boy and struggles to navigate complications in her friendships with a childhood buddy whose behavior has become cruel and a fellow gamer who seems to have it all. 40,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

Lambda Literary Award Winner! 'Pen is an inspiration to anyone who's struggled to be understood, and a vital addition to the growing world of genderqueer protagonists.' 'New York Times Book Review

All Pen wants is to be the kind of girl she's always been. So why does everyone have a problem with it?

They think the way she looks and acts means she's trying to be a boy'that she should quit trying to be something she's not. If she dresses like a girl, and does what her folks want, it will show respect. If she takes orders and does what her friend Colby wants, it will show her loyalty.

But respect and loyalty, Pen discovers, are empty words. Old-world parents, disintegrating friendships, and strong feelings for other girls drive Pen to see the truth'that in order to be who she truly wants to be, she'll have to man up.

M. E. Girard's Girl Mans Up is perfect for fans of Meredith Russo, Becky Albertalli, Alex Sanchez, and Jaye Robin Brown!

Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of 2016 * Children's Book Council Books Best Book of 2016 * Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Coming-of-Age Novel of 2016 and Best Teen Book of 2016 with Unforgettable Protagonists * Publishers Weekly Fall 2016 Flying Starts * William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist

- (HARPERCOLL)

Lambda Literary Award Winner! “Pen is an inspiration to anyone who’s struggled to be understood, and a vital addition to the growing world of genderqueer protagonists.” —New York Times Book Review

All Pen wants is to be the kind of girl she’s always been. So why does everyone have a problem with it?

They think the way she looks and acts means she’s trying to be a boy—that she should quit trying to be something she’s not. If she dresses like a girl, and does what her folks want, it will show respect. If she takes orders and does what her friend Colby wants, it will show her loyalty.

But respect and loyalty, Pen discovers, are empty words. Old-world parents, disintegrating friendships, and strong feelings for other girls drive Pen to see the truth—that in order to be who she truly wants to be, she’ll have to man up.

M. E. Girard’s Girl Mans Up is perfect for fans of Meredith Russo, Becky Albertalli, Alex Sanchez, and Jaye Robin Brown!

Entertainment Weekly Best YA Book of 2016 * Children’s Book Council Books Best Book of 2016 * Kirkus Reviews Best Teen Coming-of-Age Novel of 2016 and Best Teen Book of 2016 with Unforgettable Protagonists * Publishers Weekly Fall 2016 Flying Starts * William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist

- (HARPERCOLL)

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Booklist Reviews

Playing video games and chasing girls with her all-boy crew—that's a typical afternoon for Penelope "Pen" Oliveira. Beneath her tough facade, however, she's struggling to balance being queer, being a first-generation Portuguese immigrant, and being a loyal friend. That loyalty is tested when she discovers her best friend Colby's secret—he's gotten a girl pregnant and is shirking responsibility. At the same time, Pen's relationship with her very traditional parents deteriorates when they find her kissing Blake, a fellow gamer girl. Pen decides that she needs to "man up" if she's going to survive. Pen's story is about struggling between worlds. She identifies with being a boy, yet knows she's a girl. She is Portuguese through and through, but also sees the world with American eyes. Despite a few characters who feel a bit strained, Girard shows tremendous skill in depicting multidimensional and empathetic characters. Books starring queer girls are still relatively few, so this is a fantastic addition to a steadily growing collection of strong YA narratives for queer youth. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

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