The Minefield Girl


Book Description

Libya lived under the absolute rule of Muammar Gaddafi for more than four decades. He was the state, and to not worship him was to live in fear. Sofia, a naive but ambitious Swedish girl whose mission is to present Libya to the Western world of big business via the pages of the Wall Street Journal's magazine SmartMoney, finds herself facing one setback after another as she learns to navigate Gaddafi's Libya, where nothing is what it appears to be. She discovers that she is watched at every turn. A love affair proves to be both thrilling and dangerous, as Sofia gradually realizes that the country's most powerful men have ways to control even people's personal lives. Moving with determination through the corridors of power, consumed by her desire to succeed and to be part of something bigger than herself, Sofia remains blissfully unaware of the minefield she has walked into.




Peas & Queues


Book Description

How do you get rid of unwanted guests? What do you do if there's a racket in the quiet carriage? How should you eat peas, and behave in queues? How to behave, like how to punctuate, is an aspect of life that many are no longer taught - and getting it wrong is the stuff of comedy at best and humiliation at worst. Thankfully, Sandi Toksvig has come to the rescue with her entertaining guide to modern manners,with tips on what to do whether you're talking to a bore, or forgot their name in the first place. (Just call them 'darling'.) The award-winning Radio 4 broadcaster and writer offers guidance on the social pitfalls of every phase of life, from christenings to condolence letters. With characteristic wit and perceptiveness, and revealing the trickiest of her encounters along the way, she highlights decency rather than convention and provides an essential guide to twenty-first century behaviour. Now this down-to-earth, hilarious guide is available in perfect pocket-sized paperback size.




Girl Mans Up


Book Description

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




This Girl Is Different


Book Description

What happens when a girl, homeschooled by her counterculture mother, decides to spend her senior year in public school? First friendship, first love—and first encounters with the complexities of authority and responsibility. Evie is different. Not just her upbringing—though that’s certainly been unusual—but also her mindset. She’s smart, independent, confident, opinionated, and ready to take on a new challenge: the Institution of School. It doesn’t take this homeschooled kid long to discover that high school is a whole new world, and not in the ways she expected. It’s also a social minefield, and Evie finds herself confronting new problems at every turn, failing to follow or even understand the rules, and proposing solutions that aren’t welcome or accepted. Not one to sit idly by, Evie sets out to make changes. Big changes. The movement she starts takes off, but before she realizes what’s happening, her plan spirals out of control, forcing her to come to terms with a world she is only just beginning to comprehend. J. J. Johnson’s powerful debut novel will enthrall readers as it challenges assumptions about friendship, rules, boundaries, and power.




Nikki on the Line


Book Description

Nikki wants to be a basketball star . . . but between school stress, friend drama, and babysitting woes, will she be able to make it on her new team? Judy Blume meets Mike Lupica in this pitch-perfect, action-packed, and funny novel. Thirteen-year-old Nikki Doyle's dreams of becoming a basketball great feel within reach when she's selected to play on an elite-level club team. But in a league with taller, stronger, and faster girls, Nikki suddenly isn't the best point guard. In fact, she's no longer a point guard at all, which leaves her struggling to figure out who she is and how she fits in. The stress piles on as Nikki's best friend spends more and more time with another girl on the team, and when her science teacher assigns a family tree project that will be impossible to complete unless Nikki reveals her most embarrassing secret. As if that's not enough to deal with, to cover the costs of her new team, Nikki has agreed to take care of her annoying younger brother after school to save money on childcare. As the stakes rise on the basketball court, at school, and at home, Nikki's confidence plummets. Can she learn to compete at this new, higher level? And how hard is she willing to work to find out?




Gritty Girl


Book Description

Gritty Girl is a bold celebration of girls and women. It's a collection of poems that impacts and inspires girls and women while giving a voice to the gender-based biases that choke their paths.This book is divided into four parts: Tears of Grit (inspired by true events), Comfort of Grit, Power of Grit, and Heart of Grit.Each part bares a different minefield that girls and women must brave. Each part celebrates a different power of womankind.This book is for every girl. A gift of hope and love. A source of inspiration.




Secrets in the Fire


Book Description

Based on a real-life land mine victim, this middle reader novel tells a story of recovery, hope and coming of age of an African girl who loses her legs to a land mine.




Girl Meets Girl


Book Description

For lesbian, bisexual, and bi-curious women, with indispensable advice on how to read a personal ad, make the first move, and figure out who pays on a date. Plus, sex tips for beginners and advanced players! From the author of the hugely popular Box Lunch.




The Good Women of China


Book Description

When Deng Xiaoping’s efforts to “open up” China took root in the late 1980s, Xinran recognized an invaluable opportunity. As an employee for the state radio system, she had long wanted to help improve the lives of Chinese women. But when she was given clearance to host a radio call-in show, she barely anticipated the enthusiasm it would quickly generate. Operating within the constraints imposed by government censors, “Words on the Night Breeze” sparked a tremendous outpouring, and the hours of tape on her answering machines were soon filled every night. Whether angry or muted, posing questions or simply relating experiences, these anonymous women bore witness to decades of civil strife, and of halting attempts at self-understanding in a painfully restrictive society. In this collection, by turns heartrending and inspiring, Xinran brings us the stories that affected her most, and offers a graphically detailed, altogether unprecedented work of oral history.




Fighting Hislam


Book Description

The Muslim community that is portrayed to the West is a misogynist’s playground; within the Muslim community, feminism is often regarded with sneering hostility. Yet between those two views there is a group of Muslim women many do not believe exists: a diverse bunch who fight sexism from within, as committed to the fight as they are to their faith. Hemmed in by Islamophobia and sexism, they fight against sexism with their minds, words and bodies. Often, their biggest weapon is their religion. Here, Carland talks with Muslim women about how they are making a stand for their sex, while holding fast to their faith. At a time when the media trumpets scandalous revelations about life for women from Saudi Arabia to Indonesia, Muslim women are always spoken about and over, never with. In Fighting Hislam, that ends.