The Girls of Slender Means (New Directions Classic)


Book Description

"Long ago in 1945 all the nice people in England were poor, allowing for exceptions," begins The Girls of Slender Means, Dame Muriel Spark's tragic and rapier-witted portrait of a London ladies' hostel just emerging from the shadow of World War II. Like the May of Teck Club itself—"three times window shattered since 1940 but never directly hit"—its lady inhabitants do their best to act as if the world were back to normal: practicing elocution, and jostling over suitors and a single Schiaparelli gown. The novel's harrowing ending reveals that the girls' giddy literary and amorous peregrinations are hiding some tragically painful war wounds. Chosen by Anthony Burgess as one of the Best Modern Novels in the Sunday Times of London, The Girls of Slender Means is a taut and eerily perfect novel by an author The New York Times has called "one of this century's finest creators of comic-metaphysical entertainment."




The Spark Girls


Book Description

'A compelling first novel which I promise you won't be able to put down' Daisy Styles, bestselling author of The Bomb Girls Can her fight for the country fix her broken heart? A knock on the door early one morning wouldn't normally be cause for concern but it is 1941, Britain is at war, and Kitty Williams's fiancé Joe is far from home fighting Hitler with the Navy. As Kitty's heart is shattered into pieces hearing the news she had been dreading, resolve kicks in and she becomes more determined than ever to do her bit for the war effort. Signing up to the Women's Army is just the sort of challenge Kitty needs and on meeting new recruits Mary, Di and Peggy, she is happy to learn that the challenge won't be a lonely one. But it also won't be easy and when bombs start to fall on her home town of Coventry, and supposed allies turn against her, Kitty must find the strength she never knew she had to save her family, fix her broken heart and help her country to victory. The Spark Girl is an absorbing and poignant saga, perfect for fans of Daisy Styles, Kate Thompson and Ellie Dean. The second book in the series, The Spark Girl's Promise is now available for pre-order 'a fabulous debut from an immensely talented author' Annie Groves 'Ford gets to the heart of what it was like to live through the dangerous war years in this warm, captivating, down-to-earth story which is brimming with engaging characters, adventure, romance and heartbreak.' Lancashire Post 'Fiona Ford has written a charming and very appealing story...Kitty Williams is the girl we all want to be.' Swirl and Thread 'an enjoyable read with a twist towards the end to keep the reader engaged until the next one!' Jera's Jamboree




Twin Spark Girls


Book Description

An X-rated action comic featuring high school uniform wearing twins with an attitude. The twins often get into skirmishes with gang members that try to rape them. This is a very erotic yet comical series that packs loads of action and sex!




The Pretty Girl


Book Description

"Twelve bell towers with twelve clocks with twenty-four spindly hands telling the time."




One Girl


Book Description

A meditative picture book about the power of reading and how one child can change the world, from #1 bestselling author Andrea Beaty One girl. One spark. Faint and fading in the dark. Flicker . . . Flicker . . . Flicker . . . Glow. Tiny ember. Burning low. Inspired by the global movement to empower girls through education, this lyrical story tells of one small girl who reads a book that lights a spark. She shares what she learns with her class, and the spark grows. The girl is then moved to write her own story, which she shares with girls around the globe, and it ignites a spark in them, lighting up the whole world. This heartwarming and moving narrative shows how books and education can inspire change and how one child can make a huge difference.




The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie


Book Description

“A perfect book”—and basis for the Maggie Smith film—about a teacher who makes a lasting impression on her female students in the years before World War II (Chicago Tribune). “Give me a girl at an impressionable age, and she is mine for life!” So asserts Jean Brodie, a magnetic, dubious, and sometimes comic teacher at the conservative Marcia Blaine School for Girls in Edinburgh. Brodie selects six favorite pupils to mold—and she doesn’t stop with just their intellectual lives. She has a plan for them all, including how they will live, whom they will love, and what sacrifices they will make to uphold her ideals. When the girls reach adulthood and begin to find their own destinies, Jean Brodie’s indelible imprint is a gift to some, and a curse to others. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie is Spark’s masterpiece, a novel that offers one of twentieth-century English literature’s most iconic and complex characters—a woman at once admirable and sinister, benevolent and conniving. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Muriel Spark including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s archive at the National Library of Scotland.




Raising Girls in the 21st Century: Helping Our Girls to Grow Up Wise, Strong and Free


Book Description

Steve Biddulph’s Raising Boys was a global phenomenon. The first book in a generation to look at boys’ specific needs, parents loved its clarity and warm insights into their sons’ inner world. But today, things have changed. It’s girls that are in trouble.




Venture Girls


Book Description

From an engineer and entrepreneur, a conversation-changing parenting book about how to engage young women in science, technology, engineering, and math, filled with practical advice for both parents and educators.As the female CEO of a tech startup, Dr. Cristal Glangchai was outnumbered twenty to one. At Google, Twitter, and Facebook, women currently fill just ten to twenty percent of technical jobs. While career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math have increased dramatically in the past twenty years, the achievement gap between men and women has only grown wider. In VentureGirls, Glangchai offers a unique solution based on her own experience as an engineer and entrepreneur as well as the founder of the VentureLab, an academy of entrepreneurship and technology for girls. Practical, accessible, and filled with success stories, VentureGirls argues that a key part of raising strong, confident young women is giving them the tools of entrepreneurship to engage in STEM. Entrepreneurship isn’t just about starting companies, Glangchai writes, it is a skillset and a way of thinking that is particularly useful in the fields of science, mathematics, engineering, and technology. Entrepreneurship involves identifying needs, brainstorming creative solutions, innovating, and taking calculated risks. In short, it’s about having a vision and making it a reality. The true value in learning and practicing entrepreneurship, Glangchai argues, lies in nurturing and growing an overall mindset—the ability to learn from failure and to work well with others to bring your ideas to life. Deeply informative, warm, and grounded in real-world experience, VentureGirls includes a plethora of activities and lessons that focus on strengthening kids’ ingenuity and resilience. VentureGirls is essential reading for anyone who wants to raise girls and young women who realize their strength, engage in the world, and feel empowered to make a positive impact.




Girls at the Edge of the World


Book Description

Set in a world on the edge of an apocalyptic flood, this heart-stoppingly romantic fantasy debut is perfect for fans of Rachel Hartman and Rae Carson. In a world bound for an epic flood, only a chosen few are guaranteed safe passage into the new world once the waters recede. The Kostrovian royal court will be saved, of course, along with their guards. But the fate of the court's Royal Flyers, a lauded fleet of aerial silk performers, is less certain. Hell-bent on survival, Principal Flyer, Natasha Koskinen, will do anything to save the flyers, who are the only family she's ever known. Even if "anything" means molding herself into the type of girl who could be courted by Prince Nikolai. But unbeknownst to Natasha, her newest recruit, Ella Neves, is driven less by her desire to survive the floods than her thirst for revenge. And Ella's mission could put everything Natasha has worked for in peril. As the oceans rise, so too does an undeniable spark between the two flyers. With the end of the world looming, and dark secrets about the Kostrovian court coming to light, Ella and Natasha can either give in to despair . . . or find a new reason to live.




The Girl Who Never Was


Book Description

"Romantic, suspenseful, and witty all at once—Alice in Wonderland meets Neverwhere."—Claudia Gray, New York Times bestselling author of the Evernight series In Selkie's family, you don't celebrate birthdays. You don't talk about birthdays. And you never, ever reveal your birth date. Until now. On Selkie's seventeenth birthday, Selkie finally understands why. All she wanted a simple "Happy Birthday" from her secret crush, Ben. But the instant she blurts out the truth, her whole world shatters. Because the world she's known is only an elaborate enchantment designed to conceal the truth: Selkie is a half-faerie princess. And her mother wants her dead. The faerie court believes Selkie is a child of prophecy—fated to destroy the court's powerful grip on the supernatural world. And the only way for Selkie to survive...is to prove them right.