Like a Girl

Subjects

Friends & Family - tears and laughter, and happy ever after
Facts & Information - lists, stats and plenty of facts
Friends & Family - tears and laughter, and happy ever after
Facts & Information - lists, stats and plenty of facts

Average rating

3 out 5

A powerful, contemporary teen novel about the courage to be
yourself in the face of online and in-school peer pressure, from
the co-author of Can You See Me? – perfect for fans of
Tamsin Winter, Holly Bourne and Moxie.

Fourteen-year-old Eden McCoy doesn’t fit in. All she’s good at is running, and she doesn’t even dare join the track team. Her priority is to stay in the shadows and avoid the Glossies - a ruthless clique of girls who use social media to punish and humiliate their targets, led by their queen Bea and her sidekick Mikki. But one day, Eden breaks her vow to stay unnoticed: she beats track star Mikki in a race. This bold move captures the attention of Bea, who decides Eden needs to either prove her loyalty and become one of the Glossies – or suffer the consequences. And so The Testing begins… As Eden is challenged to play a cruel prank on another kid or have that same act inflicted on her, her will is pushed to the limit. The only thing keeping her afloat is an unexpected connection with a boy called Riley, a fellow runner who messages her online. But how deep does The Testing run? And how long until Eden breaks?

A sharply written, grippingly entertaining and moving
story that explores the joy to be found in running, sports and exercise
– as well as in community, real friendship and solidarity.

Inspired by research into real teen opinions about the risks and benefits of social media. Empathetically explores the different ways girls can be ’put in boxes’ and the pressure to act in a way that society or their peers expect of them, with a touching mother-daughter relationship at the heart.

I have read this book

This tired cliched plot line about maturity, “Glossy Girls” and the ‘horrors of secondary’. In this common story, the protagonist faces off against ex-friend turned Queen of the school (Bea) who owns a ‘Gossip Girl' like Instagram account, that hosts scandalous rumours and scalding comments creating fear, sadness and distress in year 9. The true proof of the rivalry between Eden (The protagonist and ex-friend)and Bea (Popular girl) is when Eden claims; “That was before. Now, Bea is more interested in collecting people than Pikachu, trading them for information and status and whatever the hell she wants” This quote sums up the whole plotline of ex-friend and now rival and their re-connection, the whole story also features running and the thinking it allows her, a doughnut shop (and an unfortunate event with a doughnut, throwing and her face covered in icing) and making new friends in an environment when everyone either is obsessed with you, hates you or ignores you completely. I would not recommend this book for those interested in compelling plotlines and originality, but I do admire the project and research the author has undertaken in the ‘Say it like it is’ survey, used to research the story. However, I feel as though it is a great take on “classics” such as Gossip Girl and the Perks of being a Wallflower. I recommend it if you enjoy the drama of friends backstabbing, secrets revealed and harsh instagram messages sent from real (and fake) identities.

Empress Agnetha Mouse 05.08.2025

← Previous Next → Back to top

Subjects

Average rating

Reviews

For grown-ups

Home Zone

Library Zone

School Zone

Pre-School Zone

View our other programmes