Practice Girl (Hardcover)
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Staff Reviews
A deep but fun YA read. The main character discovers early on that the boys she's thought she was in love with have been referring to her as a "Practice Girl", and while I love YA that addresses misogyny, I adore that this one also sees her examining herself to see how she ended up here. There's a lot of self-examination, discovering the power of female friendships, and deciding what she really wants. I definitely recommend it for female teens who seem like they're struggling with deciding what they want versus what others want from them.
— From Anna's Staff PicksDescription
"A powerful, poignant story about a girl rewriting her story on her own terms. Jo Beckett's journey of sexual and emotional agency is at once tender, painful, hilarious, and courageous."
—Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces
An emotional and empowering novel about reputation and double standards, perfect for fans of Katie Cotugno and Sarah Dessen.
Jo Beckett is looking for love. She's fallen for a few boys, but for some reason, they've never fallen for her. One night, at a party she didn't even want to go to, she finds out the truth. Those boys, who are on the wrestling team she manages, consider her just a “practice girl”—the popular term for girl who’s good enough to hook up with but not to date.
With this crushing revelation, Jo feels so many things--heartsick, ashamed, betrayed, and angry. But she refuses to let that label define her. In piecing her life back together, Jo is forced to unpack more uncomfortable truths about all her relationships--from her best friend to the boy she likes--that help her understand her real worth.
From the author of the acclaimed This Raging Light, Practice Girl is a heart-wrenching, relatable, and ultimately triumphant story about a girl who rejects her label and decides for herself who she is to the world.
About the Author
Estelle Laure is the author of ten published and/or forthcoming picture books and young adult novels, including acclaimed novel This Raging Light and Disney's City of Villains trilogy. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and a BA in Theatre Arts from New Mexico State University. She lives in Taos, New Mexico (the best place on earth), with her family, and her work has been translated into more than fifteen languages around the world.
Praise For…
*"A must for teens who can handle sexually explicit material, and who are interested in . . . feminism and challenging stereotypes."
—SLJ (starred review)
"A powerful, poignant story about a girl rewriting her story on her own terms. Jo Beckett's journey of sexual and emotional agency is at once tender, painful, hilarious, and courageous."
—Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces
"Warm and funny and charming and smart."
—Katie Cotugno, New York Times bestselling author of 99 Days
"No one captures the complexities of teenage girldom like Estelle Laure. A deeply felt, unflinchingly relatable, and ultimately empowering novel about the unjust double standards and dehumanizing labels that girls and women are often forced to navigate. Readers will cheer for Jo!"
—Kerry Kletter, author of The First Time She Drowned
"Jo’s introspective, funny first-person narrative voice is alive with poignancy and...pulls no punches in its emotional honesty. A relationship-focused story told with intelligence and wit."
—Kirkus Reviews
"Through Jo's first-person narration, which often rings painfully true, Laure captures with painful precision one teen girl's journey to self-discovery and self-awareness. A contemplative and compelling look at female sexuality and the double standards that accompany it."
—Booklist
"Laure demonstrates a keen understanding of adolescent interactions, and not only romantic ones. Jo’s reflections on her relationships with family and friends—in particular her complicated feelings for Sam—are nuanced and insightful."
—The Horn Book
