I’m proud to announce that Girls on the Verge was nominated for Best Fiction for Young Adults 2020 by the Young Adult Library Services Association.

Here is their review:

Girls on the Verge by Sharon Biggs Waller
Henry Holt & Company / Macmillan
Publication Date: April 9, 2019
ISBN: 978-1250151698

This book confronts a controversial topic in a highly readable narrative, while not leaping into preaching or teaching mode. With the Roe v. Wade court decision under attack and more states passing aggressive anti-abortion laws, this book offers up pathways for discussion for teens to think about how they would handle the situation, as well as how they would handle it if a friend finds themselves in the same place as Camille. The emphasis is on friendship and supporting one another, while also tackling the leaps that women have to proceed through to exercise their right to choose what happens to their body.

This book’s strength lies in the reading about the stigma Camille is forced to confront at each step proceeding the journey, as well as how others are quick to make assumptions and judge, specifically in case of her best friend Bea. Across hundreds of miles, from Texas, Mexico, and New Mexico – Camille’s story unfolds across their journey, and delves into the crisis centers, doctor offices, family court, and more in a relatively short book of only 228 pages.

To balance out the story,  factual information is introduced through the judicial timeline before the story begins and the author’s note at the end gives readers background information Texas’ abortion law history, Biggs Waller’s own personal connection to the story, and resources for additional help and information.  Give this title to teens you know appreciate a hard-hitting story or to a teen exploring social justice or sociopolitical themes, or consider pairing this with Atwood’s Handmaid’s Tale for a contemporary novel delving into a woman’s right to control her own body.

–Stephanie Charlefour

You can read more about the other nominees here: YALSA