Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young
is a teen dystopian novel about high school girls at the Girl’s Innovations
Academy where the courses are Beauty, Compliance, Social Graces, and Decorum
and Modesty. The one recognizable class is Basics where math is taught once a
month. “Too much thinking is bad for your looks.” Eventually the girls rebel,
but the twist ending devalues their victory. Regardless, the series continues
for another couple of books.
When Mena, the first-person protagonist,
breaks one of the many rules, Guardian Bose redirects her. Afterward,
she reflects, “He’s never spoken to me so viciously. I’m shaken by it all, but
at the same time, I’m deeply ashamed. We’re not supposed to anger the men
taking care of us. I never have. It was selfish of me not to listen immediately.”
When the girls fail at being redirected,
they are subject to impulse control therapy, a mysterious ordeal after which
their memory of it is erased. They are also given an assortment of “vitamins”
every night to help them stay calm and behave.
The school teaches the girls that “shame
is the best teacher,” and “beauty is [your] greatest asset.” Every minor injury
is repaired with a graft to keep their skin flawless. The girls are admonished
to “demonstrate your value…by showing how appealing a beautiful, obedient girl
can be. Hold your tongue. Bat your eyes. Be best.”
Eventually, the girls wake up to their predicament.
They see the men’s behavior as predatory. Part of this awakening is from a poem
“Girls with Sharp Sticks” that opens with “Men are full of rage/ Unable to
control themselves,” and closes with “And so it was for a generation/ The
little girls became the predators.”
If you are a teen wishing to oppose the
patriarchy, this could be your series.
For my expanded notes: https://1book42day.blogspot.com/2020/03/normal-people-by-sally-rooney.html
Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for book recommendations.
“As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying
purchases.”
No comments:
Post a Comment