Article contributed by Isabella Haberstock
In the era of the #MeToo movement and Women’s Marches, the rights of women and girls are still up for debate across the world. In many of these debates, the issues that women face daily are often sugarcoated and vaguely described. The same cannot be said for the novel Girls With Sharp Sticks, however. With its abundance of plot twists and well-developed characters, Girls With Sharp Sticks will appeal to a wide variety of readers, from complete feminists to someone looking to educate themselves about the state of our society.
In this book, author Suzanne Young doesn’t shy away from describing the conditioning of young girls into an unjust society in the most direct way possible. She makes it very clear that ignorance surrounding this conditioning needs to end and that we need to be looking more closely at what is generally acceptable in our society. Girls With Sharp Sticks follows a teenager named Mena who is attending Innovations Academy, a very prestigious school whose aim is to teach girls to be the best kind of girls. Young makes it very clear that the Academy’s criteria for qualifying as the best kind of girl includes being silent, obedient, and, most importantly, beautiful. These expectations are made completely transparent, and it gives the story a darker undertone that carries on throughout the novel.
The girls at the Academy have to go through etiquette lessons, ridiculous diets, a lot of unwarranted comments about their appearances, and physical abuse by their professors, and throughout the book, they gradually become more aware of their situation. They realise the emotional and physical abuse that they have been forced to endure, and this realisation was sparked by a book of poems discovered by Mena. The main poem, titled Girls With Sharp Sticks, described the uprising of girls against the men who oppressed and groomed them. The girls realise that they are surrounded by men who want to control them, and they start forming a plan to escape the Academy before they are sold off to various investors. Despite the Academy appearing to be a preppy all-girls school, it contains a very twisted and dark reality that its students must endure until they become the best of society.
The most noticeable thing about Girls With Sharp Sticks is the bond formed between the girls at the Academy. I have read many other novels where there is intense rivalry among girls who all strive to outdo each other, but Mena and her friends do nothing but support each other. This was very refreshing to see, and it is clear that they are protective of each other and find their strength together. As the book goes on, they risk more and more for each other and discover the true inner workings of Innovations Academy. They trust each other unconditionally and united against the men in the Academy who tried to hurt them.
Another unique aspect of Girls With Sharp Sticks is the fact that the girls never truly forget the lies that they were fed throughout their time at the Academy. Even when the girls were in danger, they found themselves being polite to their perpetrators and blaming themselves despite having a sense of self-awareness. They have undergone very intense emotional manipulation, and, much like in real abusive relationships, they were tricked into trusting and confiding in their abusers. The depiction of abuse without consequences is absolutely terrifying yet very real, and it effectively communicates the power that the men of the Academy have over the girls.
One of my favourite overall aspects of the book is that Suzanne Young is not afraid to share this story of a twisted reality that, if you think about it, is very similar to our world. The descriptions of the trauma Mena and her friends have been through will make your skin crawl, and as a reader, I wanted nothing more than for them to just be safe. The Academy kept Mena and her friends from thinking about or questioning anything that they’ve been told. They were barely even allowed to learn math, and they were barred from reading any outside materials. This is the exact reality that girls and women across the world face daily, and to see it finally put into writing is both appreciated and also a glaring reminder that we have to stop the implementations of those practices sooner rather than later. Through this book, Young is encouraging everyone to question the world that we live in and leave no room for ignorance or excuses.
Overall, Girls With Sharp Sticks is a suspenseful novel that truthfully describes the conditioning of young girls. Suzanne Young didn’t take any shortcuts or cut corners, and it definitely pays off. The reader can’t help but be angry at the treatment of Mena and her friends and feel an overwhelming sense of wanting to help them reach safety. No one should ever be told that their beauty and purity is more important than their freedom and their education, and Young is telling the reader that we can’t remain silent about these backwards priorities any longer. Girls With Sharp Sticks is a much-needed conversation about sexism, rape culture, and the manipulation of young girls, and everyone needs to read it. It gets a 10/10.
Girls With Sharp Sticks is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers. Also be sure to check out our interview with Suzanne Young about this book and what’s next!
Will you be reading Girls With Sharp Sticks? Or have you read it already? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
The Girls of Innovations Academy are beautiful and well-behaved—it says so on their report cards. Under the watchful gaze of their Guardians, the all-girl boarding school offers an array of studies and activities, from “Growing a Beautiful and Prosperous Garden” to “Art Appreciation” and “Interior Design.” The girls learn to be the best society has to offer. Absent is the difficult math coursework, or the unnecessary sciences or current events. They are obedient young ladies, free from arrogance or defiance. Until Mena starts to realize that their carefully controlled existence may not be quite as it appears.
As Mena and her friends begin to uncover the dark secrets of what’s actually happening there—and who they really are—the girls of Innovations will find out what they are truly capable of. Because some of the prettiest flowers have the sharpest thorns.
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