Girl Mans Up

by M-E Girard, Emma Galvin (Read by)

Overview

All Pen Oliveira wants is to be the kind of girl she’s always been. So why does everyone have a problem with it? They think the way she looks and acts means she’s trying to be a boy—that she should quit trying to be something she’s not. If she dresses like a girl and does what her folks want, it will show respect. If she takes orders and does what her friend Colby wants, it will show her loyalty. But respect and loyalty, Pen discovers, are empty words.Girl Mans Up is a brave and authentic debut from author M-E Girard. In Pen, Girard has created a kick-ass character who makes tough choices, has her friends’ backs, and is done feeling bad about who she is. Old-world parents, disintegrating friendships, and strong feelings for other girls drive Pen to see the truth—that in order to be who she truly wants to be, she’ll have to man up.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441709448
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 5.70(h) x (d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

M-E Girard lives just outside Toronto, Canada, where she splits her time between writing YA fiction about badass teen girls and working nights as a pediatric nurse. A 2013 and 2015 Lambda Literary Fellow, M-E is a proud feminist who is endlessly fascinated by the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding the concept of gender. You can find her online at www.megirard.com and all over social media.

Editorial Reviews

Girard's novel is compulsively readable, by turns wrenching and euphoric. Pen is an inspiration to anyone who's struggled to be understood, and a vital addition to the growing world of genderqueer protagonists.

The New York Times Book Review - Jen Doll

★ 07/25/2016
In this powerful debut, Girard explores questions of family, friendship, loyalty, and identity through the voice of Pen Oliveira, a 16-year old girl who’s “not into dudes,” looks and dresses like a boy, and doesn’t “get why it’s such a big deal to people, the way I am.” The second child of conservative Portuguese parents who immigrated to Ontario, Pen has long felt accepted and protected by her older brother, Johnny, and her childhood friend Colby, who treats her like one of the guys. With Colby increasingly acting like “an entitled jerk,” especially toward girls, Pen confronts difficult choices about where her loyalty lies. New friendships with Colby’s ex Olivia and a girl named Blake, who shares Pen’s love of gaming and wants to be her girlfriend, make her reconsider the meaning of respect, which her parents have always demanded. Girard forcefully conveys the fear Pen lives with, having experienced frequent mockery and bullying, and her courage in aspiring to a safe, loving community for herself and her friends. Ages 14–up. Agent: Linda Epstein, Emerald City Literary. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

A powerful book about identity, belonging, and the collision between sexuality and cultural expectations.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

GIRL MANS UP is mind blowing. Pen has stolen my heart always. Her voice is so honest and raw that it is enrapturing. It is such an incredible look at gender, race, and sexuality that I hope it becomes an instant classic.

Grace Wright

Fierce. Tender. Unstoppable.

Lauren Myracle

Original. Courageous. Vibrant.

Michael Cart

Heartfelt. Refreshing. True.

Ariel Schrag

I loved it. A brilliant new writer to watch.

Malinda Lo

Respeito for Pen.

Sara Ryan

Raw. Real. Irresistable.

I.W. Gregorio

Pen, a high school junior of Portuguese descent, wears her brother’s clothes and kicks butt at video games. When Pen discovers Olivia (a former fling of Pen’s longtime best friend, Colby), throwing up at school, it sparks a chain of discoveries about Colby’s real character. Simultaneously, Pen experiences all the confusion, excitement, and passion of a first relationship with Blake, a lively, beautiful girl. Pen does not feel that she is exactly a guy or a girl, but one thing is certain: she does not feel that she is someone she should not be. The way other people (especially her mother) treat her, however, makes her feel like something is wrong with her. Girl Mans Up makes a much needed contribution to young adult literature by introducing a vibrant character whose identity falls outside of the gender binary. Sexual details in the book serve to advance the character development, as Pen works out how to engage in a way that corresponds with her identity, and are part of a healthy, consensual relationship with Blake. Girard creates a fully fleshed-out, complex character in Pen that readers of myriad gender and sexual identities will relate to for a variety of reasons. This debut novel is not only Pen’s story of developing a deeper self-confidence, but also one of changing friendships, family roles, and romance. The titular message of “manning up” is not restricted to its implied gender; for Pen, it means doing the right thing not only for others, but for one’s self. Reviewer: Allison Babin; Ages 15 to 18.

VOYA, October 2016 (Vol. 39, No. 4) - Allison Babin

★ 07/01/2016
Gr 9 Up—The expression man up refers to many things. It suggests that "real men" take responsibility for their actions. Real men act bravely in the face of adversity. For Pen (short for Penelope), 16, it is a little more complicated than that. She has a difficult time knowing how to man up when she cannot even classify her own gender identity. For her, the LGBTQ lexicon carries too much cultural baggage and too many expectations. Pen does not want to define herself too closely, especially when everything in her world seems to be crashing down around her. Her best friend Colby has recently become a terrible bully, her parents are more and more unsupportive, and her older brother has been kicked out of the house. On a positive note, her crush, Blake, has taken an interest in her. Pen tries to navigate all of this, while still figuring out who that person is staring back at her from the mirror. This is a fresh title in the growing sea of LGBTQ YA literature. Pen and her peers are neither quirky nor whimsical. They cuss, drink, smoke pot, hook up, and get into fights. There is no sugarcoating in this very real portrayal of an aspect of teen life that many experience. VERDICT Recommended for fans of YA urban fiction as well as those who prefer grittier LGBTQ lit.—Jaclyn Anderson, Madison County Library System, MS

School Library Journal

★ 2016-06-22
A teen faces down hostility, making her own decisions about loyalty, respect, and gender.Sixteen-year-old Pen (not Penelope) has always been butch, including her habit of wearing her brother's clothes even though her mother says it makes her look like a "punk druggy." Old friend Colby, who accepted her gender presentation when they were 9, now insists that everyone around him prove loyalty through service: one guy procures weed, another does Colby's homework, and Pen's his wingman with girls. Pen's awkward, volatile, and abrupt—and confused about loyalty—but Colby's a real jerk. Then a girl named Blake with "crazy blond hair…and a lot of black makeup" falls for Pen, and they have a hot romance. To Colby's menacing fury, Pen also befriends his most recent castoff, Olivia, even accompanying Olivia to her abortion. Pen's parents say the ongoing gender persecution she endures is her own fault, castigating her in (italicized) Portuguese and broken English, making home life unbearable—until Pen decides for herself what respeito (respect) really means. The good things in her life, she realizes, are Blake, Olivia, video games, the supportive older brother who helps her leave home—and her gender identity, which (though unlabeled) is squarely in the nonbinary range. Pen's family is Portuguese and, like most other characters, presumably white; Olivia's "Asian" with no further designation. A strong genderqueer lesbian character, imperfect, independent, and deserving of every cheer. (Fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews