Take Three Girls

by Cath Crowley, Simmone Howell, and Fiona Wood

Three authors. Three appealing and relatable characters. One smart YA novel about a trio of unlikely friends who team up to take down the school cyberbully. "Mean stuff spreads so fast. One click. Post. Send. Share. Online bullying = sometimes suicides, so all the private schools have strategies for dealing with it. At St Hilda's, it's Wellness classes. We greeted the idea with genuine enthusiasm. Why not? Everyone loves the chance to slack off."

Popular Ady seems cool and confident at school, but at home her family is falling apart. Brainiac Kate wants to pursue her dreams of playing music, even if it jeopardizes her academic scholarship. And swim champ Clem finds herself disenchanted with the sport . . . and falling for a very wrong boy. When these three very different girls are forced to team up in a wellness class, they're not too pleased. But over time, they bond--and when they're all targeted by PSST, a website that dishes out malicious gossip and lies, they decide to take a stand, uncover the culprits, and fight back. But can they really fix a broken system? With each girl's story told by a different author, as well as intriguing questionnaires from the wellness class included throughout, this empowering novel explores today's most relevant topics-- from cyberbullying and fat shaming to drug abuse and financial stress.

• ISBN13: 9781454938279
• Publish Date: 6 April 2021
• Publish Status: Out of Stock
• Out of Print: 27 January 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Sterling Publishing Co Inc
• Imprint: Sterling
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 448
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kelly]

Gather your girl gang and fight the patriarchy!

The private boarding school of Saint Hilda's promotes excellence in academic pursuits so when a website begins to engage in targeted student abuse, the prestigious school begins a Wellness initiative to promote well being and self reflection. The Private School Secrets Tracker website engages in defamation to humiliates female students, sharing personal information and encouraging concealed users to engage in abuse. Young women defined by their bodies, sexuality and social standing.

The improbable companionship between Kate, Clementine and Adelaide is wonderful. Kate is an astute and enthusiastic music student and although wistful, Kate relies upon her scholarship to attend school. Adelaide is an extrovert who is often callous and judgemental, enduring her father's addiction and dissolution of marriage while exploring a bisexual relationship. Clementine is a former athlete rediscovering her personal identity and navigating her first sexual relationship. Her relationship with sister Iris has surpassed the boundaries of sibling rivalry and often socially isolated one another.

The Private School Secrets Tracker degrades female adolescents and the societal and psychological and ramifications are disquieting. I enjoyed the discussion of the toxicity of online communities. The website was incredibly confronting and reminiscent of the online abuse women on social media experience consistently. Take Three Girls reinforces the significance of female solidarity and empowerment, encouraged by the Wellness initiative as part of the school curriculum in response to the toxic, damaging website.

I imagine the girl friendly world. Streets at night full of girls and women, god, it would be so lovely. Walking anywhere we want, wearing anything we want, staying out late, shouting, singing, drinking. Never worrying about attracting unwanted attention from dickheads. All the taxis and Ubers driven by women, so you don't have to sit there holding your phone, ready to instant dial for help if they take a wrong turn on the way home.

Take Three Girls is a journey of discovery, identity and acceptance. I enjoyed the journal aspects throughout the storyline, each narrative examining how rumour and innuendo influences our mental wellness, confidence and self esteem. Beautifully written, significant and empowering.

Imagine slipping out for a full moon midnight walk just because you could. We'd start to swagger, we'd own the streets, own the night.

Wouldn't we just.