Girls with Razor Hearts

March 13, 2020

Gr 9 Up-"Girls have to play nice or face the consequences." This is the truth Mena learns about the outside world after the girls escape from Innovations Academy. As a part of their mission to destroy the corporation that created them, they enroll at Ridgeview Prep, a private school in which influential male students are allowed to bully and harass female students with impunity. The girls now have multiple goals: take down the corporation, save the girls left behind at Innovations Academy, find justice for the girls of Ridgeview Prep, and discover their place in the world. This sequel to Girls with Sharp Sticks takes the narrative in an interesting new direction, as the young women face real world challenges readers will recognize all too well. The rage-inducing actions of the boys at Ridgeview are extreme and painfully authentic. Also ringing true are the portrayals of Mena's trauma and aftermath, her memories "like a thousand ants under my skin." Astute readers will find the history lessons in this fictional future to have subtle and glaringly obvious connections to current political events and figures. While the girls' mission does not stand up to intense scrutiny, it moves right along and is compelling. And if Mena's musings on issues of gender and, briefly, race, begin to feel a bit pedantic and repetitive, fans of the first book will enjoy seeing these characters tackle new challenges and new debates. VERDICT An intriguing second entry, for general purchase, to a timely and incendiary series exploring issues of gender and humanity.-Elizabeth Lovsin, Deerfield Public Library, IL

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2020
Grades 9-12 In Young's timely but heavy-handed sequel to Girls with Sharp Sticks (2019), Mena and the Innovations Academy (IA) girls, having discovered that they are AI, wrestle with questions of identity and humanity, while working to destroy the company that created them. Their dystopian, near-future society is still reeling from a now-overturned executive order that stripped women of rights. The girls travel to Connecticut to find one of IA's biggest investors, hoping to blackmail him into withdrawing his funding. His son reportedly attends Ridgeview Prep, so Mena and Sydney enroll; there they endure rampant disgusting behavior from boys, tacitly endorsed by complacent adults. Meanwhile, the girls interact with several others that claim to be allies but have conflicting plans, especially when it comes to the girls' programming. Young keeps the emotional stakes high by focusing on Mena's perspective. As an outsider, Mena is uniquely positioned to highlight how normalized misogyny is for those who've grown up under its shadow. As blunt as Young is with her message, this volume will make readers both thoughtful and furious.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)