The Girls

April 21, 2003
What's a girl to do when her group of best friends suddenly drops her like yesterday's fashion trend? Such is the theme at the heart of Koss's sharp novel about the dynamics of middle-school cliques. This strong audio adaptation is a seamless fit for Koss's style of using alternating narrators to deliver varying points of view. Full Cast continues to cultivate a roster of excellent young performers; five youthful actresses take on the roles of "the girls," each conveying a distinct personality and speaking style. Though Maya (the girl who is initially ostracized) sounds younger than her peers and sometimes adopts a choppy pace, her innocent tone seems in keeping with her character. Ringleader Candace and her often too-willing sidekick Darcy are biting and snobbish throughout. Thankfully, supporting cast members provide a glimpse of each girl's private family life, which adds depth to the story and the performances. Ages 10-up.

June 1, 2000
Gr 5-8-When the other members of Maya's clique decide to ostracize her, the girl is shocked and devastated. She has no clue what she could have done wrong, and neither do Brianna, Ren e, or Darcy. However, Candace is their leader, the self-assured one, the one who decides who's in and who's not, and, suddenly, Maya's not. In brief chapters that jump from one girl's perspective to another, a picture emerges of social status and peer pressure among middle schoolers who are struggling to figure out who they are, where they belong, and maybe even what is right. The voice of each character is clear and will be familiar to any adolescent. Koss's exceptional skill at evoking not only the girls, but also their families, makes this an important story for those in the midst of the cruelty of middle-school society. This provocative page-turner will be passed from one girl to the next like a note with the latest gossip.-Susan Oliver, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library System, FL

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2000
Gr. 5^-9. "My family had moved from one end of Los Angeles to the other, doubling our rent to get away from fear, and now here I was in safe suburbia, taking cover and watching my back." Without explanation, Maya has been dropped by the clique of five popular middle-school girls to which she belonged. Three of the other girls in the group aren't sure of the reason either, although they won't admit their puzzlement; they just look to the brash, intimidating Candace for direction. With chapters presented in alternate voices, each girl relays her own version of events--the cruelties, alliances, questions, guilt, and anxiety--as they first shun Maya, and then gradually turn on each other, struggling between listening to their own consciences and following their desire to please Candace. Through the multiple narratives, Koss expands the story, showing readers each girl's family in scenes of richly distinct homelife that help to define the sometimes similar voices. The story's real strength, however, lies in the emotional weight contained in small, beautifully articulated moments--a sneer about a sandwich that becomes significant and threatening results in three girls ordering the same lunch: "twins on the inside." Readers, particularly girls, weathering the agonizing, variable minefields of cliques will easily find themselves in this taut, authentic story. See the Read-alike column on the opposite page for more examples of the multiple-narrative technique. ((Reviewed August 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)

February 18, 2002

Koss's suspenseful and realistic portrayal of a popular middle school clique's devolution unfolds though six narrators. In a starred review, PW
said, "Readers will identify with and remember these characters, and may think twice before sacrificing their individuality for the sake of popularity." Ages 10-14.

July 1, 2000
One Saturday morning a girl finds out that her group of friends, for reasons unknown, has decided to exclude her. As the short novel moves over the course of the weekend, five girls narrate in turns, each moving the story forward as well as providing sometimes unwitting commentary on her friends' versions of events. The story is the stuff of series paperbacks, but Koss succeeds in taking it to its dramatic core without becoming generic.

(Copyright 2000 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)