Anatomy of a Girl Gang - Softcover

Little, Ashley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1551525291 ISBN 13: 9781551525297

Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press, 2014

Synopsis

Winner, Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize (BC Book Prizes)Longlisted for the Dublin IMPAC Literary Award A sharp and gritty novel told in multiple voices, "Anatomy of a Girl Gang" is the powerful story of a gang of teenage girls in Vancouver called the Black Roses, a.k.a. "the city's worst nightmare": Mac, the self-appointed leader and mastermind; Mercy, the Punjabi princess with a skill for theft; Kayos, a high-school dropout who gave birth to a daughter at age thirteen; Sly Girl, who fled her First Nations reserve for a better life, only to find depravity and addiction; and Z, a sixteen-year-old graffiti artist.Cast out by mainstream society, the Black Roses rob ATMs, cook crack on stoves, and savagely beat down anyone who dares to harm them. Brutal and broken, they claw at the knot of darkness and violence that tightens around their lives. Told in stark, vivid, and fearless prose, "Anatomy of a Girl Gang" is an unflinching story about lost girls struggling for power, voice, and hope. Ashley Little is author of "Prick: Confessions of a Tattoo Artist" and the YA novel "The New Normal." She lives in British Columbia.

About this title

Review:

"Ashley Little's book grabs you by the larynx and does not let go. Reading, no, listening to these girls' voices is like being that nurse or paramedic on the scene without any defibrillator or oxygen. Sly Girl takes your breath away; Mercy makes you want to go on a five-finger discount walk with her; Z and Mac kiss graf across the city; and Kayos kicks ass against anyone who goes against her Black Roses. And in the voice of the city, Vancouver, takes these precious gang girls into her arms and, we hope, loves them back to themselves, to where they need to be: whole and in bloom." --Cathleen With, author of "skids" and "Having Faith in the Polar Girls' Prison"

"Ashley Little's novel "Anatomy of a Girl Gang" is so fierce and raw and compelling that you won't want to put the book down until you know exactly what becomes of the Black Roses ... A thrilling and frightening, fast-paced read."
--"Vancouver Weekly"
"Both gripping and moving, Anatomy of a Girl Gang is a tight, grim portrait with deep empathy for characters capable of horrific deeds." --Kirkus Reviews (STARRED)

"Relentlessly gritty and in your face, this novel makes some urban lit look like just bling." --Library Journal

"It seems destined to shock and thrill younger readers - think Go Ask Alice minus the moralizing. The plot moves at top speed, much like the characters themselves: running headlong into the night, propelled by the certainty that everything will fall apart if you stop too long to think." --Lambda Literary

"Ashley Little's book grabs you by the larynx and does not let go. Reading, no, listening to these girls' voices is like being that nurse or paramedic on the scene without any defibrillator or oxygen. Sly Girl takes your breath away; Mercy makes you want to go on a five-finger discount walk with her; Z and Mac kiss graf across the city; and Kayos kicks ass against anyone who goes against her Black Roses. And in the voice of the city, Vancouver, takes these precious gang girls into her arms and, we hope, loves them back to themselves, to where they need to be: whole and in bloom." --Cathleen With, author of skids and Having Faith in the Polar Girls' Prison

"Ashley Little's novel Anatomy of a Girl Gang is so fierce and raw and compelling that you won't want to put the book down until you know exactly what becomes of the Black Roses ... A thrilling and frightening, fast-paced read."
--Vancouver Weekly

About the Author:

Ashley Little studied creative writing at the University of Victoria. Her debut novel, Prick: Confessions of a Tattoo Artist (Tightrope Books) was shortlisted for a ReLit Award and has been optioned for a film, for which she is writing the screenplay. She is also the author of the YA novel The New Normal (Orca Book Publishers).

About this edition

• Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 1551525291
• ISBN 13: 9781551525297
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 254