Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young (review)

Innovations Academy’s mission is to prepare beautiful, obedient girls for their places in the world, be it as a wife to one of the Academy’s investors or in another suitable role as defined by the Innovations founder. Mena is one of the school’s most prized students, but that rapidly changes when one classmate starts acting strange, whispering words of defiance against the administration to Mena, and another girl goes missing. Now Mena grows suspicious of the guidance given by the men who supposedly care for her, and when she stops taking her nightly “vitamins,” she begins to realize the Academy’s intentions for the girls are neither noble nor loving. Young starts with the stock YA dystopia premise of authoritarian adults controlling teens through drugs and isolation, but she amps it up to the nth degree, avoiding caricature or predictability with a fully developed cast and stunning plot twists. The story presents a clear, overt examination of gender and power, and it’s a carefully constructed one, highlighting the complexities of a patriarchal system that is so ingrained and so absolute that even the most well-intentioned men and women unwittingly uphold it. Similarly, the book explores the theme of agency and opportunity when Mena and her friends escape to freedom but still have few options for a future and more questions about their pasts. A timely, perceptive read, this will leave readers, especially those grappling with the implications of the #metoo era, anxious for the sequel.