Editorial Review

The protagonists of these feminist YA novels do not let their ’’imperfections’’ stand in the way of taking action as they work to save themselves and, oftentimes, other young women.

At fourteen, Macy Cashmere, star of The Disturbed Girl’s Dictionary by NoNieqa Ramos, has lived out of her family’s car, seen her father jailed, and evaded child protective services after they ’’kidnapped’’ her brother. Blunt, opinionated Macy tells her story through electric-voiced, slang- (and swear-) laden entries in her ‘’dictionary,’’ a journal in which she distills her chaotic life into alphabetically arranged vignettes. Macy’s aggressive resilience and her irrepressible passion for her loved ones ultimately prevail in this powerful debut. (Carolrhoda Lab, 14 years and up)