Spring 2025

Starred Review Sometimes the Girl

  • Interest Level: Grade 9 - Grade 12
  • Reading Level: Grade 9

Eighteen-year-old Holiday needs to sort her life out.

She’s still shaken from her brother’s recent suicide attempt; still pining over her ex, Maya; and still struggling to write again after a long dry spell. To earn enough money for a rebalancing trip with Maya, Holi gets a short-term job: organizing the attic of acclaimed author Elsie McAllister. It’s an unglamorous gig with a difficult boss. Elsie—whose fame rests on a single novel published decades ago—is in her nineties, in failing health, and fiercely protective of her privacy. But as Holi sorts through the attic’s surprising contents, she realizes there’s much more to Elsie than the novel that made her a legend.

Unearthing Elsie’s secrets will change how Holi sees art, life, and the way they intertwine, as she grapples with choices that will redefine her own path.


Format Your Price Add
978-1-7284-9329-9
On pre-order until 05/06/2025
$14.99
979-8-7656-5084-4
On pre-order until 05/06/2025
$24.99
Available at all major wholesalers and distributors. Save 25% off list price on hardcovers and ebooks when you buy direct! Digital purchases will be accessed on Lerner Digital Bookshelf. An account will be created for you after purchase.
Interest Level Grade 9 - Grade 12
Reading Level Grade 9
Genre Young Adult
Category Diverse Books: LGBTQIA+, Diversity, SEL: D Relationship Skills, SEL: E Responsible Decision-Making, Social Emotional Learning
Copyright 2025
Publisher Lerner Publishing Group
Imprint Carolrhoda Lab ®
Language English
Number of Pages 304
Publication Date 2025-05-06
Text Type Fiction
BISACS YAF036000, YAF058050, YAF031000
Dewey [Fic]
Dimensions 5.5 x 8.25
Features Author/Illustrator note, Reviewed, Starred Reviews, Teaching Guides, and eSource

Reviews

Starred Review Foreword Reviews

“A touching coming-of-age novel about healing and connection. Holi’s story models radical empathy, and its conclusion acknowledges that language is the only tool that may bridge the gap between people who seek to understand each other.”—starred, Foreword Reviews

Booklist

“Mason-Black’s writing, expressed through Holi’s first-person narration, is original and striking in its depth, putting a thoughtful spotlight on Holi and the people around her. An appealing and engrossing work.”—Booklist

Starred Review Kirkus Reviews

“Mason-Black’s prose sparkles with poetic beauty as Holi engages in introspective musings about collective mourning and how individual healing is possible only in community. . . This striking work shows the power of intergenerational relationships to fortify queer artists against erasure . . . Beautifully written and powerfully uplifting.”—starred, Kirkus Reviews