A Girl in Three Parts [Suzanne Daniel]; 2020 YA Releases

A Girl in Three Parts by Suzanne Daniel is one of those books I almost want to say no to just because it seems so heavy. At the end of the day, I know I’m still going to add it to my TBR but I’ll definitely have to be in a certain headspace to pick it up. And really, that mostly comes from the line that references “becoming a woman earning her a slap in the face.” I dunno, I just feel very anxious about whatever brings that about.

Allegra Elsom is caught in the middle. Some days she’s eleven, and others she feels closer to nineteen. Some days she knows too much, and others she feels hopelessly naive. Some days she is split in three, torn between conflicting loyalties to her grandmothers, Matilde and Joy, and her father, Rick—none of whom can stand to be in a room together since the decades-old tragedy that hit their family like a wrecking ball.

Allegra struggles to make peace in her family and navigate the social gauntlet at school while asking bigger questions about her place in the world: What does it mean to be “liberated”? What is it about “becoming a woman” that earns her a slap in the face? What does it mean to do the right thing, when everyone around her defines it differently?

As the feminist movement reshapes her Sydney suburb, Allegra makes her own path—discovering firsthand the incredible ways that women can support each other, and finding strength within herself to stand up to the people she loves.

Readers will not soon forget Suzanne Daniel’s poignant debut, or the spirit of sisterhood that sings out from its pages.