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Cover of The torn skirt

The torn skirt

202 pages

A feverish, gritty descent into teenage rebellion and the dangerous allure of the underworld.

What it feels like

Reading this book feels like a feverish descent into the raw, unfiltered angst of adolescence. The narrative moves with a propulsive, dangerous energy, pulling the reader out of the suffocating apathy of high school and into a gritty underworld of runaways and outlaws. It is steeped in a dark, sensory atmosphere where the sweet scent of teenage perfume masks a deep, aching longing for something real. The prose captures the intense, risky magnetism of female friendship and the devastating consequences of parental deprivation. It is a dark, tragic coming-of-age experience that will captivate readers who are drawn to atmospheric suspense and the reckless, desperate search for belonging in the shadows of youth.

Mood
  • feverish
  • angst-ridden
  • dangerous
  • tragic
Tone
  • raw
  • gritty
  • intense
  • atmospheric
Pace
propulsive
Themes
teenage rebellion · dangerous female friendships · loss of innocence · parental deprivation · seeking authenticity
The writing
Evocative and raw, capturing the sensory details of adolescence and the gritty texture of the streets.
The arc
A feverish descent from restless teenage longing into the dark, tragic realities of an unforgiving underworld.
Who it's for
Readers who crave dark, atmospheric coming-of-age stories centered on intense female friendships and teenage rebellion.
Content notes
  • drug use
  • sex work
  • runaway youth
  • violent tragedy
  • child abandonment

About the book

"At Mt. Douglas (a.k.a. Mt. Drug) High, all the girls have feathered hair, and the sweet scent of Love's Baby Soft can't hide the musk of raw teenage anger, apathy, and desire. Sara Shaw is a girl full of fever and longing, a girl looking for something risky, something real. Her only possible salvation comes in the willowy form of the mysterious Justine, the outlaw girl in the torn skirt.

The search for Justine will lead Sara on a daring odyssey into an underworld of hookers and johns, junkies and thieves, runaway girls and skater boys, and, ultimately, into a violent tragedy."--BOOK JACKET.

Description from Open Library.

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