The Wild Girls - Pat Murphy

This is an Oregon Battle of the Books title that I read over the weekend. LOVED this book. It's so much fun. The wild girls are really just two lonely girls who've found each other and discovered writing and all it can teach them. They do act a little wild sometimes, especially Fox. Fox (her real name is Sarah) lives with her dad because her mother left their family many years ago, and she spends a lot of time alone with her imagination building up her defenses around herself. She and her father don't have much money, so their house is a bit run down, as are her clothes.

Jean is the other wild girl. She's just moved to the Bay area with her mother, father and brother, and she doesn't really know anyone else when she meets Fox. Fox decides to call her Newt. Jean is not very wild at all in reality.

The Wild Girls get their name from a piece of writing they do for a story contest which they WIN! The story they write is about some wild girls on a quest through the forest. As a part of their winning, they're required to do a read-aloud of the story. Neither of them is actually too keen about it, and Fox nearly runs out on the whole thing. Sarah salvages the situation by stealing a tube of lipstick and painting their faces. "Hidden" behind the make-up, they do a rousing reading and earn entrance into a summer writing program at Berkeley.

The writing program is a wonderful group for these girls. It's a supportive place where they learn not only about writing but about relationships and friendships and, most importantly, themselves.

This is a very fun story for lovers of writing, especially, but also for lovers of fun! Available at the WOMS library. This is an Oregon Battle of the Books 2010 title.