All in Together Girls

by Kate Sutherland

*One of 2008's Best Books for Kids & Teens (Canadian Children's Book Centre)

The stories in All in Together Girls relate the relentless search for identity and the late night drive-through culture of bored teens whose sleepover alibis have left them with no place else to go. Hallmarked by entrances into, and thought-provoking points of exit from, moments of addiction, betrayal, misjudgement, and first kisses, they are defining portraits of girls and women during the storm and stress of self-discovery.

Genres: Fiction

149 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2007

About the author

Kate Sutherland was born in Dundee, Scotland. She moved to Canada with her family shortly thereafter, and she grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. She now lives in Toronto where she is a professor at Osgoode Hall Law School.

Kate is the author of two collections of short stories: Summer Reading which won a Saskatchewan Book Award in 1995, and All In Together Girls which was published in 2007 by Thistledown Press. Her first collection of poems, How to Draw a Rhinoceros, is forthcoming from BookThug in the Fall of 2016.

Reviews

[Susann · Rating 4 out of 5]

The vivid characters and settings in each of these short stories pulled me right in. Most of the stories are about girls and women struggling with the darker moments in their relationships with best friends and boyfriends. Sutherland's tone reminded me of Margaret Atwood (and I'm not just saying that because they're both Canadian). My personal favorite was "She's A Rocker" - Nicole delighted me.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sutherland writes about real people, and she does it so well it's effortless. Her stories are little vignettes from lives that I recognized more often than not. I'm not a short story fan as a rule, but these were very satisfying moments from interesting lives. I'm hoping Sutherland is working on a big fat novel, but if she's sticking with stories, I'm up for that too. Highly recommended, even if you think you don't like short stories!

[Jeannie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the style of the stories. Just getting a brief glimpse into someone's life. I wanted to savor each story and read no more than one a day so I could ponder, but it was very hard to stick to that, each story left me wanting another, yet not quite ready to move on after the last. Highly recommended. I'm glad I bought it, it will stay on my bookshelf for re-reads later.