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Like a Girl
A powerful, contemporary teen novel about the courage to be yourself in the face of online and in-school peer pressure, from the co-author of Can You See Me? - perfect for fans of Tamsin Winter, Holly Bourne and Moxie.
Fourteen-year-old Eden McCoy doesn't fit in. All she's good at is running, and she doesn't even dare join the track team. Her priority is to stay in the shadows and avoid the Glossies - a ruthless clique of girls who use social media to punish and humiliate their targets, led by their queen Bea and her sidekick Mikki.
But one day, Eden breaks her vow to stay she beats track star Mikki in a race. This bold move captures the attention of Bea, who decides Eden needs to either prove her loyalty and become one of the Glossies - or suffer the consequences. And so The Testing begins...
As Eden is challenged to play a cruel prank on another kid or have that same act inflicted on her, her will is pushed to the limit. The only thing keeping her afloat is an unexpected connection with a boy called Riley, a fellow runner who messages her online. But how deep does The Testing run? And how long until Eden breaks?
A sharply written, grippingly entertaining and moving story that explores the joy to be found in running, sports and exercise - as well as in community, real friendship and solidarity. Inspired by research into real teen opinions about the risks and benefits of social media. Empathetically explores the different ways girls can be 'put in boxes' and the pressure to act in a way that society or their peers expect of them, with a touching mother-daughter relationship at the heart.
Fourteen-year-old Eden McCoy doesn't fit in. All she's good at is running, and she doesn't even dare join the track team. Her priority is to stay in the shadows and avoid the Glossies - a ruthless clique of girls who use social media to punish and humiliate their targets, led by their queen Bea and her sidekick Mikki.
But one day, Eden breaks her vow to stay she beats track star Mikki in a race. This bold move captures the attention of Bea, who decides Eden needs to either prove her loyalty and become one of the Glossies - or suffer the consequences. And so The Testing begins...
As Eden is challenged to play a cruel prank on another kid or have that same act inflicted on her, her will is pushed to the limit. The only thing keeping her afloat is an unexpected connection with a boy called Riley, a fellow runner who messages her online. But how deep does The Testing run? And how long until Eden breaks?
A sharply written, grippingly entertaining and moving story that explores the joy to be found in running, sports and exercise - as well as in community, real friendship and solidarity. Inspired by research into real teen opinions about the risks and benefits of social media. Empathetically explores the different ways girls can be 'put in boxes' and the pressure to act in a way that society or their peers expect of them, with a touching mother-daughter relationship at the heart.
- GenresYoung AdultFriendship
347 pages, Kindle Edition
Published April 11, 2024
6 people are currently reading
29 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Westcott
16 books76 followersRebecca Westcott was born in Chester. She went to Exeter University to train as a teacher and has had a variety of teaching jobs that have taken her to some very interesting places, including a Category C male prison. She started writing a diary when she was eight years old, although she had no idea that one day her entries would be used to help her write a book. Rebecca currently teaches in a primary school and lives in Dorset with her husband and three children. Dandelion Clocks is her first book.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 8, 2025
I actually read the paperback version, but that doesn't seem to appear on Goodreads (yet). But wow, it is amazing that I could enjoy a book so much while also really not enjoying it and suffering from reading it at the same time.
Having been brutally bullied myself when I was at school, especially when I was in year 9 and at age 14, the exact same age the MC Eden is in this story, seeing Eden get so brutally bullied was too painfully close to home to me. I actually felt really unsettled last night after reading all the scenes where Eden gets brutally bullied, both in person and online, because it of course triggered my PTSD, having had very similar experiences when I was at school, at that same age, of both brutal in-person and cyberbullying. Eden's bullying seemed so incredibly brutal and severe though that it was probably just as bad if not worse than mine, and having everyone turn against her so viciously as well, because bullies have just that much power, was also too painfully close to home for me, and made me feel very unsettled indeed.
However, that is what made it such a powerful and compelling story, to actually have that much of an emotional impact on me. Oh and god my heart really sank at that twist part-I should have seen that coming really! Was so devastating after it was her only source of happiness and refuge during all the adversity she was going through.
All the bullies in this were utter low-life scumbags for what they did to Eden and all the hell they put her through, especially Mikki, Autumn and the boys Kieran and Ethan, though the girls who just joined in with their bullying to get on their good side were just depicted as being weak, spineless followers rather than horrible people and did actually show remorse in the end, I still think they were disgusting for what they did when following the Glossies' orders, as even if they were just following orders, attacking someone with doughnuts and then filming them and uploading it online for everyone to laugh at is just beyond cruel and disgusting, same with the changing room and lunch incident. Not to mention the hate group against Eden, that is just the lowest of the low, no, well beneath the lowest of the low, and were just horrible, toxic people.
Sorry, rant over, it all just made me so angry because of how painfully close to home it all was for me, seeing just how brutal and severe the bullying was, which was a lot more than I expected, and it's obvious that this is a YA book rather than middle-grade, which Rebecca Westcott's previous other books have been, and is thus a lot darker and edgier, not to mention brutal.
As painfully close to home as this book was for me though, my praise goes out to the author for really capturing the reality of the toxic environment that is secondary school for teenagers, with the concepts of bullying (including cyberbullying on social media), group think/herd mentality, conforming and jumping on the bandwagon and toxic friendships being very relevant and relatable for teenagers indeed. It's scary that people like the Glossies actually exist in real life- I know because I've experienced them first hand. I really admire that a lot of research went into this book, with the author having carried out research into the experiences of teenagers to help for the premise and theme of this book, making it as realistic as possible.
I hated this book for how much empathetic, close to home pain it brought me, but I loved it for how relevant and true to reality it was. It's because I could empathise so much that it was a sign of a strong story.
Having been brutally bullied myself when I was at school, especially when I was in year 9 and at age 14, the exact same age the MC Eden is in this story, seeing Eden get so brutally bullied was too painfully close to home to me. I actually felt really unsettled last night after reading all the scenes where Eden gets brutally bullied, both in person and online, because it of course triggered my PTSD, having had very similar experiences when I was at school, at that same age, of both brutal in-person and cyberbullying. Eden's bullying seemed so incredibly brutal and severe though that it was probably just as bad if not worse than mine, and having everyone turn against her so viciously as well, because bullies have just that much power, was also too painfully close to home for me, and made me feel very unsettled indeed.
However, that is what made it such a powerful and compelling story, to actually have that much of an emotional impact on me. Oh and god my heart really sank at that twist part-I should have seen that coming really! Was so devastating after it was her only source of happiness and refuge during all the adversity she was going through.
All the bullies in this were utter low-life scumbags for what they did to Eden and all the hell they put her through, especially Mikki, Autumn and the boys Kieran and Ethan, though the girls who just joined in with their bullying to get on their good side were just depicted as being weak, spineless followers rather than horrible people and did actually show remorse in the end, I still think they were disgusting for what they did when following the Glossies' orders, as even if they were just following orders, attacking someone with doughnuts and then filming them and uploading it online for everyone to laugh at is just beyond cruel and disgusting, same with the changing room and lunch incident. Not to mention the hate group against Eden, that is just the lowest of the low, no, well beneath the lowest of the low, and were just horrible, toxic people.
Sorry, rant over, it all just made me so angry because of how painfully close to home it all was for me, seeing just how brutal and severe the bullying was, which was a lot more than I expected, and it's obvious that this is a YA book rather than middle-grade, which Rebecca Westcott's previous other books have been, and is thus a lot darker and edgier, not to mention brutal.
As painfully close to home as this book was for me though, my praise goes out to the author for really capturing the reality of the toxic environment that is secondary school for teenagers, with the concepts of bullying (including cyberbullying on social media), group think/herd mentality, conforming and jumping on the bandwagon and toxic friendships being very relevant and relatable for teenagers indeed. It's scary that people like the Glossies actually exist in real life- I know because I've experienced them first hand. I really admire that a lot of research went into this book, with the author having carried out research into the experiences of teenagers to help for the premise and theme of this book, making it as realistic as possible.
I hated this book for how much empathetic, close to home pain it brought me, but I loved it for how relevant and true to reality it was. It's because I could empathise so much that it was a sign of a strong story.
October 22, 2024
This book made me glad that when I was at high school my phone was a Nokia 3310 and that the internet (especially social media) wasn't as rooted in life. There was MSN messenger and Myspace but cyber bullying didn't really happen.
I understood the wanting to be invisible as there were times I felt the same but you could get away from anything negative when you went home.
I feel so bad for kids now constantly connected and unable to escape anything bad that may be going on. The fact the book showed that the main character had integrity and stuck to her guns was a great message.
I'd recommend this book for adults and kids alike as well as teachers so that they can be shown what is sometimes well hidden by children in schools
I understood the wanting to be invisible as there were times I felt the same but you could get away from anything negative when you went home.
I feel so bad for kids now constantly connected and unable to escape anything bad that may be going on. The fact the book showed that the main character had integrity and stuck to her guns was a great message.
I'd recommend this book for adults and kids alike as well as teachers so that they can be shown what is sometimes well hidden by children in schools
January 5, 2026
This book is great!! Throughout the day I would always wonder ’What will happen next?’ I COULD NOT stop reading this book! The chapters always left me at cliffhangers and I would end up reading around 10 chapters a night! I would actually feel sorry for Eden. I would feel like I was there with her. This book was great! I completely recommend it! Trust me, you won’t regret buying it! The way it was written made me want to read even more and more and more! I couldn’t stop! Thank you Rebecca Westcott for writing such an awesome book!
April 11, 2024
Read cover-to-cover in a single afternoon - a can’t-put-down story every high schooler will relate to.
⭐️ 5 stars
⭐️ 5 stars
August 27, 2024
Very interesting read. Highly recommend to parents and children alike. Proof that courage and bravery can overcome the power of online bullying.
November 25, 2024
o livro que eu gostaria de ter lido nos meus tempos de escola.
December 26, 2025
Fast read, had gossip girl vibes to it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews