What Every Girl Should Know

by J. Albert Mann

This compelling historical novel spans the early and very formative years of feminist and women’s health activist Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, as she struggles to find her way amidst the harsh realities of poverty.

Margaret was determined to get out. She didn’t want to clean the dirty dishes and soiled diapers that piled up day in and day out in her large family’s small home. She didn’t want to disappoint her ailing mother, who cared tirelessly for an ever-growing number of children despite her incessant cough. And Margaret certainly didn’t want to be labeled a girl of “promise,” destined to become either a teacher or a mother—which seemed to be a woman’s only options.

As a feisty and opinionated young woman, Margaret Higgins Sanger witnessed and experienced incredible hardships, which led to her groundbreaking work as an advocate for women’s rights and the founder of Planned Parenthood. This fiery novel of Margaret’s early life paints the portrait of a young woman with the passion and courage to change the world.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Young Adult, Historical, Fiction, Feminism, Young Adult Historical Fiction, Family

256 pages, Hardcover

First published February 12, 2019

About the author

J. Albert Mann is a disability activist, an award-winning poet and the author of eight published novels for children. She has an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults and is the Partner Liaison for the WNDB Internship Grant Committee. She lives on a little fishing boat in the Boston Harbor with her first mate, Marcella, a ginger tabby.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a young girl, Margaret Sanger dreamed of a world in which girls were could wear pants. Doesn’t seem like much to ask, but growing up poor in the late 1800s in Corning, New York, meant any dream was a luxury, especially for girls. With beautiful prose and meticulous research, J. Albert Mann brings to life young Margaret in a way that makes us better understand how and why the smart, complicated, driven little girl became the type of woman who could change the world. So many of the opportunities women have today, are a result of the determination and tireless work of Margaret Sanger. Every girl should know about her.

[Jessi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Margaret Sanger did cool stuff. There should be books about her work, and the movement. But she was also super racist and a eugenicist and her work is, in a lot of ways, tainted by this. Yes, celebrate the fact that she saw more worth in her sex than having babies and she worked hard to educate women about their bodies and their choices. But how do you write a fiction book about these heroics without touching on the fact that she also was overeager to share contraception with certain populations because, to be frank, she felt that society would be better off without them? This isn't a matter of opinion- she states it herself in her letters. I don't know. Maybe this book would have been a better idea if it had been written from the perspective of one of her friends or colleagues instead of Sanger herself. I just can't wrap my head around the inspirational vibe, knowing what I know. It gives me a creepy feeling, like if I read a book about a young Osama bin Laden that painted him as a patriotic hero (which he was, once upon a time; the US actually referred to him and his fellow soldiers as "freedom fighters") and then didn't touch on the radicalization, the terrorism, the violence. It just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I'm disappointed.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would be very curious to read a biography or autobiography. Well written historical fiction. I felt Margaret's fury. ❤️✊♀️

[Sabrina (sabrinareads_) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Louise Higgins Sanger's (Maggie, for short) story was about her hardship and poverty that she faced with both of her parents and an ever-growing number of siblings in a small house at Corning, New York. The daughters of the Higgins family worked day and night to scrub, wash, prepare and tidy the house and all of the humans inside it. The boys were not such a help either and that made the daughters worn out after calling it a day. Their father was a free-thinker, and this made him to be blacklisted and excluded from the society because of his such contradicting believes on God and religion. His father was not able to provide for the family well.

Education was Maggie's only hope to get out of the house and to help her family escaping from the hardship that they had faced. She wanted to become a doctor, so she could learn how to treat patients. Her experience in facing extreme poverty has made her to become an advocate for women's rights and the founder of Planned Parenthood.

At such a young age, she has learned and realised that women are not meant to stay at home doing chores only. Women are also equally equipped to work, vote and make a change in the society. Women deserve to be heard. She realised this because of his father, he was totally "free" and able to express his feelings strongly and Maggie envied him for that. She was very brave in giving speeches in school to express herself on why women should take part in the society.

I was not so sure of the ending, it was a bit too fast and blurry because the final part did not tell the readers on the Higgins' wellbeing.

I have never read any of her biographies before and I am very much interested in reading them soon, to learn about her self-discovery and journey in advocating women's right.

If you have the chance to read this, please do because this read will change your life.

Thank you Pansing for providing me this powerful read!

[Stella Kondylis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed in this book, I really expected more from it. I found it predictable and I wish that it had been about her later life which is a lot more interesting than the depressing story of her family. Every time something "significant" happened I just felt let down. I would not recommend this book.

[Destiny Bridwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. I know this is a historical book. There are parts of this book that I don't agree with I just want to say that first off. This book is done like a journal or diary by Margaret. She does not have a lot of time to herself while she is doing chores and taking care of her younger sibling. Her wants something different for her life then what is planned for her at that time period. 

[T.J. Burns]

I received a copy of this book from Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Michelle Arceo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Margaret Sanger was an ambitious young woman who knew she wanted more for herself than to only be a mother and wife. She grew up facing hardship and poverty with both of her parents and outgrowing number of siblings in a tiny house in Corning, New York. She also suffered the injustice of being treated as if she was only good for cleaning and being responsible of her siblings. Margaret had to spend her childhood raising children and doing household chores, as her mother was often pregnant and very ill, which made her too weak to do so. Maggie struggles to be a devoted daughter and sibling while holding onto her dream of becoming a doctor. Education was Maggie’s only escape out of poverty and hardship that her family faced. Her experience in facing extreme poverty made her become an advocate for women’s rights. Maggie plays this strong feminist character that is truly inspiring.

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 2 out of 5]

What Every Girl Should Know: Margaret Sanger’s Journey by J.Albert Mann, 228 pages. Atheneum (Simon), 2019 $19

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: PG (dating/kissing); Violence: G.

BUYING ADVISORY: HS

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

This is a fictionalized account of Margaret Sangers childhood and teen years. Her father was outspoken in his views, which included the right of everyone to vote. She idolized him, though he did little to support the family. Her mother, on the other hand, works non-stop to not only care for their ever growing family, but neighbors in need as well, and with a health condition. Because their family is so large, everyone must work incredibly hard (except for father). Margaret does get to attend school but experiences how life is when there are so many children in a low income situation. She wants to be a doctor but eventually starts nurse training and becomes a speaker for women’s reproductive rights, and eventually the founder of planned parenthood (though the book doesn’t cover that part of her life).

My favorite part of this book was the ending historical notes, which clear up a lot of misconceptions about Margaret and racist comments that were mis-attributed to her. Much of her teen and childhood years were made up of repetitive hard work helping take care of the large family she was born into. I felt like I would have rather read a few chapters about that, and the rest of the book be about her adult life. Although this book is very well written, its just too much of the same over and over. While Margaret did evolve over the course of the book, I am not sure a high school reader would stick with this, its like reading someone doing chore after chore, I was tired after a few chapters.

Reviewer: Stephanie MLS & Author.
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2019...

[Selena Wang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great read!!

[Teenreadsdotcom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Margaret Sanger is an extraordinarily influential woman whom no one saw coming. WHAT EVERY GIRL SHOULD KNOW, by J. Albert Mann, follows young Margaret Sanger’s journey in a society where girls were only expected to be wives and mothers, and the only work they could do was teach. However, Sanger had a different dream, she dreamed to become a doctor. Sadly, she was born in a time where the idea of a female doctor seemed impossible. How could she be a doctor if she couldn’t even vote?

Margaret was not to be deterred by what society thought of her being a doctor, she had passion and a goal. She was the sixth of 11 children. Throughout Sanger’s childhood, her mother was deathly sick. This was Sanger’s first example of the strength women have. Sanger grew up with her mother constantly pregnant and seeing the toll these pregnancies had on her, especially the miscarriages. Margaret had to spend her childhood raising her siblings and doing household chores, as her own mother was too weak to do so. This would later lead to her passion of establishing the first birth control center in the United States.

Margaret’s ideas of being a female doctor, being able to vote and legalizing birth control were widely unheard of in the late nineteenth century. Margaret was opinionated and an activist through and through. In the book, we can see the roots of Margaret’s dedication to feminism and women’s rights. We see Margaret’s passion and her want for more. Specifically, how she wanted to be more than a mother or a teacher. Witnessing the incredible hardships her mother, her older sisters and herself had to face just because they were women invoked Margaret’s want to advocate for women.

WHAT EVERY GIRL SHOULD KNOW was so heartbreaking. There were so many times throughout the story that I wanted to reach through and give Margaret a big, warm hug. My heart went to her every time one of her dreams were crushed or she was denied help and acceptance by those whom she needed the most. I thoroughly enjoyed this read, especially with Margaret’s witty humor. Margaret is confident and dedicated, and I greatly admired these qualities. She was bold and unafraid despite the most difficult of situations. The author, J. Albert Mann, was able to portray the struggles of a teenage girl so well. I was most impressed with her ability to express a teenage girl in the late nineteenth century with issues so distinctly different from the twenty-first century. However, despite these gaps in time, Mann was also able to connect Sanger’s issues with problems faced today. Mann emphasized the importance of confidence and not to shy away from the “man in charge” but to take charge for yourself.

So many times throughout this book, I felt myself getting riled up with Margaret. When Margaret scoffed, I scoffed. When she got angry, I got angry. When she cried, I cried. I was there with Margaret from beginning to end and what a journey it was. I am so impressed with the author and her ability to get me to not only be there with Margaret in her journey but relate and feel with her too.

I highly recommend WHAT EVERY GIRL SHOULD KNOW! It is such a thought-provoking, insightful work of literature that I strongly encourage all young girls to read. I also encourage the men out there to read this work of art. Honestly, it is so easy to overlook the obstacles women have overcome and to take for granted those who have advocated and fought for women's rights. I was so enlightened about so many issues I haven’t even thought about before reading this novel, and if you want to be enlightened read WHAT EVERY GIRL SHOULD KNOW: Margaret Sanger’s Journey.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

It can be said that it was Margaret Sanger’s childhood that led her down the path to becoming a birth control activist and the mother of the organization that would eventually form Planned Parenthood. Born Margaret Higgins in the 1870s, she saw firsthand how limited choices and opportunities for women could lead to a stifled life, and often death. Margaret’s own mother had 18 pregnancies in 22 years, although only 11 babies survived. Margaret, the sixth child of eleven, saw the toll that being nearly constantly pregnant took on her mother and their family, and it can rightly be said that Margaret pursued a life in which she advocated for women’s rights and the opportunity for women to have control over their bodies due to what she witnessed in her own home growing up. J. Albert Mann’s What Every Girl Should Know tells that story - how Margaret grew from being a “girl with promise” yet no real future beyond becoming a mother or teacher, to a champion for women everywhere.

What Every Girl Should Know alternates between the past, where we learn about Margaret’s life growing up in a home bursting at the seams with children, and the present as Margaret returns to her childhood home and her mother’s deathbed. While most of the story takes place in the past, the present day chapters set the scene for the impactful events that solidified Margaret’s decision to spend her life advocating for women.

As a historical YA novel based on Margaret Sanger’s life, What Every Girl Should Know would probably work best for an older young adult audience, including those in their late teens and early 20s. Quite literary and descriptive, as well as grounded in sociology, philosophy, and religion, this novel will connect best with those who have some life experience and understand what it means to sacrifice, as well as fight for what you believe in.

As a reader, I would have liked the novel to focus more on Margaret’s later teenage life, once she goes away to school, becomes involved in her first relationship, and pursues a string of careers. This part of the book was given little time or attention, with most of the novel covering Margaret’s younger years, which involved caring for her many siblings, helping her mother take care of their home, being publicly chastised for her father’s radical ideas, and attempting to become more than just a “girl with promise” in school. I feel that this part of the book could have been shortened to make way for the years in which Margaret really came into her own.

Readers should note that this novel does not cover Margaret’s adult life, in which she becomes a birth control activist, taking on the U.S. courts and opening our nation’s first birth control clinic. Rather, What Every Girl Should Know paints a picture of how Margaret’s upbringing turned her into the women’s crusader she became.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atheneum Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Librarian Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Whether you're a pro-life or pro-choice feminist, this fictionalized account of Margaret Sanger's origin story is an empathetic look at the circumstances that shaped Margaret Sanger. If you don't know who she is, Margaret Sanger (nee Higgins) is a women's reproductive rights activist from the late 1800s to her death in 1922. In many ways, she was before her time but also in many ways was a product of her time in regards to her thoughts on eugenics and in that it wasn't known at the time the cycles of a woman's fertility. But, any modern day woman can admire her drive and insistence that sex for women should be pleasurable and not only for the sake of getting pregnant as well as the importance of women being able to vote, and be aware of ways to plan families without overrunning the world with babies.

In this novel, we see Margaret (affectionately called Maggie) as she grows up watching her mother carry child after child, as well as her neighbors and seeing her older sisters leaving school in order to help their mom as the consumption takes her. We see the struggle of loving her younger siblings when the birth of each one just means that her mother is dying faster. Combine this with her father's talk of freedom and liberty and women's sufferage, and it's easy to see where her blossoming ideas of feminism came from.

While I appreciated this very basic, empathetic introduction to Margaret Sanger's origins, I felt that everything was tied up too quickly. Reader's won't see her going to medical school or her writings on female sexuality. Even the author's note at the end is extremely simplified account of who M.S. is and why the readers should care. The writing style was short and to the point but with a lot of feeling behind it which was nice but again a bit too simplified for my tastes.

[Amber McKee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up from a free shelf at my local library. The title appealed to me as well as the colors of the book cover. I started this book without realizing that it was written about Margaret Sanger.
I liked this book because I liked Margaret’s personality. She was born into a hard life with her mom always pregnant, having babies, and sick. She believed women could be more and deserved to be equal to men. A majority of this book is about Margaret cleaning up after her family, surviving in a place that was tough. A glass factory that polluted the town. Hard cold winters. Margaret wanted to be a doctor and couldn’t because of the time she lived in. Men controlled the world and she believed women deserved to vote and to decide whether or not they wanted to have children.
She was a progressive thinker who defied the conventions of society.
She built the foundation for Planned Parenthood. Yes she did believe in eugenics which Helen Keller and Theodore Roosevelt and others believed in. But her beliefs were twisted in order to tarnish her reputation. She wasn’t a racist, but made to look like she was. She believed that those with mental illness shouldn’t have children when they couldn’t care for those children.
Anyway, I liked the book. It was like going back in time and imagining myself having to cook and clean all the time and being angry at the unfairness and injustice women suffered. I would have liked to have seen Margaret go off to nursing school and find herself and her passion. But the book ended with the death or her mother, a year of mourning and just surviving before she boarded a train to where?? That’s how the book ended. This is a work of fiction. There is an autobiography that J. Albert Mann used in combination with other witness accounts of Margaret to bring her back to life for us.

[Carrie Kellenberger · Rating 2 out of 5]

What Every Girl Should Know is the true (but fictionalized) story of feminist and women's health activist Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood. The story begins with Margaret's life as a young girl struggling in her family to keep up with her never-ending siblings. Her family lives in extreme poverty and her mother is pregnant all the time.

Margaret’s mother had 18 pregnancies in 22 years. Only 11 babies survived. Her mother, throughout all of this, also suffers from consumption and she is unable to care for her own children. This leaves Margaret and her older sisters to care for the new babies and other younger siblings.

As a young girl, Margaret dreamed of being different. She didn't want to clean the house or look after babies, but she also didn't want to upset her mother.

I thought that this book would take us through Margaret's childhood and then let us know a little more about how she became an advocate for women's rights and how she founded Planned Parenthood, but this book only focuses on her years as a young girl and young woman.

What Every Girl Should Know is an interesting read and it goes into great detail about what life was like for women in the 1800s, but it didn't really give me what I wanted. I was looking for a more complete biography of Margaret Sanger and the book ended at the point that I was most interested in learning about.

[Cindy Hudson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many people may recognize the name Margaret Higgins Sanger as the feminist and women’s health activist who established organizations that became Planned Parenthood. But most probably aren’t aware of her early life, her upbringing in a gritty Upstate New York mill town in the late 1800s, when girls were expected to either grow up, marry, and have children, or become teachers.

What Every Girl Should Know: Margaret Sanger’s Journey by J. Albert Mann, is a historical fiction account of Sanger’s early life, when she was known as Maggie in a household of more than 12 adults and children. The family was poor, Maggie’s mother was often ill and pregnant, and her father was a free-thinker ostracized in their community. Maggie and her siblings had an endless amount of work every day to help keep the household running. She didn’t understand why women had such limited options, and she thought things should be different.

With the help of her siblings, she was able to leave and go to school for a time before breaking out of the cycle expected for her. Mann’s book reveals a lot about the hardship Maggie and her siblings faced, recounting parts of her life that undoubtedly influenced her outlook and led her to advocate for women. I recommend it for mother-daughter book clubs and readers aged 14 and up.

The publisher provided me with a copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.

[Jamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The text structure of this novel made no sense to me. Margaret Sanger lived an amazing life and she accomplished a great deal for women’s reproductive rights- the least of which was starting the conversation about birth control and choice. So why is the novel almost completely about her life growing up in poverty, helping raise her many siblings and burying her mother’s stillborn babies? Each section was dated March 1, 1899 and with just a little variance in getting up her gumption to leave Corning, Nee York, the vast majority of the book was about washing diapers, walking5 miles in the cold, and having a horrible time at school. Why just an author’s note about nursing school, her work as a nurse, the development of her ideas about women’s rights, her arrest, the development of Planned Parenthood, her eugenic beliefs? I quit 2/3 through and skimmed the rest. Very disappointing.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ummmm. After jumping on here to write a review (which I never do), and then reading the other review first, I realize...I might have liked it a bit more than most. Which is great! We all love different things!
Here's what I hated. The cover. I almost used this for the "Ugliest Cover" prompt for my 2021 PopSugar Reading Challenge. This is a feminist book at heart, so why pink and a dress?? It's a fictional account of the childhood of Margaret Higgins Sanger who eventually went on to found Planned Parenthood.
What I LOVED?
It was an easy, fast read and so fun!! Maybe I liked it more than I should because I've read such hard depressing books lately. But really. This was about a hard and depressing life, too. But the spunk and cleverness that this author was able to portray in the young Margaret Higgins was so enjoyable, despite her conditions. I giggled so often and fell in love with her fiesty-ness.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good read! It’s a historical fiction novel about Maggie Higgins (aka Margaret Sanger, the mother of birth control) from when she was 11-19 years old. I felt like Maggie was my own best friend telling me what life was like before women had birth control. The book is well-researched and the author really captures Margaret Sanger's larger-than-life spirit. Although Maggie’s mother's life was pretty grim, Maggie's humor, spirit, and love for her mother shines throughout the book. It’s clear Maggie will go on to do great things. Very inspiring!

[Marin Jurgens · Rating 2 out of 5]

Considering the low number of reviews for this book, I did not have high hopes for What Every Girl Should Know. Yet I enjoyed it even less than I was expecting too. To be fair, there were some good passages that I thought were worth taking note of. However, overall, I would not recommend this book. It focuses far too much on Margaret Sanger’s rough childhood and far too less on her actual adulthood and contributions to society. And as it is a fictionalized version of history, I would have hoped for more intriguing stories if it was going to be historically inaccurate from the start.

[Isabel McIlhenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reminded me of something my grandma would read to me in elementary school. It’s not necessary bad, it’s just not what I would choose to read. I wish that the book had focused on Maggie’s entire life, for I think her work as an adult was important and would be more interesting to read about than her childhood. Following Maggie’s childhood was important to seeing how she progressed to become a champion of women’s reproductive rights but the book cut off right where I was actually becoming interested in learning more about her.

[Angela Tarr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sassy Maggie Higgins wants more out of life than what her mother has had to endure. Her older brother tells her that all girls get married or teach. “I glanced around the classroom. It was better than death, I guess.” This fictionalized biography of a young Margaret Sanger paints a very realistic picture of what life was like for women and young girls at the turn of the century. They had to be courageous and tenacious to reach for more education and opportunities. Fortunately for today’s women, Maggie was.

[Bethann Albert · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is titled "What Every Girl Should Know". I would like to expand that title to include "what every woman should remember"! Sanger's early life was mostly unknown to me until I recently read this beautiful and heartbreaking novel. Mann made Sanger's journey pierce my heart. I am no longer a "girl" and I wish I could have had this when I was one. I am purchasing this book to share with all the "girls" in my life -- young and old.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this fictional account of childhood of the woman who founded Planned Parenthood. Unfortunately it's a all too true story of what life was like for many poor married women and their multitude of children at that time in our history. Now I would be interested reading a biography of her adult life. Kudos to her and others who worked to improve the lot of women in their time with the institutes they founded continuing their work today!

[Carri Nowak · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an eye opener to the life of many females in economically poor families with many children/siblings. The reader learns about Margaret's teenage years and life in her early twenties as she reflects on the past during the year she's called back home. While reading, I wondered how the title related to Margaret. Reader's may find personal nuggets reflecting the title to take away throughout the book. Nevertheless, you will discover the meaning of the title by the end of this book.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a wonderful historical biographical novel of Margaret Sanger as a teen. Margaret comes to life in Mann's novel, and one can understand how she would become the woman who would create Planned Parenthood. Infused with heart and humor, this well-researched book is a great introduction to Margaret Sanger for young people.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a fictional biography of the woman that eventually founded Planned Parenthood. Unfortunately, it is only through her early years and doesn’t cover the actual founding of the agency. Even still, I thoroughly enjoyed exploring the conditions of poor and middle class women that made the Planned Parenthood agency necessary.

[Simone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well-written, fictionalized account of Margaret Sanger's formative years. Recommended for teens and adults who enjoy historical fiction.

Now I really need to read an actual biography of Margaret Sanger.

[Kristie Lock · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Every girl I know ... has wanted something beyond... Wanting it, though, is one thing. Being able to choose it is quite another. And maybe this is what every girl should know-there is no freedom without choice.”

[Susan Banner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book to read with my granddaughter for our book group. The recommendation came from “A Mighty Girl”. While I have long respected Margaret Sanger, the author provided a lovely insight into her childhood and youth. How fortunate we are to have had her fight for the rights of women.