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PG
Short Story
ebook
Published March 6, 2019
About the author
Courtney Summers
14 books7,655 followersCOURTNEY SUMMERS is an uncompromising writer¹ known for a history of risky artistic choices² and pushing boundaries³ with novels that are not for the faint of heart.⁴ She has received over 20 starred reviews and numerous awards and honors, including the Edgar and ITW Thriller Awards.
¹ Quill & Quire ² Kirkus Reviews
³ Shelf Awareness ⁴ The New York Times
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¹ Quill & Quire ² Kirkus Reviews
³ Shelf Awareness ⁴ The New York Times
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
January 2, 2021
WELCOME TO DECEMBER PROJECT!
this explanation/intro will be posted before each day’s short story. scroll down to get to the story-review.
this is the FIFTH year of me doing a short story advent calendar as my december project. for those of you new to me or this endeavor, here’s the skinny: every day in december, i will be reading a short story that is 1) available free somewhere on internet, and 2) listed on goodreads as its own discrete entity. there will be links provided for those of you who like to read (or listen to) short stories for free, and also for those of you who have wildly overestimated how many books you can read in a year and are freaking out about not meeting your 2020 reading-challenge goals. i have been gathering links all year when tasty little tales have popped into my feed, but i will also accept additional suggestions, as long as they meet my aforementioned 1), 2) standards, because i have not compiled as many as usual this year.
IN ADDITION, this may be the last year i do this project since GR has already deleted the pages for several of the stories i've read in previous years without warning, leaving me with a bunch of missing reviews and broken links, which makes me feel shitty. because i don't have a lot of time to waste, i'm not going to bother writing much in the way of reviews for these, in case gr decides to scrap 'em again. 2020 has left me utterly wrung out and i apologize for what's left of me. i am doing my best.
DECEMBER 1: PG - COURTNEY SUMMERS
this is another fantastic piece of writing by courtney summers, who writes her YA with claws and teeth; sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively. this one is on the figurative side—a day in the life of a female coming of age and all the bullshit littering her path thru adolescence. it feels real enough that i'm glad to be grown, although the kicker is that so much of this sexist, double standardy stuff isn't left behind when you reach adulthood. sorry, kids, but it's true. the story has great details, a scathing rimshot of an ending, and it was the perfect way to ring in the final month of this terrible year.
read it for free here
DECEMBER 2: THE JUMPING MONKEY HILL - CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE
DECEMBER 3: ORIGIN STORY - T. KINGFISHER
DECEMBER 4: THE GREAT SILENCE - TED CHIANG
DECEMBER 5: A CLEAN SWEEP WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS
DECEMBER 6: BORED WORLD - ANDY WEIR
DECEMBER 7: VAMPIRE - ROBERT COOVER
DECEMBER 8: A STATEMENT IN THE CASE - THEODORA GOSS
DECEMBER 9: STET - SARAH GAILEY
DECEMBER 10: MARGOT'S ROOM: EMILY CARROLL
DECEMBER 11: HORROR STORY - CARMEN MARIA MACHADO
DECEMBER 12: TERRAIN - GENEVIEVE VALENTINE
DECEMBER 13: IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN - ZEN CHO
DECEMBER 14: GHOUL - GEORGE SAUNDERS
DECEMBER 15: DURING THE DANCE - MARK LAWRENCE
DECEMBER 16: CLEARING THE BONES - CELESTE NG
DECEMBER 17: THE WAITER'S WIFE - ZADIE SMITH
DECEMBER 18: DEMOLITION - FIONA MCFARLANE
DECEMBER 19: NO PERIOD - HARRY TURTLEDOVE
DECEMBER 20: DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE - GG
DECEMBER 21: RUB-A-DUB-DUB - TONY MILLIONAIRE
DECEMBER 22: HANSA AND GRETYL AND PIECE OF SHIT - REBECCA CURTIS
DECEMBER 23: BRIDESICLE - WILL MCINTOSH
DECEMBER 24: I, CTHULHU, OR, WHAT'S A TENTACLE-FACED THING LIKE ME DOING IN A SUNKEN CITY LIKE THIS (LATITUDE 47° 9' S, LONGITUDE 126° 43' W)? - NEIL GAIMAN
DECEMBER 25: CHRISTMAS TALE - MARK LAWRENCE
DECEMBER 26: THE MONSTERS OF HEAVEN - NATHAN BALLINGRUD
DECEMBER 27: TWO DREAMS ON TRAINS - ELIZABETH BEAR
DECEMBER 28: THE MARTIANS CLAIM CANADA - MARGARET ATWOOD
DECEMBER 29: UNDER THE WAVE - LAUREN GROFF
DECEMBER 30: MR. SALARY - SALLY ROONEY
DECEMBER 31: A/S/L - EMMA CLINE
come to my blog!
this explanation/intro will be posted before each day’s short story. scroll down to get to the story-review.
this is the FIFTH year of me doing a short story advent calendar as my december project. for those of you new to me or this endeavor, here’s the skinny: every day in december, i will be reading a short story that is 1) available free somewhere on internet, and 2) listed on goodreads as its own discrete entity. there will be links provided for those of you who like to read (or listen to) short stories for free, and also for those of you who have wildly overestimated how many books you can read in a year and are freaking out about not meeting your 2020 reading-challenge goals. i have been gathering links all year when tasty little tales have popped into my feed, but i will also accept additional suggestions, as long as they meet my aforementioned 1), 2) standards, because i have not compiled as many as usual this year.
IN ADDITION, this may be the last year i do this project since GR has already deleted the pages for several of the stories i've read in previous years without warning, leaving me with a bunch of missing reviews and broken links, which makes me feel shitty. because i don't have a lot of time to waste, i'm not going to bother writing much in the way of reviews for these, in case gr decides to scrap 'em again. 2020 has left me utterly wrung out and i apologize for what's left of me. i am doing my best.
DECEMBER 1: PG - COURTNEY SUMMERS
this is another fantastic piece of writing by courtney summers, who writes her YA with claws and teeth; sometimes literally, sometimes figuratively. this one is on the figurative side—a day in the life of a female coming of age and all the bullshit littering her path thru adolescence. it feels real enough that i'm glad to be grown, although the kicker is that so much of this sexist, double standardy stuff isn't left behind when you reach adulthood. sorry, kids, but it's true. the story has great details, a scathing rimshot of an ending, and it was the perfect way to ring in the final month of this terrible year.
read it for free here
DECEMBER 2: THE JUMPING MONKEY HILL - CHIMAMANDA NGOZI ADICHIE
DECEMBER 3: ORIGIN STORY - T. KINGFISHER
DECEMBER 4: THE GREAT SILENCE - TED CHIANG
DECEMBER 5: A CLEAN SWEEP WITH ALL THE TRIMMINGS
DECEMBER 6: BORED WORLD - ANDY WEIR
DECEMBER 7: VAMPIRE - ROBERT COOVER
DECEMBER 8: A STATEMENT IN THE CASE - THEODORA GOSS
DECEMBER 9: STET - SARAH GAILEY
DECEMBER 10: MARGOT'S ROOM: EMILY CARROLL
DECEMBER 11: HORROR STORY - CARMEN MARIA MACHADO
DECEMBER 12: TERRAIN - GENEVIEVE VALENTINE
DECEMBER 13: IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED, TRY, TRY AGAIN - ZEN CHO
DECEMBER 14: GHOUL - GEORGE SAUNDERS
DECEMBER 15: DURING THE DANCE - MARK LAWRENCE
DECEMBER 16: CLEARING THE BONES - CELESTE NG
DECEMBER 17: THE WAITER'S WIFE - ZADIE SMITH
DECEMBER 18: DEMOLITION - FIONA MCFARLANE
DECEMBER 19: NO PERIOD - HARRY TURTLEDOVE
DECEMBER 20: DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE - GG
DECEMBER 21: RUB-A-DUB-DUB - TONY MILLIONAIRE
DECEMBER 22: HANSA AND GRETYL AND PIECE OF SHIT - REBECCA CURTIS
DECEMBER 23: BRIDESICLE - WILL MCINTOSH
DECEMBER 24: I, CTHULHU, OR, WHAT'S A TENTACLE-FACED THING LIKE ME DOING IN A SUNKEN CITY LIKE THIS (LATITUDE 47° 9' S, LONGITUDE 126° 43' W)? - NEIL GAIMAN
DECEMBER 25: CHRISTMAS TALE - MARK LAWRENCE
DECEMBER 26: THE MONSTERS OF HEAVEN - NATHAN BALLINGRUD
DECEMBER 27: TWO DREAMS ON TRAINS - ELIZABETH BEAR
DECEMBER 28: THE MARTIANS CLAIM CANADA - MARGARET ATWOOD
DECEMBER 29: UNDER THE WAVE - LAUREN GROFF
DECEMBER 30: MR. SALARY - SALLY ROONEY
DECEMBER 31: A/S/L - EMMA CLINE
come to my blog!
March 11, 2019
A short story that tells a day in the life of a teenager and the different ways in which she experiences misogyny.
tw: sexual harassment, slut-shaming, animal abuse, implied sexual abuse
tw: sexual harassment, slut-shaming, animal abuse, implied sexual abuse
May 1, 2019
i don't even remember how long ago i read this but damn, short story MY ASS this felt like a fucking epic poem man
December 1, 2019
That was so powerful...
June 6, 2021
fOLKS! She did it again ✨ Are we surprised? No.
(whenever im given homework the first thing i do is to think how i can make it about something i love. so just wrote a term paper on reading this from a feminist critic perspective. thank u queen summers for helping me pass my class kksdjk)
"Mr. Arbor takes a particular delight in all the skin the freshman girls aren’t supposed to be showing... Until Arbor, Norah had never been ogled by an older man… That made her want to dress to code just to escape it until she made a promise to herself: she couldn’t under any circumstance let the old man win. So what she does now is pause at his desk and wait until he looks her right in the eyes before moving on.”
(whenever im given homework the first thing i do is to think how i can make it about something i love. so just wrote a term paper on reading this from a feminist critic perspective. thank u queen summers for helping me pass my class kksdjk)
December 29, 2020
This is a "day-in-the-life" tale of Norah, who is maneuvering the treacherous terrain of teen life. This is written for the YA audience...and I, unfortunately, remember many of these daily dramas far too vividly.
June 2, 2019
It's really short but there's A LOT to unpack in it related to girlhood and sexuality. I really recommend it.
December 3, 2020
Available free online, karen gave the link in her review. Summers is intense.
December 28, 2020
A powerfully, subtle story.
April 6, 2019
Everything she writes is perfect to me.
Italian review down below.
--- --- ---
Non so se resterà così o se verrà sviluppata in qualcosa di più, ma in neanche 6000 parole la Summers è stata capace di annodarmi lo stomaco.
Sono d'accordo con chi ha scritto che ha qualche "vibes" di Cracked Up to Be - c'è poi una scena che come nel suo primo romanzo mi ha fatta stare male, ma Norah ha la reazione opposta di quella avuta da Parker - però ha anche la mascolinità tossica di All the Rage.
E la Summers è così: riconosci magari sfumature incontrate nei suoi precedenti romanzi, ma è sempre capace di creare qualcosa di nuovo e unico.
Ma di cosa parla PG?
Se non lo sapete, PG è la sigla che sta per Parental Guidance Recommended e che viene usata per classificare se il contenuto di certo materiale è adatto ai minori e fino a quale età è consigliata la presenza di un adulto - avete presente quando guardate il trailer di un film in inglese e compaiono quelle scritte bianche su sfondo verde? Ecco, quelle.
Norah è finora la protagonista più piccola mai scritta dalla Summers - ha solo 14 anni ed è al primo anno di superiori.
Si trova in quell'età in cui ancora sua madre la vede come una bambina, ma lei inizia già a vedersi come donna. Quell'età in cui esci di casa per andare a scuola con la divisa in ordine, ma poi ti sbottoni un po' la camicetta e ti arrotoli in vita la gonna facendo quindi alzare l'orlo ben al di sopra del consentito - gonna sotto la quale hai indossato la tua prima lingerie sexy comprata di nascosto - e speri di passarla liscia con i professori, ma anche di essere notata dai tuoi compagni.
La Summers parla di potere: il potere che noi donne abbiamo sul nostro corpo e sul modo in cui vogliamo mostrarlo o meno, sul potere che ci vuole essere sottratto quando decidiamo di mostrarci in un certo modo, sul potere che ci viene sottratto comunque perché alla fine non è quello che indossiamo a provocare molestie o un'aggressione.
Con questi temi la Summers ha ripreso parte di quello che Grace ha affrontato e affermato in Some Boys di Patty Blount e gli ha dato una sfumatura che ho trovato addirittura forse più inquietante.
Norah assiste a qualcosa e non sa come interpretarlo, si interroga sulla cosa e ne parla anche con il ragazzo che le piace - ed è un calcio sui denti, è un pugno nello stomaco vedere come questi ragazzi non proteggano una ragazza anche sapendola in pericolo, come giustifichino certi atteggiamenti, come lascino correre, come li ritengano leciti e poi a domande dirette sull'abbigliamento femminile e sulle presunte provocazioni che un po' di pelle in più o meno dovrebbe "scatenare", poi non sappiano come e cosa rispondere.
In neanche 6000 parole la Summers ci sbatte in faccia che non dipende da quanto siamo vestite o meno - è tutta una questione di potere, scelta e controllo sul nostro corpo che ci viene tolta da chi si crede in diritto di poterlo fare.
Si può valutare una short story che non è nemmeno presente su Goodreads e che forse non si svilupperà mai in un romanzo vero e proprio?
Beh, si tratta della Summers quindi io lo faccio comunque.
Italian review down below.
--- --- ---
Non so se resterà così o se verrà sviluppata in qualcosa di più, ma in neanche 6000 parole la Summers è stata capace di annodarmi lo stomaco.
Sono d'accordo con chi ha scritto che ha qualche "vibes" di Cracked Up to Be - c'è poi una scena che come nel suo primo romanzo mi ha fatta stare male, ma Norah ha la reazione opposta di quella avuta da Parker - però ha anche la mascolinità tossica di All the Rage.
E la Summers è così: riconosci magari sfumature incontrate nei suoi precedenti romanzi, ma è sempre capace di creare qualcosa di nuovo e unico.
Ma di cosa parla PG?
Se non lo sapete, PG è la sigla che sta per Parental Guidance Recommended e che viene usata per classificare se il contenuto di certo materiale è adatto ai minori e fino a quale età è consigliata la presenza di un adulto - avete presente quando guardate il trailer di un film in inglese e compaiono quelle scritte bianche su sfondo verde? Ecco, quelle.
Norah è finora la protagonista più piccola mai scritta dalla Summers - ha solo 14 anni ed è al primo anno di superiori.
Si trova in quell'età in cui ancora sua madre la vede come una bambina, ma lei inizia già a vedersi come donna. Quell'età in cui esci di casa per andare a scuola con la divisa in ordine, ma poi ti sbottoni un po' la camicetta e ti arrotoli in vita la gonna facendo quindi alzare l'orlo ben al di sopra del consentito - gonna sotto la quale hai indossato la tua prima lingerie sexy comprata di nascosto - e speri di passarla liscia con i professori, ma anche di essere notata dai tuoi compagni.
La Summers parla di potere: il potere che noi donne abbiamo sul nostro corpo e sul modo in cui vogliamo mostrarlo o meno, sul potere che ci vuole essere sottratto quando decidiamo di mostrarci in un certo modo, sul potere che ci viene sottratto comunque perché alla fine non è quello che indossiamo a provocare molestie o un'aggressione.
Con questi temi la Summers ha ripreso parte di quello che Grace ha affrontato e affermato in Some Boys di Patty Blount e gli ha dato una sfumatura che ho trovato addirittura forse più inquietante.
Norah assiste a qualcosa e non sa come interpretarlo, si interroga sulla cosa e ne parla anche con il ragazzo che le piace - ed è un calcio sui denti, è un pugno nello stomaco vedere come questi ragazzi non proteggano una ragazza anche sapendola in pericolo, come giustifichino certi atteggiamenti, come lascino correre, come li ritengano leciti e poi a domande dirette sull'abbigliamento femminile e sulle presunte provocazioni che un po' di pelle in più o meno dovrebbe "scatenare", poi non sappiano come e cosa rispondere.
In neanche 6000 parole la Summers ci sbatte in faccia che non dipende da quanto siamo vestite o meno - è tutta una questione di potere, scelta e controllo sul nostro corpo che ci viene tolta da chi si crede in diritto di poterlo fare.
Si può valutare una short story che non è nemmeno presente su Goodreads e che forse non si svilupperà mai in un romanzo vero e proprio?
Beh, si tratta della Summers quindi io lo faccio comunque.
December 14, 2020
3.5 stars rounded to 4***
“And Norah knows the reason why she likes to play: she loves standing victorious at the end of the day because it’s a beautiful act of defiance, owning her body.”
“That made her want to dress to code just to escape it until she made a promise to herself: she couldn’t under any circumstance let the old man win.”
i am not one to put short stories on here, mainly because i feel like it is “cheating” in terms of my reading challenge. but i really enjoyed this story and honestly... i just wanted to have 30 books completed on my reading challenge, it’s more satisfying than 29 (i realize that i JUST said that i consider that “cheating.”)
as a girl at the same age as the protagonist, this short story made me feel all kinds of different things. now, i don’t necessarily participate in stuff that the main character does, (i think the fact that i have the app goodreads on my phone says enough), but everything is so realistic for people my age. during your teenage years you start experimenting, especially during your earlier ones. people will change themselves for romantic attention. now what does this cause? misogyny. and creepy men.
misogyny— this is literally shown throughout the entire story that i am willing to bet money that if you read only a few paragraphs you’d know it. like, the whole “The boys are walking uniform infractions, their shirts perpetually untucked and unbuttoned, ties loose around their necks.” and then if the girls show one inch too much of skin: OH NO!! they must be punished!!!!!
creepy men— mr. arbor is probably a registered sex offender, let’s just be honest here.
bottom line:
- if you identify as a woman, you’ll relate to this short story one way or another.
- if you’re in need of a book to finish your reading challenge, here’s one. it takes minutes to read and is enjoyable.
“And Norah knows the reason why she likes to play: she loves standing victorious at the end of the day because it’s a beautiful act of defiance, owning her body.”
“That made her want to dress to code just to escape it until she made a promise to herself: she couldn’t under any circumstance let the old man win.”
i am not one to put short stories on here, mainly because i feel like it is “cheating” in terms of my reading challenge. but i really enjoyed this story and honestly... i just wanted to have 30 books completed on my reading challenge, it’s more satisfying than 29 (i realize that i JUST said that i consider that “cheating.”)
as a girl at the same age as the protagonist, this short story made me feel all kinds of different things. now, i don’t necessarily participate in stuff that the main character does, (i think the fact that i have the app goodreads on my phone says enough), but everything is so realistic for people my age. during your teenage years you start experimenting, especially during your earlier ones. people will change themselves for romantic attention. now what does this cause? misogyny. and creepy men.
misogyny— this is literally shown throughout the entire story that i am willing to bet money that if you read only a few paragraphs you’d know it. like, the whole “The boys are walking uniform infractions, their shirts perpetually untucked and unbuttoned, ties loose around their necks.” and then if the girls show one inch too much of skin: OH NO!! they must be punished!!!!!
creepy men— mr. arbor is probably a registered sex offender, let’s just be honest here.
bottom line:
- if you identify as a woman, you’ll relate to this short story one way or another.
- if you’re in need of a book to finish your reading challenge, here’s one. it takes minutes to read and is enjoyable.
August 18, 2019
I enjoyed the story, but this could have easily been expanded into a much longer piece. Plus, the writing style didn't "flow" as well as some of her other work in my opinion.
Overall, it's a strong piece, but I just needed more.
Overall, it's a strong piece, but I just needed more.
April 16, 2020
this was nothing short of perfection
chronicles what it's really like dealing with misogyny and sexuality as a teenage girl
chronicles what it's really like dealing with misogyny and sexuality as a teenage girl
Read
April 26, 2020Where’s the ending??
What was the point of a short story with so many loose ends?
What was the point of a short story with so many loose ends?
September 25, 2020
I have literally got nothing to say, I guess this is a story about teenager girls and their relationship to sexuality and sexualisation.
October 25, 2020
Super short story but as always Summers packs such a punch with only a few words.
December 3, 2020
Writing was a little lackluster feeling for some reason and the gritty topic will be uncomfortable for some.
Read
December 9, 2020concise and striking. excellent storytelling. read it here.
Read
October 3, 20224 school
August 15, 2023
3.5 stars
August 24, 2023
A short story that follows a day in the life of a teenage girl. Subtle and brutal like so many of Courtney Summers' stories are.
April 3, 2026
this is an amazing short story. i bought this is not a test a few weeks ago and i've been putting off reading it for library books. maybe i shouldn't have been.
February 13, 2021
This was pretty amazing.
January 22, 2021
He eats you with his eyes, Beth said thoughtfully one day, and that was exactly it. They step into class and are devoured.
Some days he makes Norah feel like she’s just shy of ruling the world, but most days he makes her feel like this is all she can ever hope to expect from it.
very subtle, packs a ton in such few pages, however the writing itself was quite bland, it lacked the usual summers flair.
Some days he makes Norah feel like she’s just shy of ruling the world, but most days he makes her feel like this is all she can ever hope to expect from it.
very subtle, packs a ton in such few pages, however the writing itself was quite bland, it lacked the usual summers flair.
November 18, 2022
Actual rating: 3.5
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews