The Girls

by Tucker Shaw

Meet She’s beautiful, and her ski-star boyfriend is cheating on her.

Meet She’s a townie, and she’s cheating with Mary’s boyfriend.

Meet She’s nasty, and she’s got something up her Prada-designed sleeve.

Meet She’s a flake, she’s the barista at the hottest coffee shop in Aspen, and she serves up gossip even hotter than grande skim lattes.

Meet She’s Mary’s best friend, and she has no idea how to cope with all these girls.

A modern retelling of the classic play The Women (which featured not one male in the cast), The Girls is a quick-witted, stylish comedy about friendship, love, and most important, gossip! An elite Aspen prep school sets the stage for jealousy and intrigue as the lives of many girls tangle into a wickedly fun mess (in which no boys ever appear).

F&P Z+

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Teen, Realistic Fiction, Chick Lit, Fiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2009

About the author

Tucker Shaw's novel, WHEN YOU CALL MY NAME, follows two gay teenagers during the height of the AIDS crisis in New York City in 1990. In hard times, nothing is more powerful than friendship.

Reviews

[Merary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hmmm, what do we have here?
A YA version of The Women?
Seriously?
Instead of women in their midlife crisis, we have whiny, backstabbing teenage girls?
Um, yes, please!

If you are familiar The Women, then you know the plot. If you aren't, then I'll tell you the short version.

Mary thinks she's happily married. Until she discovers that her husband, Stephen is cheating on her with a townie woman, Crystal. Sylvia, Mary's "best friend" is determined to ruin Mary's life with the help of Crystal.

Are we good? Yes? WHOO!!

Now, this is the same plot but with teenage girls.

Mary thinks she has the perfect life. That is, until she discovers that her boyfriend, Stephen, is cheating on her with some girl on the valley side, Crystal. Sylvia knows about this and is determined to ruin Mary's life. Crystal is a nasty bitch. And Peggy? She's Mary's other friend who is involved in this mess.
And the narrator of the story.

The Girls was a very fast read and extremely entertaining. I was extremely hooked from the start even though I already know how the story went (Big fan of The Women over here!). Sure, it sounds like the typical teenage soap opera, but that's why I like it.
Also, I'm kind of glad they changed the ending. It was more fitting and made me less annoyed than the original.

You got to love guilty pleasures.

[Deena Allouni-Kurdiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun light read and easy on the heart

[Libriar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book as fun, light chick lit. The first half of the book was entertaining. But then it fell apart. Too many girls got involved and too many love triangles were involved. I wish the book would have just focused on Peggy and left the other rich, spoiled Gossip Girl type characters out. Perhaps if I was familiar with the play/movie "The Women" I would have appreciated it more. On the positive side it was an extremely quick read.

[Keri · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a fun short read. The main character Peggy was kind of a downer. She kept talking about how she wanted to be a good friend but then she never was because she was just too self absorbed and "didn't want to deal with it". Thankfully it was a quick read because I don't feel it was much of a story. Also, the coincidences in it were just too far fetched.

[Mia · Rating 2 out of 5]

what did i just read...

[Shafiqahsamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, im mad throughout the book. Being an old early thirties woman makes me think that i really can not relate to teenagers. Even though i was once one of them. Well, I'm also a weird teenager once. Still, all of these characters are..i don't know, just too weird. I can not understand Peggy at all.

But

At the end of the story, I'm glad that she did the right thing finally. The moral of the story is to tell the truth. Even though it's hard and bitter, please tell the truth. It's separate you from true friends or not so true friends. If I were Peggy, i would never want my friend to be with a jerk.

And, if you don't know what to do, refer to your trusted adult. They will help you.

But, remember, please refer to wise, trusted, rational adults. Not adults with child mind. They will crush you if you do.

[Saj · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated it absolutely hated it. Wasted my time reading this. Peggy who was the main character was a downer. She kept saying that she wanted to be a good friend but she never was. I also felt like there was no attention played to her. Too many love triangles where involved. I just didnt get why there was soo many girls related to the plot. Anyway, I hated it

[Cynthia Chaney-Lopez · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did not end. Its a book about a week in the life of about 4 main girls. Disappointed

[Riri · Rating 5 out of 5]

An AMAZING and underrated book !!!

[Bianca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and easy read. Nabili ko yung book sa school fair. As usual I love the drama!!!!!!

[Destiny Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this back in middle school and loved it! It’s such a fun and quick read. Ending was a little rushed though.

[Robbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

At a prestigious boarding school in Aspen, Colorado, one week is going to change the lives of these girls forever. What starts as a rumor that Mary’s boyfriend is sleeping with some other girl spirals into a mass of lying, cheating, and scandal. Boys…can’t live with ‘em, can’t…well, sure you can live without ‘em!

This book is loosely inspired by The Women, a 1936 play that was later made into a film with Rosalind Russel and Joan Crawford, and then remade in 2008 in a less amusing version with meg Ryan and Eva Mendes. There are places where, if you know the movie, you’ll see it very clearly, but Shaw doesn’t let the source material bog him down and takes ample liberties. Naturally, for example, Mary does not have a daughter, since she is only a teenager. Small nods (such as the dorm being named Crawford Hall) are appreciated by film dorks like me but will likely go unnoticed by most. Most readers will also not feel the loss of any males in the direct narrative, and today’s cell phones make it much easier to use that conceit.

The best and easiest way to describe this book is it’s Gossip Girl-lite, with many of the characters being made likable and the drinking and sex mostly cut out. However, there’s still plenty of gossip and catfighting and juicy one-liners being slung everywhere, it definitely had that “fluff” feel. Which is nice, sometimes you need a little fluff.

The characters are mostly pretty unoriginal. Peggy (a name which is decidedly dated) is very nice to everyone and works very hard for her scholarship, but her aspirations to be a chef were an interesting touch, albeit one that Shaw has used before. Recipes of food integral to the plot are included at the back of the book. Sylvia was great, and I really loved how she went back and forth between being someone the reader could hate and root for and hate again.

The plot is, of course, derived from the source material, and so we get very similar incidents such as a fight in a dressing room, or a slightly altered excursion to a cooking demonstration instead of a retreat at a ranch. (On the way to the demo the girls listen to Wicked, yay!) Shaw manages to nail pretty spot-on how real girls talk. I don’t know how he did it, but it’s very accurate.

A nice piece of reading that doesn’t make you think, The Girls is tamer than its chick-lit kin but still full of the goodies we love.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Jaglvr for TeensReadToo.com

Peggy has just returned to Maroon Bells School for Girls (MBSG) after break. She stops off at the Timberline (aka the Timberlake) to get a coffee. If she'd have gone straight to school, she would never have heard the gossip. But she did, and from there, the start of the semester goes downhill.

Peggy has overheard Amber (who works at the Timberline) and Sylvia (a rich girl at MBSG) sharing gossip about Mary. Mary is Peggy's roommate and best friend. The rumor is that Mary's boyfriend, Stephen, has been seeing a girl from down in the valley on the side. Some girl named Crystal. Peggy doesn't know if she should tell Mary or let Mary find out herself. Peggy is extra torn when Sylvia realizes Peggy has overheard the conversation.

It turns out Mary hadn't heard the gossip, but when Sylvia shows up that night at the restaurant they work at and basically forces the two of them off to get coffee at the Timberline (Sylvia knowing full well that Amber will be working and unable to not share gossip), Mary is confronted with the news.

The rest of THE GIRLS plays out over the course of that week. Peggy continually questions what she should reveal to Mary. Mary repeatedly refuses to return calls from Stephen. Sylvia tweaks all the players for her enjoyment. And new girls arrive at the least expected place and bring the entire situation full circle.

THE GIRLS reads like a soap opera. There are so many different twists and turns to the story that the reader can't help but be spellbound. Who's seeing who and who knows what will keep you intrigued up until the final page, when you will want to sit yourself down with a tasty grilled cheese sandwich. (Trust me on this one...if you read the story, you'll know what I'm referring to!!)

Overall, THE GIRLS is a fun, fast-paced read that will leave you wanting to know more about the girls of MBSG!

[Jenny / Wondrous Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Girls reminded me of a series like Gossip Girl, only a tamer version. It has less swearing, no sex, and an equal amount of backstabbing bitchiness. I love books like this, so it'll come as no surprise to hear that I devoured The Girls in one sitting. It's a modern retelling of The Women, a play by Clare Booth Luce, and although I haven't ever read the source material, I had no problems getting to grips with the story.

Tucker Shaw has an excellent grasp on the lives of rich teen girls; how they speak, what they think and the way they act around each other. They're competitive, outspoken, and date all the wrong boys. Take Sylvia, for example: she could have a great circle of friends at Maroon Bells School for Girls, but instead she chooses to be a calculating mean girl intent on upsetting as many of her "friends" as possible. Peggy and Mary's friendship is the only real constant in the book, with their seemingly unbreakable bond being the root of the story.

The Girls is a boy-free zone, with no inclusion of male characters except for mentions of short phone conversations. It doesn't suffer because of this, though I would have liked to learn more about the various boyfriends and the motivations behind their actions. Each girl's boyfriend is inexplicably linked to someone else, making the relationships in The Girls a tangled web of lies, deceit and betrayal.

If you're a fan of series like Gossip Girl, It Girl and Private, then The Girls is definitely one for you. It's a quick and easy read, and is written in a style that makes it very hard to put down. I can't wait to read more by Tucker Shaw, and I hope he writes more books like this.

[Kerleisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tucker Shaw's The Girls is based upon the play The Women, which also has a movie version with an all-star cast, FYI. So while I hadn't seen the play, going into The Girls, I had some idea of where the novel was heading. Luckily, The Girls met my expectations and then some. Shaw did a good job of intertwining the girls' individual stories so that they tied together beautifully. Since the novel's less than 200 pages (the actual product description includes the pages of recipes after the novel is over), the tying together of the stories was crucial.
Intertwining aside, I really enjoyed the novel as a whole. With so many different girls in one novel, you're able to see so many different sides, but instead of having one girl go through so many different emotions and personalities, you instead get to see it through different girls. You see the ambitious girl, the gossip girl (had to go there, sorry), the girl that's misunderstood. I loved that. Granted this isn't Shaw's original idea, Shaw modernizes it well. Shaw somewhat put the spotlight on how much a guy can play into which girl you'll be, and, in turn, which girl you'll be in respect to other girls. It's kind of mind-boggling, somewhat embarrassing, and definitely a wake up call.
One minor disappointment- while he wasn't a character, there was a guy in one of the chapters of the book. He was passing through the restaurant during one of the earlier scenes. When I watched The Women, there was not one guy in the entire movie, not even a male extra, so I was kind of hoping for the same here

[Your Average Bookworms · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Girls was a drama filled novel which I enjoyed reading. I liked that it was short, which allowed me to finish it quickly.

Mary was my favorite character, because even though she is the richest girl in her school, she doesn't take it to her head, and use her money for granted. For example, whenever she buys lattes, she always goes to the cheap coffee shops because buying lattes at an expensive coffee shop that tastes the same isn't worth the extra money. I honestly felt really bad for her because she's such a nice girl, yet her boyfriend cheated on her! She's basically the whole package! Nice, smart and pretty. And that got me really mad, how her boyfriend would cheat on her, and Mary was trying so hard to pretend like every things okay. Peggy is an aspiring chef, who is overprotective of Mary, her best friend. And she often gets jealous when Mary is close to other girls. I liked how the story also added Reno, the restaurant that Peggy and Mary works in, which was an interesting setting for a lot of the drama to unfold. Peggy works in the kitchen, being Chef Jackie's sidekick. I was simply in awe from Peggy's ability to taste food and critique it like an expert.

The story was well-written, I couldn't stop reading it! It was surprisingly addicting. I also liked how at the end of the book, there were a lot of recipes, like Chef Jackie's onion soup. Honestly though, the ending was a little rushed. But if you're looking for a fun yet drama-filled read, that'll suck you in, definitely read this book.

[Paula Phillips · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who's seen the movie "The Women" where if you can recall , it featured around a main character whose husband had been cheating on her with another women, and the friends all banded together to "expose" the other women who was below their class as a shopgirl.
The Girls by Tucker Shaw is a modern remake of the classic play "The Women" and whereas the movie was aimed at the older audience of women. The Girls is aimed simply at the Teenage/ YA audience. In the Girls we have the main characters of Peggy - The best friend and who turns out to be the only one with her head screwed on , Mary - the beautiful, rich girl whose Skier boyfriend Stephen is cheating on her with Crystal who is a low class , townie from the opposite side of town , then we have Sylvia - another rich girl except where Mary has manners , Sylvia lacks - her boyfriend Howie is cheating on her with Miriam but that's ok as Sylvia is also dating a ski-instuctor called Flip who turns out to be cheating on Sylvia with Floss. In the midst of all this dating dilemma , the cause of all these revelations is Amber , your ditzy waitress who knows all the gossip and whose dream job would be to write a Hollywood gossip column.
A fun novel , that will have you going around in circles as you start to work out whose cheating on who and when you see the huge web , you can't but help laugh and see what is going to happen when they all catch each other out.

[Smart Girls in the YA Stacks · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you enjoy feeling massively condescended to by your book covers, "The Girls" might be for you. (Listen to our full podcast on the book here)

This book was good in theory, but seriously stumbled in the execution before falling off a cliff. "The Girls" is a retelling of Clare Booth Luce's wonderful play, "The Women", with the characters and setting transferred to high school girls at an exclusive boarding school in Aspen, Colorado. Unfortunately, this book pales in comparison to the play, and when you choose to reimagine an existing work without adding anything of significance, that's kind of the standard you set for yourself. This book has nothing to add, and in fact, is missing much of the depth of "The Women"- there's no serious reflection on female power or female friendship. They say "don't judge a book by its cover", but this cover does not deceive.

On a scale of a PSL to the most perfectly pulled shot of Italian espresso, we give this book a latte that the barista forgot to add espresso to, so it's just steamed milk.

Full review here

[Doug Beatty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty trashy novel but quite fun. If you remember the old movie the Women, with Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford, this follows it along but set in a girls boarding school. Peggy is not one to spread gossip, but she hears that Stephen, the boyfriend of her best friend Mary, is playing around with Crystal, a hussy who works in a boutique. Peggy chooses not to tell Mary, but Mary eventually does find out, from Sylvia and Amber. Apparently Crystal is not just happy with Stephen and has quite the string of fellows and some double dealing and catfighting ensue. I don't know if teens today will get the movie references, but they are fun for adults who read the story. But it is a short quick read and fans of chick lit might get a kick out of it. A catchy cover will help sell the book.

[Timaree · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book The Girls by Tucker Shaw is an amazing book but, it's only for GIRLS. Girls is about a girl named Peggy and she goes to a Girls Boarding School in Aspen with a lot of rich and snotty girls. Except for a girl named Mary, her and Peggy are best friends. Sad for Mary her boyfriend is cheating on her with another girl named Crystal. There are two other girls named Sylvia and Amber they are both rude and like to gossip. Sylvia is very rich and snotty. Amber is a snot and always the first one to know the gossip. All the girls go to a great coffee shop in Aspen and there gossip is always new.

[Susan Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

We're hoping to get this local author to come to the Teen Lit Conference this April. Cute book - I would have never guessed it was written by a man! Peggy and her roommate Mary are juniors at an exclusive girl's boarding school in Aspen. Mary is beautiful and rich and Peggy is on scholarship, but they are best friends. When Peggy finds out that Mary's perfect boyfriend is cheating on her, she doesn't know what to do. There's lots of angst and backstabbing, and cooking too (Peggy works at a local restaurant). I was hungry the whole time I was reading this!

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was cute. I think it's a good book for girls. The narrator of the story has to deal with some rumors going around about her best friend, and you see how they both have to deal with the situation.

I think the story is a little slow in certain points and it's a little difficult to get attached to the characters, but overall, it was a good book.

I love the recipes at the end!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a redone version of the play THE WOMEN. Very light and quick read. Not an intense or earth- shattering story (just teen boyfriend drama), but sometimes you need a fun escape, and this book was perfect for that. The writing was good; when the words just flow from the page and into your brain, you know the author can really write.

One extraordinary thing about this book is the author is male and he really nailed the girl's voice. Very unusual, I think, and tough to pull off!

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't really remember exactly what this book is about because I read it last year and I've read tons of books since then. I do remember that it's all about girls and has a lot about food in it! I really liked the food portion of the book. I love how there was one girl who would think about food in her head! There were also recipes in the book. I liked this book because there wasn't drama, like dramatic drama, sex, drugs, or stuff like that in it. The book was simple.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I rate it three and. A half stars this book seemed to have no real plot or substance but it was good with drama and I liked it the fights were funny !!!;) and some shockers the beginning was boring because nothing was happening them it got better towards the end the book ending in a weird position
Like I felt it wasint done although i dont plan to read anymore books from this author i reccomend if u want a girly quick light read :)

[Jie Jie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally a chick lit. I loved this book. My librarian picked it out. I didn't think so. I started yesterday. I thought I'd stop reading it but no it was very good. I loved Peggy. She needed to speak up when Stephen was cheating on Mary. Also Sylvia was pretty cool too. A little mean but cool. And the cook was funny and I loved the whole aspect of the book. Very good. I recommend not a resonance but it's more like a chick lit girl power book.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick and entertaining read by the food editor for the Denver Post (how is it that a young (thirties? I met him at ALA) man can write in teenage girl voices so well?). Contains mouthwatering food descriptions, natch, and a few recipes at the back. Makes me want to go and read the original -- Clare Booth Luce's The Women.

[Abbey Provost]

"The Girls" by Tucker Shaw was very interesting. It was your typical private, all girls school drama that you see on every new TV show. But this book was all girls. There were boys mentioned, but they never spoke. It was something different that kind of spiced it up a bit. Overall I enjoyed it!

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book about all of the girls BUT the protagonist who is probably the character with the most potential. Packed full of drama and clothes, but doesn't sizzle like others in its Gossip-Girl-genre that it seems to be trying to emulate. Short paragraphs and chapters may make this a quick read for reluctant readers, but I think there are better similar books that one could recommend.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I sort-of get how this was supposed to be a pint-sized version of "The Women", but it really read more like a tamer, Aspen-based version of Gossip Girls (albeit one that I wouldn't mind MS students reading). The recipes in the back look pretty cool...