How To Wrestle A Girl

A Paris Review Staff Pick and an Amazon Editors' Pick. Finalist for the 2022 Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Fiction and the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, and longlisted for the 2022 Joyce Carol Oates Prize. "Bold, witty, ominous and vulnerable . . . How to Wrestle a Girl shines in its propensity to magnify small moments, challenge our presumptions and dissect the beauty, danger and wonder of girlhood." --The New York Times Book Review Hilarious, tough, and tender stories from a farseeing star on the rise Venita Blackburn’s characters bully and suffer, spit and tease, mope and blame. They’re hyperaware of their bodies and fiercely observant, fending off the failures and advances of adults with indifferent ease. In “Biology Class,” they torment a teacher to the point of near insanity, while in “Bear Bear HarvestTM,” they prepare to sell their excess fat and skin for food processing. Stark and sharp, hilarious and ominous, these pieces are scabbed, bruised, and prone to scarring. Many of the stories, set in Southern California, follow a teenage girl in the aftermath of her beloved father’s death and capture her sister’s and mother’s encounters with men of all ages, as well as the girl’s budding attraction to her best friend, Esperanza. In and out of school, participating in wrestling and softball, attending church with her hysterically complicated family, and dominating boys in arm wrestling, she grapples with her burgeoning queerness and her emerging body, becoming wary of clarity rather than hoping for it. A rising star, Blackburn is a trailblazing stylist, and in How to Wrestle a Girl she masterfully shakes loose a vision of girlhood that is raw, vulnerable, and never at ease.

Thirteen-year-old Maisie joins her school's formerly all-male wrestling team and tries to last through the season, despite opposition from other students, her best friend, and her own teammates.

Melinda Radford has difficulty everyday because she is on the boys wrestling team.

Shelby Hoffman feels like no one in Molly Pitcher High School wants her on the boy's wrestling team. Her father is the principal of the school and not even he understands why she likes wrestling. On top of that, to keep a spot on the team, Shelby has to wrestle above her weight and she feels more like a placeholder, than a varsity wrestler. At least until Mike transfers to Molly Pitcher from Florida and walks onto the team. He was facing expulsion at his high school in Florida and needs a fresh start in New Jersey. Battling an unstable home life and a mother struggling with her own problems, he is doing all he can to not get into another fight at school. But, at Molly Pitcher, being the "new guy" isn't easy. It's only his unexpected friendship with Shelby that keeps his focus on wrestling his opponents and not sabotaging himself. With a few extra practices, Mike convinces Shelby that she can wrestle to win and to take her weight-class back from the team's captain, her "unofficial" boyfriend. On the wrestling mat, they learn about the high cost of victory, equality and fairness.

For use in teaching literature to high school students.

Documenting the rise of women’s wrestling from sideshow to WWE main event Sisterhood of the Squared Circle presents the fascinating history of women’s wrestling, from the carnival circuit of the late 1800s to today’s hugely popular matches. With more than 100 wrestler profiles, find out how backstage politics, real-life grudges, and incredible personalities shaped the business. The careers of many well-known trailblazers, including Mildred Burke, the Fabulous Moolah, Mae Young, Penny Banner, Wendi Richter, Trish Stratus, Chyna, and Lita, are celebrated alongside today’s stars, like Charlotte, Sasha Banks, and Bayley. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Times; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} With rare photographs and an exploration of women’s wrestling worldwide — including chapters on Japan, Mexico, England, and Australia — Sisterhood of the Squared Circle is a priceless contribution to the history of professional wrestling. p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Times; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none}

Bedtime has never been more fun! Friday Night Wrestlefest is inspired by WWE professional wrestling and is sure to wear kids out before they are gently tucked into bed. Ladies and Gentlemen, it's Friday night, and these kids are ready to wrestle! Join Dangerous Daddoo as he dishes out some serious moves to get the kids ready for bed. But what happens when Flying Mom Bomb gets home from work? Are the kids toast? From writer J. F. Fox and illustrator Micah Player comes a charming and quirky family story that will teach you a new Bedtime Blitz that everyone will enjoy.

An NPR Best Book of the Year Proudly introducing the Well-Read Black Girl Library Series, On Girlhood is a lovingly curated anthology celebrating short fiction from such luminaries as Rita Dove, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, and more. Featuring stories by: Jamaica Kincaid, Toni Morrison, Dorothy West, Rita Dove, Camille Acker, Toni Cade Bambara, Amina Gautier, Alexia Arthurs, Dana Johnson, Alice Walker, Gwendolyn Brooks, Edwidge Danticat, Shay Youngblood, Paule Marshall, and Zora Neale Hurston. “When you look over your own library, who do you see?” asks Well-Read Black Girl founder Glory Edim in this lovingly curated anthology. Bringing together an array of “unforgettable, and resonant coming-of-age stories” (Nicole Dennis-Benn), Edim continues her life’s work to brighten and enrich American reading lives through the work of both canonical and contemporary Black authors—from Jamaica Kincaid and Toni Morrison to Dana Johnson and Alexia Arthurs. Divided into four themes—Innocence, Belonging, Love, and Self-Discovery—On Girlhood features fierce young protagonists who contend with trials that shape who they are and what they will become. At times heartbreaking and hilarious, the stories within push past flat stereotypes and powerfully convey the beauty of Black girlhood, resulting in an indispensable compendium for every home library. “A compelling anthology that . . . results in a literary master class.” —Keishel Williams, Washington Post “A beautiful and comforting patchwork quilt of stories from our literary contemporaries and foremothers.” —Ibi Zoboi, New York Times best-selling coauthor of Punching the Air

New from bestselling author Stephanie Perkins, and the perfect companion to her New York Times bestseller There's Someone Inside Your House, available now on Netflix! “The scares here are authentic, and the details meticulous, driven by a smart, distinct narrative voice. Hand this to fans of the film Midsommar who will delight in the eerie world building, the disintegration and rebuilding of interpersonal relationships, and the unseen forces of evil that threaten to break two friends apart.” –Booklist Bears aren’t the only predators in these woods. Best friends Neena and Josie spent high school as outsiders, but at least they had each other. Now, with college and a two-thousand-mile separation looming on the horizon, they have one last chance to be together—a three-day hike deep into the woods of the Pisgah National Forest. Simmering tensions lead to a detour off the trail and straight into a waking nightmare … and then into something far worse. Something that will test them in horrifying ways. Stephanie Perkins, the bestselling author of There’s Someone Inside Your House, returns with a heart-stopping, gut-wrenching novel about friendship, survival, and navigating unmarked paths even as evil watches from the shadows.