CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.
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Pretty Furious
CCBC Review:
During their senior year of high school in a small Ontario town, five friends take turns on their birthdays choosing a group action that retaliates against behavior they find abusive or unjust: salting the ground around a Catholic church’s memorial to the unborn so nothing will grow there; planting a damaging rumor about a boy who framed his ex-girlfriend for steroid use, ending her student athlete career; setting up a group of boys who sexually harass girls in the school’s stairwell to be caught and punished; destroying the team’s uniforms after the basketball coach denies a transgender student a spot on the roster; and more. They successfully execute these covert missions with scrupulous planning, relying on their reputations as “good girls” to avoid suspicion. The girls’ (white) identities range across family structure, financial status, sexual identity, and rural/town residence. Their actions, sometimes cruel, offer the opportunity for thought and discussion of ethics and morality, as well as the pervasive role of gender and class privilege that shelter them from detection. ©2025 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Age 14 and older
Age Range:
Grades 9-12 (Age 14 and older)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Activism and Resistance
Bullying and Teasing
Class Issues
Discrimination and Prejudice
Faith, Spirituality and Religion
Friendship
Girls and Women
Transgender People
On CCBC Booklist:
Bullying, Teasing, Relational Aggression and School Violence
Publishers:
Dutton, Penguin Random House
Publish Year: 2024
Pages: 206
ISBN: 9781984816139
CCBC Location: Fiction, Johnston
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.
Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.