Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
What would you do if you could switch genders for a night? What powers would you gain? What would you lose? And who would you be if you could change how you are perceived? Winner of Sweden's most prestigious literary prize for young readers, Girls Lost is a YA-crossover thriller exploring these questions, following three teenage girlfriends: Kim, Bella, and Momo, whose developing bodies have become objects of abuse, both verbal and physical, by their male classmates. Scared and uncomfortable, the girls often hide away in Bella's greenhouse. One day, the three friends plant a strange seed in the greenhouse, and in a few days, a shimmering, magical flower blossoms. Intrigued, they drink the nectar from the flower, and suddenly find themselves transformed from girls to boys. The girls return night after night to drink from the flower, and as they fall deeper into the boy's world, they discover a new reality, one of power and violence, of gangs and drugs. In this tale, the body is a battlefield, and masculinity as a drug Brilliantly poetic and deeply poignant, this magical story was adapted into an internationally-renowned feature film exploring how we shape our identity, and how we cope with our own transformations.
Synopsis
Winner of Sweden's most prestigious literary prize for young readers, Girls Lost is a thriller featuring three teenage girls: Kim, Bella, and Momo. The three occupy a challenging limbo between childhood and adulthood, made only more difficult by the steady provocation of their malicious male classmates and pubescent bodies that are changing beyond their control. They are on the precipice of a grown-up world that seems to be broken into two groups: male and female; public and private; assailant and target. Eager to escape, the girls seek refuge in Bella's greenhouse, a free zone where their imaginations run wild and their talents can flourish.
After their classmates' violations escalate, the three friends plant a strange seed in the greenhouse, and a shimmering, magical flower blossoms. Intrigued, they drink the nectar from the flower, and suddenly find themselves transformed from girls to boys until the next morning. The three return each night to drink from the flower, anxious to explore their world -- and new, older male friends -- with agency and freedom. As they fall deeper into the boys' world, they discover a new reality, one of power and violence, of gangs and drugs. When their nightly escapades turn darker, two of the teens grow wary, ready to turn back and face the reality of womanhood; but Kim is determined to see their discovery to its catastrophic, fiery end.
In this tale, the body is a battlefield, and masculinity is a drug. Brilliantly poetic and deeply poignant, this magical story was adapted into an internationally-renowned feature film exploring how we shape our identity, and how we cope with our own transformations.