Girlhood in the Contemporary American Novel

What experiences constitute ‘girlhood’? What personal and social pathways are available to girls in contemporary American fiction? These questions lie at the heart of this book, which argues that emancipatory new representations of girlhood have emerged in novels published between 1990–2020, in response to the social and cultural transformations that have been catalysed by the girl-centric agendas of contemporary feminism. Through analysing how twelve contemporary novelists depict girlhood as an expansive period during which girls can fulfil a range of personal and socio-political agendas – from pursuing intellectual ambitions at university, to achieving self-realisation through solo travel – this book investigates how contemporary fiction asks readers to view girlhood anew, by reimagining the personal, narrative and social possibilities of American girlhood.