Free Girls - by Kristen McCallum (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

"This one is for all the labeled 'bad kids' who need someone to see the good in them. Full of heartache but never short on hope." --Sonido Reyes, bestselling and award-winning author of The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School

A heartfelt coming-of-age debut about a girl starting over while keeping secret that she's spent the last year in juvenile detention. Perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon and Leah Johnson.

Sixteen-year-old Jasmine Cooper is back after twelve months at Guiding Hearts Home for Troubled Girls, and nothing is the way it was. Her mom has remarried and now there's a big new house, a shiny new family, and a fancy new school. Jas feels completely out of place, and things only get more complicated when her mom insists that her "fresh start" include hiding the truth of where she's been and cutting off people from her past.

As Jas settles into her new life bonding with her seemingly perfect stepsister, making a close-knit group of besties, and maybe even falling for the cute girl in class, it starts to feel like her second chance might actually be real.

But when a friend from the detention center reaches out to reconnect, Jas worries that everything she's built could fall apart. How long can she keep her past a secret? And how many times can she spin the truth before she forgets who she really is?

Review Quotes

"Free Girls is for the young girls who feel like they're 'not whole, barely together' and are fighting to collect the shattered pieces. It's for the girls who feel unseen and unheard. It's for the girls who believe they can only fail. A heartfelt and heart-wrenching novel about forgiveness, family, and finding a path toward honoring your truth. At every turn, Jasmine is a character to root for--not in spite of her history, but because of it. With such an empowering debut, I can't wait to see what Kristen McCallum does next." --Arriel Vinson, award-winning author of Under the Neon Lights

"Moving and powerful, Free Girls is a triumph of a debut. With her unstoppable voice and complex and loveable characters, McCallum reminds readers that you can always rewrite your story--and that finding your truth is the first step to finding yourself." --Andrea Mosqueda, author of Just Your Local Bisexual Disaster

"There's a real art to capturing the bittersweetness where 'wanting to and knowing you can change' collides with 'this is how the people closest to you have decided you are.' McCallum masterfully expresses this aching, evergreen feeling through Free Girls." --Lio Min, author of The L.O.V.E. Club

"Jasmine's journey toward self-discovery had me rooting for her the whole way from heartache to hope. With crisp dialogue and unflinching prose, Free Girls is an outstanding debut." --Natasha Díaz, award-winning author of Color Me In

"A pitch-perfect representation of a teen who never promised to be perfect, but is absolutely deserving of redemption and grace. Jasmine could have been me. Jasmine could have been you. Jasmine is every teen who is one fun time, one random misstep, one spur-of-the moment decision away from life-changing consequences. Kristen McCallum's Free Girls is the tale teens, teachers and parents should read together, to begin necessary conversations on the complexities of making through adolescence." --Lakita Wilson, author of Pretty Girl County

"With poignancy and an enviable effortlessness, McCallum strikes a chord about the universal feeling of not being 'good enough' and the difference being seen can make." --Ciera Burch, author of Out of Step, Into You

"I can't wait to read more from McCallum. Her debut was equal parts rage-inducing and deeply romantic. My heart broke as Jasmine struggled to prove to the adults in her life that she wasn't a bad kid--and soared when she finally found the love she deserved." --Mina Fears, author of The Scorpion Queen

"Free Girls is a beautiful depiction of the trauma that befalls unprotected kids." --Joya Goffney, author of Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry

"McCallum weaves a powerful story of Black girlhood, female relationships, and how one misstep unfairly leads a teen to experience swift punishment instead of caring correction. Jasmine is a character many teens will connect with." --School Library Journal

"A beautiful and unflinching story about reputation, tenuous mother daughter relationships, and beginning again." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (BCCB)

"An insightful and well-characterized depiction of a teen navigating some of life's tough challenges." --Kirkus

"[Free Girls] tackles thorny subjects like rehabilitation, queerness, and blended families from a place of empathy and understanding, with strongly defined characters grounding these issues in a relatable, sympathetic context. McCallum expertly splits the difference between standard teen drama and the challenges of formerly incarcerated students, creating a uniquely affecting coming-of-age tale." --Booklist

"Kristen McCallum adroitly constructs Free Girls, a clever and expressive YA novel, [with] intimate and complex relationships." --Shelf Awareness

"As a bibliotherapist who works closely with Black girls and women, Free Girls feels painfully real. Kristen McCallum captures what I see in my practice every day: how quickly Black girls are adultified, how harshly they're judged for adolescent mistakes, and how long shame lingers after the punishment ends. Jasmine's journey toward truth and self-forgiveness is a reminder that second chances aren't about erasing the past, they're about reclaiming your story and learning to hold yourself with compassion. A powerful debut honoring Black girlhood and the relationship between mothers and daughters." --Emely Rumble, LICSW, author of Bibliotherapy in the Bronx