• Age: 14 to 18
• Grade: 9 to 12
• Reading age: 7 to 10

Zadie thinks she's tough and indestructible, like the superheroes she draws in her graphic novels. She'll fight any girl who dares to take her on, and she always wins -- until, one day, she loses. Beat up and riled up, she quickly gets her revenge and hospitalizes the next girl she challenges. Scared that this time she may have gone too far, Zadie tries to keep out of trouble. But when some girls launch a cyberbullying campaign against her meant to spur her into violence, Zadie decides that enough is enough, and the lines between superhero and supervillain become blurred. A story written by a fresh young voice about violent teen girls and society's general ineptitude in understanding and helping them.

Faye Harnest's profile page

• Commended, One of the Year's Best for 2011 - Resource Links
• Winner, 2012 Moonbeam Children's Book Award - Bronze Medal Young Adult Fiction - Mature Issues

Calgary native FAYE HARNEST writes and edits books, plays, and films. She has edited a book for youth on cyberbullying and worked on the Canadian Women's Studies Journal. Faye holds university degrees in psychology and creative writing and is currently completing a MA in Creative Writing at Concordia University. This is her first novel.

"This is the type of book that grade schools should make students read in order to get a clue about bullying and violence. If I ever become a teacher, I will seriously demand that my students read this, think about it, and learn from it. Muchas gracias to author Faye Harnest and Lorimer and Co. for giving me the opportunity to read this book!"

astormofwords.net

"Girl Fight is about family relationships and finding oneself. It also goes below the surface to reveal why Zadie is the way she is. Harnest, in revealing Zadie's character, allows her readers a glimpse into the psyche of a 16-year-old. Highly Recommended."

CM: Canadian Review of Materials

On the Language "The great thing about the writing is that it's not preachy. In a style that will appeal to teenagers. Sparse, direct, frequently colloquial...very contemporary, absolutely, brutally honest." On Faye Harnest "A direct writer, very sophisticated, creative, humourous, a keen eye for detail and a talent with metaphor, and definitely understands a girl's perspective." On Girl Fight "We get the perspective of both sides. You get the side of the bully, but also the side of the victim of bullying from the same character. I think this is a very smart decision on Faye Harnest's part."

Radio Canada International's The Link

"It is hard to imagine a girl so full of anger; however, Harnest does a good job of stepping into the shoes of someone whose rage has been building for years."

VOYA (U.S.)

Harnest has deftly captured the perspectives of both the bully and the bullied, and has woven those emotions into a surprisingly complex and satisfying pattern... I hope to see more from debut novelist Faye Harnest soon!

keenreaders.org

Rated E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it! "This book hits timely topics, and hits them hard. The rawness of the language and emotion make it a difficult read, but an important one."

Resouce Links

"Books about bullying are increasingly important for teens to help them process their complicated feelings on the subject. One of the most forthright and unflinchingly realistic of the latest crop of books is the novel Girl Fight by Canadian writer Faye Harnest."

AMI Radio