• Age: 12 to 15
• Grade: 7 to 10
• Reading age: 12 to 15

What happens to best friends when one of them gets a boyfriend?

Gloria and Shawna are about to start high school, but they still enjoy acting out their fantasy futures with cut-throat games of Barbie. Even in their real-life plans it's always bossy, doll-faced Shawna who gets the boyfriend first. And then she'll make him bring a friend for Gloria, and then they'll double-date and rule the school. But when school begins, it's Gloria who catches the eye of Marc, the hottest boy in grade nine. And she quickly discovers how difficult it is to juggle a jealous friend and a romance.

A smart, sassy and deadly accurate depiction of every girl's dream-nightmare come true.

Sarah Withrow is the author of What Gloria Wants, The Black Sunshine of Goody Pryne, Box Girl and Bat Summer, which was shortlisted for a Governor General's Award and has been published in seven countries. She also writes short stories for adults, which have been published in The Fiddlehead Review, The Malahat Review, The New Quarterly and Descant. Sarah lives in Kingston, Ontario.

Sarah Withrow's profile page

• Commended, CCBC Our Choice
• Short-listed, CLA Young Adult Canadian Book Award

...this novel will be around long after flashier books have disappeared.

Booklist

The novel is jam-packed with lines that capture the wild mix of excitement and sheer terror that first love often entails.

Horn Book

The plot is fast moving and deals with common adolescent issues: love, boyfriends who want more than the girl is willing to give, loyalty, school, and popularity.

School Library Journal

What Gloria Wants is one of those spot-on portraits of the vicissitudes of the end of childhood. Withrow's wonderfully quirky novel will help readers realize that what we think we want isn't always what we really want.

Quill & Quire

...the sort of book adolescent girls gobble up.

Canadian Children's Literature - CBRA

The novel promotes lively discussion among junior and senior high girls about body image, self-respect, personal responsibility, friendship, and love.

VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)

What Gloria Wants