Things a Bright Girl Can Do
Author Sally Nicholls
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Story
Evelyn – clever, rich, but forced to marry rather than be educated like her brother. May – already part of the cause but refusing to resort to violence. Nell – a young girl who has grown up surrounded by hardship and sorrow. Each of these brave teenagers have their own reasons for joining the fight for the right to vote, but these three very different young women find themselves drawn together in this clever and exciting book set during the suffragette movement in an Edwardian Britain on the brink of war.
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Why we chose it
A coming of age novel which, through the stories of three very different young women, highlights the struggle of the Suffragettes and the reality of life for women of every social class in the years before the first World War. (Alice, age 14)
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What a young reviewer said
I loved the plot and all the twists and it felt very intimate and real as I read it.
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First published
2017, Andersen Press
Story Reviews
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Things a bright girl can do is a great book all about the fight for women’s suffrage. Evelyn, Nell and May all live different lives, Nell in poverty, Evelyn full of riches and comfort and May in between. When the girls discover the Suffragettes, they are determined to fight for their rights. Yet as the Great War looms ever closer, how much will they be willing to sacrifice for the cause? This book tells the story of each girl’s life, full of hardship, drama, romance and passion. I really enjoyed it as it showed me how different women and girls went about being part of the Suffragettes. I liked how real it was and it had great changes of tempo and pace, with many emotions flung in. It was good the way it showed that hardship can be overcome with patience and courage, also I loved learning about the time period, it made me feel like I was part of the story. I loved the plot and all the twists and it felt very intimate and real as I read it. I l liked how the characters were portrayed, especially Nell as I felt like I connected with her the most. It was a very good book.