Description

Book Synopsis
One small, northern community. Two girls gone -- one missing, the other dead. A riveting coming-of-age debut young adult novel for fans of We Were Liars and All the Bright Places.

     Sixteen-year-old Helen Commanda is found dead just outside Thunder Creek, Ontario. Her murder goes unremarked, except for the fact that it may shed light on the earlier disappearance of Chloe Shaughnessy. Chloe is beautiful, rich and white. Helen is plain, and from the reservation. They had nothing in common except that they were teenage girls from an unforgiving small town. Only Chloe's best friend Jenny Parker knows exactly how unforgiving, but she's keeping some dangerous secrets of her own.

     Jenny begins looking for answers about Helen's life and death, trying to understand larger questions about her town and her best friend. But what can a teenage girl really accomplish where adults have failed? And how much is

Trade Review
One of CCBC’S Best Books for Kids & Teens (2018)

"3.5/4... Common has created a powerful story about the quiet racism that exists in many small towns and asks readers to consider why one life is less important than another. Highly recommended for study in high school classrooms." --CM Magazine

"Jenny’s voice is painful in its brutal honesty and her palpably felt helplessness, and there are layers of tragedy here that bring her to the realization that safe is merely another word for lucky." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

The Lives of Desperate Girls

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    £15.29

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    RRP £16.99 – you save £1.70 (10%)

    Order before 4pm tomorrow for delivery by Tue 7 Jul 2026.

    A Hardback by MacKenzie Common

    10 in stock

      Trusted by thousands of customers. See 2,385+ Customer Reviews

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      Publisher: Penguin Putnam Inc
      Publication Date: 19/09/2017
      ISBN13: 9780143198710, 978-0143198710
      ISBN10: 0143198718

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      One small, northern community. Two girls gone -- one missing, the other dead. A riveting coming-of-age debut young adult novel for fans of We Were Liars and All the Bright Places.

           Sixteen-year-old Helen Commanda is found dead just outside Thunder Creek, Ontario. Her murder goes unremarked, except for the fact that it may shed light on the earlier disappearance of Chloe Shaughnessy. Chloe is beautiful, rich and white. Helen is plain, and from the reservation. They had nothing in common except that they were teenage girls from an unforgiving small town. Only Chloe's best friend Jenny Parker knows exactly how unforgiving, but she's keeping some dangerous secrets of her own.

           Jenny begins looking for answers about Helen's life and death, trying to understand larger questions about her town and her best friend. But what can a teenage girl really accomplish where adults have failed? And how much is

      Trade Review
      One of CCBC’S Best Books for Kids & Teens (2018)

      "3.5/4... Common has created a powerful story about the quiet racism that exists in many small towns and asks readers to consider why one life is less important than another. Highly recommended for study in high school classrooms." --CM Magazine

      "Jenny’s voice is painful in its brutal honesty and her palpably felt helplessness, and there are layers of tragedy here that bring her to the realization that safe is merely another word for lucky." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

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