For Ages
14 to 99

A novel about friendship, feminism, and the knotty complications of tradition and privilege, perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Stephanie Perkins.

Jemima Kincaid is a feminist, and she thinks you should be one, too. Her private school is laden with problematic traditions, but the worst of all is prom. The guys have all the agency; the girls have to wait around for "promposals" (she's speaking heteronormatively because only the hetero kids even go). In Jemima's…

An Excerpt fromThe Feminist Agenda of Jemima Kincaid

CHAPTER 1

 

“It’s nice to meet you,” I told Old White Dudes #19 and #20.

Every alumnus looked the same. Sure, there were minor variations. Paunches were small, medium, or large. Hair was nonexistent, receding, or artificially puffed. Smiles were indifferent but polite (good), paternal and doting (meh), or lecherously smirky (gag).

But everyone qualified as Old and White and Dude.

I shouldn’t have been surprised. I was at the Senior Triumvirates, Past and Present reception, and the all-boys Chawton School hadn’t merged with Ansel Academy for Girls until 1978. They’d combined campuses and mascots (Angel Tigers, rah rah rah!), but Ansel had lost its name, as in a marriage, the commemorative plaque says. Chawton is a snooty private school in the snooty suburban enclaves of northern Virginia. It neighbors George Washington’s plantation, which should tell you something: it’s steeped in history, history of a certain type. The history of Old White Dudes running shit.

OWD #19 had moles. I bet someone clipped OWD #20’s nose hair. I bet not him. “A pleasure,” said #19.

“The Chawton boys are lucky these…