The Secret Language of Girls

By Frances O’Roark Dowell

Book #1 in the Secret Language of Girls series

Two friends face a rift as middle school changes everything.

3.6/5 Goodreads · 5,418 ratings

256 pages· 36,077 words· Est. 5 hour read

$19.99Save 5%

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Bookroo's summary

Kate and Marylin, lifelong best friends, face a rift as middle school changes everything. With Marylin joining the cheer squad and Kate exploring new interests, their bond is tested. Can they bridge the gap, or will their friendship fade away? As they navigate the complexities of sixth grade, both girls secretly hope to reconnect. Will they find a way back to each other, or are they destined to drift apart?

From the publisher

In the old days, when Kate had no interest in romance, she never cared what other people thought. Now, it appeared, love was turning her into a rotten human being. Eleven-year-old Kate Faber wishes she could talk to her best friend Marylin about this. But Marylin is no longer her best friend. Or is she? Kate and Marylin had always been the kind of best friends who lived on the same block for their entire lives and who could agree on the kind of boys worth kissing (only movie stars) or who should be invited to their sleepover (definitely not Mazie Calloway or Elinor Pritchard). The kind of best friends who didn’t need words to talk, but who always just knew. But lately Marylin has started to think that Kate can be a bit babyish. And Kate thinks that Marylin is acting like a big snob. And a lot of the time, well, it feels as though they just don’t know each other anymore. Somehow nothing is the same, but secretly Kate and Marylin both wish that it could be…. Edgar Award-winning author Frances O’Roark Dowell explores how far the bonds of true friendship can be stretched as Kate and Marylin struggle to navigate the inexplicable terrain of sixth grade.

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