What Girls Learn

By Karin Cook

Book Overview

A touching novel about girls and their mothers, sibling rivalry and kinship, and the mysterious tug between love and antagonism that lies at the heart of every family. The year Tilden turns twelve, her mother, Frances, falls in love and moves the family north. Soon the watchful, wise Tilden and her rebellious younger sister, Elizabeth, are navigating a new household amidst the awkward and alluring terrain of adolescence. But when Frances suddenly discovers a lump in her breast, her daughters must confront the unpredictablility of her illness. With heartbreak and humor, these characters exposes a world of secrets and learn to survive in the face of life's contradictions. This moving, emotionally stirring debut novel will appeal to fans of Anna Quidlen's One True Thing and Mona Simpson's Anywhere But Here. Funny, haunting, and unflinchingly truthful on every page, What Girls Learn is a book that will be read--and cherished-- for years to come.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0679769447
• ISBN13: 9780679769446
• Release Date: February 1998
• Publisher: Vintage
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Amazing Book

This book is so beautifully written and has stayed with me. Simple yet highly emotional...a MUST READ!

A MUST-READ! Absolutely amazing!

Karin Cook's novel "What Girls Learn" is an absolute must read! Not only does Ms. Cook capture exactly what it is to be a teenaged girl, but her portrayal of mother-daughter relationships, as well as the connection between sisters, is absolutely unparalleled. Anyone who enjoys Elizabeth Berg's novels, or Oprah's Book Club selections is sure to enjoy this novel even more. This book is true, heartbreaking and inspiring. Tilden will stay with you long after you've turned the last page. Buy a few extra copies for the important women in your lives!

A poingnant look at the complexity of relationships

What a gloriously sad novel "What Girls Learn" is! At once humorous, insightful, satisfying, and, above all, REAL, Karin Cook's first novel explores the complexity of mother-daughter and sister-sister relationships. But even if you have neither a mother nor a sister, this book is a great read. It is a book to be literally devoured, and be sure to leave yourself some time to cry and reflect when you finish it. Believe me, you will need to. The second I shut the book, I ran to my mom's room, crawled into bed with her, and simply breathed in her scent and aura. If you don't live with your mom, this book will definitely make you run to the phone and call her. I HIGHLY recommend buying a copy for yourself, and one for a good friend.

Incredibly moving...

This story touched me so mch that after finishing it I flew the next day across states to see my Mom.

Inspiring first novel by amazing author

This is a book to be read, cherished, and gifted to all of your friends and family. An excellent, evocative, touching, sad, funny and compelling novel -- not only will it bring comfort and feelings of recognition to anyone whose life has been touched by breast cancer, it is a beautifully crafted story in general. I recently had the pleasure of discovering that Ms. Cook would be reading from this novel at a local bookstore in Milwaukee -- and realized that she was the same Karin Cook who'd been my favourite writing teacher in college. Both she and her novel were inspiring teachers to me then and now, particularly since my mother survived breast cancer last year. Thanks, Karin!