Girl Squads

20 Female Friendships That Changed History

By: Sam Maggs

Narrated by: Sam Maggs

A fun and feisty tour of famous girl BFFs from history who stuck together and changed the world.

A modern girl is nothing without her squad of besties. But don't let all the hashtags fool you: the #girlsquad goes back a long, long time. In this hilarious and heartfelt audiobook, geek girl Sam Maggs takes you on a tour of some of history's most famous female BFFs, including:

Anne Bonny and Mary Read, the infamous lady pirates who sailed the seven seas and plundered with the best of the men

Jeanne Manon Roland and Sophie Grandchamp, Parisian socialites who landed front-row seats (from prison) to the French Revolution

Sharon and Shirley Firth, the First Nations twin sisters who would go on to become Olympic skiiers and break barriers in the sport

The Edinburgh Seven, the band of pals who fought to become the first women admitted to medical school in the United Kingdom

The Zohra Orchestra, the ensemble from Afghanistan who defied laws, danger, and threats to become the nation's first all-female musical group

And many more! Spanning art, science, politics, activism, and even sports, these girl squads show just how essential female friendship has been throughout history and throughout the world. Sam Maggs brings her signature wit and warmth as she pays tribute to the enduring power of the girl squad. Fun, feisty, and delightful to read it's the perfect gift for your BFF.

Good for pre-teens to teens

A good starting point in that it introduced me to some amazing women that I'd never heard of. BUT. I have several problems with this book. First, it's obviously written for a younger, pre-teen audience. Which as a 27-year old, isn't that appealing to me. I also don't like all the author's interjections. Especially all her comments about "gals being pals." I get that she's making fun of people who only see girls as close friends, not lovers, even when they obviously are, but it still feels derogatory. Also, for the audiobook, I usually like it when the author reads their own book. However, it don't believe it served the book well here. I'm sorry, but I really didn't like Maggs' style of narration.

Overall, probably a good recommendation for the pre-teen to teen girl in your life or if you want a jumping-off point to learn about some amazing women. It just wasn't something that I particularly enjoyed.