M-E Girard lives just outside Toronto, Canada, where she splits her time between writing YA fiction about badass teen girls and working nights as a pediatric nurse. A 2013 and 2015 Lambda Literary Fellow, M-E is a proud feminist who is endlessly fascinated by the good, the bad, and the ugly regarding the concept of gender. In her YA novel Girl Mans Up (HarperCollins), Pen wants is to be the kind of girl she’s always been. So why does everyone have a problem with it? Old-world parents, disintegrating friendships, and strong feelings for other girls drive Pen to see the truth—that in order to be who she truly wants to be, she’ll have to man up. In its starred review, School Library Journal writes, “There is no sugarcoating in this very real portrayal of an aspect of teen life that many experience.”
