Critical Praise

“HOW TO BUILD A GIRL is dirtier and funnier than Almost Famous --- it’s a sexual coming-of-age story as much as anything else --- and one that, crucially, has a hard, glowing kernel of class awareness…If you don’t know who Caitlin Moran is, it may be time to find out…I wish someone had given me this rowdy and fearless little book when I was 16…her comic novel is sloppy, big-hearted and alive in all the right ways. We’re made to feel that for Johanna and for ourselves, to pluck another line from Almost Famous, ‘it’s all happening.’” 

—New York Times

“I have so much love for Caitlin Moran.”

—Lena Dunham

“Brilliantly observed, thrillingly rude and laugh-out-loud funny.”

—Helen Fielding, author of MAD ABOUT THE BOY and BRIDGET JONES’S DIARY

“The book is more than a novel; it’s part rip-roaring memoir, part Oscar Wildean social critique, and part fevered love song to the beautiful misfires and obsessions of youth.”

—Elle

“Hilarious, visceral and hopeful, this coming-of-age novel aptly demonstrates that the transformation from girl to woman is a process that often involves much trial and error.”

—Real Simple

“Hilarious autobiographical fiction debut for Britain’s Lena Dunham.”

—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“It is rare to find such a brash, hilarious teenage heroine, unapologetic and open about her own sexuality. Moran’s coming-of-age debut novel is both poignant and laugh-out-loud funny, a treat for young adults as well as those who remember the era and its music.” 

—Library Journal, starred review

“Moran’s characters are huggably, aggressively real, her setting --- 1990s Wolverhampton and London --- touchable, and her depiction of growing up well worth reading. One heartily hopes there’s more where this came from.”

—Booklist

“HOW TO BUILD A GIRL is must-read fiction for anyone who came of age during the 1990s and all those who love a book that is simultaneously poignant, hilarious and rude in all the right ways.”

—Muses & Visionaries