SOME GIRLS DO

A reluctant pageant contestant falls for a newly out track star.

Ruby Thompson loves only two things—sleep and her car—but she relies on hookups with lacrosse star Tyler and working at her ex-stepfather Billy’s garage to keep her sane between the pageants her mother insists will be their ticket out of the trailer park. When new girl Morgan Matthews runs in front of Ruby’s car, leading to a near miss, they get off on the wrong footing—although Morgan is intrigued by how cute she is. Morgan joins Pride Club and navigates her lesbian identity after being forced out of her Catholic school due to her sexuality. Her Division I college scholarship could be at risk depending on the results of her parents’ discrimination lawsuit against St. Mary’s. Morgan’s annoyance with Ruby’s attitude soon becomes something more, despite warnings from her track teammates about Ruby’s reputation. The girls are from two different worlds—Morgan’s family is loving and supportive while Ruby’s mother fears her daughter may not be straight—and with so much to figure out on both sides, can they truly make it work? Dugan gives each protagonist a distinct voice and compelling point of view, and readers will sympathize with their challenges as they find their ways to love. Ruby and Morgan are White; secondary characters are people of color, and there is pansexual and trans visibility.

A complex and poignant queer romance.