A unique and dramatice look at growing up female in America from pre-Colonial days to the present. Eyewitness accounts highlight girls' spirit, will, courage, and contributions.

From the perspective of girls themselves, this book traces the always spirited and yet sometimes disheartening history of growing up female. Young girls from all regions of the country, from all walks of life, of different races, ethnicities, religions, and classes are given a collective voice in this true story of everyday triumphs and trials. Drawing on diaries, letters, memoirs, household manuals, advice books, and photographs, Penny Colman adds the all-important human ingredient to a history with which all young people can identify - that of growing up in America.