We met on August 23, 2025 at the Murray City Park to discuss What Girls Are Made Of.
What Girls Are Made Of- Elana K. Arnold
This is not a story of sugar and spice and everything nice.
When Nina Faye was fourteen, her mother told her there was no such thing as unconditional love. Nina believed her. Now Nina is sixteen. And she’ll do anything for the boy she loves, just to prove she’s worthy of him. But when he breaks up with her, Nina is lost. What if she is not a girlfriend? What is she made of?
Broken-hearted, Nina tries to figure out what the conditions of love are. She’s been volunteering at a high-kill animal shelter where she realizes that for dogs waiting to be adopted, love comes only to those with youth, symmetry, and quietness. She also ruminates on the strange, dark time her mother took her to Italy to see statues of saints who endured unspeakable torture because of their unquestioning devotion to the divine. Is this what love is?
Why Was This Book Banned in Utah?
According to House Bill 29, What Girls Are Made Of is banned from public schools library because it contains “pornographic materials”. Check out other books banned in Utah at the PEN America’s website.
Bookclub Discussion Questions
- What are the overarching themes of the book?
- How does the author’s note relates to the story arch of the novel?
- What elements of the story ring true, and what elements felt fabricated?
- If you want to relate to your own experience, what felt real to you?
- Think back on your own experience. How would reading this book as a 16-year-old have impacted you?
- This book was banned in schools in Utah because of its depiction of sex and abortion. What do you think these scenes do in the book? Do you think they move the story forward or help build character?
- What is the role of YA literature in providing sexual health education to youth who are receiving so little in the traditional education system?
- The uses a lot of symbolism in the form of Nina’s magical realism stories and her trip to Italy with her mom. What do you think the meaning of these symbols is?
Fernandes Scholarship Fund 