Love Is in the Hair

Gemma Cary

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Paperback

Forthcoming
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English

Delacorte Press
26 August 2025

Children's & young adult fiction & true stories

A feminist coming-of-age comedy that follows the endless humiliations, unrequited obsessions, and all-consuming friendships of fifteen-year-old Evia Birtwhistle as she leads a body hair positive revolution at her school.

Fifteen-year-old Evia Birtwhistle can’t seem to catch a break. At home, she must deal with her free-spirited mom, and at school she’s the target of ridicule for stating basic truths: like that girls have body hair!

When her BFF Frankie—who has facial hair due to her PCOS—becomes the target of school bullies, Evia decides that enough is enough and creates the ‘Hairy Girls’ Club.’

Leading a feminist movement at school is not easy. Boys often look at Evia like she’s a total weirdo, and the self-proclaimed ‘smoothalicious’ girls start their own campaign in retaliation. As Evia struggles with feeling strong enough to lead, and questions how to be a good friend to Frankie, she falls back on the best thing she has—hope. Her message is simple: We CAN make this world a more accepting, less judgmental place for girls to live in…one hairy leg at a time!

By: Gemma Cary
Imprint: Delacorte Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 210mm, Width: 140mm, Spine: 17mm
Weight: 283g
ISBN: 9780593651292
ISBN 10: 0593651294
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 26 August 2025
Recommended Age: From 12 years
Audience: Young adult , Preschool (0-5)
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Gemma Cary grew up in Somerset, England, and earned her degree in English at the University of Exeter. She landed her first job in children’s publishing in 2005 and despite deriving a fair amount of joy from being a professional spellchecker (among other things), Gemma soon realized she’d rather write the words herself. After penning a load of picture books that you probably haven’t heard of, Gemma decided to have a go at writing for teens. This book is the result.

Reviews for Love Is in the Hair

""This book is charming, educational, and makes you want to shout against the hair-removal industry and love your body hair!""—BUST Magazine ""Readers will root for Evia through both failure and triumph. Charming and ultimately hopeful.""—Kirkus Reviews ""Boistrous humor adds levity to empathetic depictions of [the characters'] growing body autonomy as well as their awareness of the sexist conditioning behind their own fraught body image.""—Publishers Weekly