Girls

These days, almost every new movie, TV show, album or book feels so anticipated and pre-packaged that we're already tired of it by the time it's released. This makes it especially thrilling when something dazzling just appears like that alien spaceship in Arrival, startling even those whose business it is be in the know.

Two doctors wrote a book that probes the environmental, biological and socioeconomic factors contributing to early puberty. These girls face risks like anxiety and depression, one author says.

Book Critic Maureen Corrigan reviews the new book by Mona Simpson, about a troubled family living on a commune.

Commentator Maureen Corrigan looks at the Nancy Drew mystery series. The venerable series of girls' books have been updated for the 90s.

Book critic John Leonard says that leading feminist author Margaret Atwood can be alternately lyrical and severe. Her latest novel, Cat's Eye, is a dark look at a painter's fraught friendships with other women.