a b Benedict, David (23 September 1998). "Theatre: And now for the drama of the century". The Independent . Retrieved 15 October 2020. Win and Nell both applaud for Marlene after her promotion, while simultaneously revealing their envy. Win assures Marlene that they are happy she was promoted over Howard, but Nell then tells Marlene that she doesn’t like coming in second. Marlene bluntly responds, “Who does?” The exchange shows the mixture of admiration, envy, competition and support that characterizes the relationship amongst the women at the office. The conversations between Win, Nell, and Marlene mirror the surreal dinner party in Act 1 - the women all bond over their struggles against patriarchy. Although they do get jealous of individuals at times, they can recognize the grander societal importance of Marlene, a woman, being chosen for a promotion over Howard, a man. Top Girl is relatable for all readers, of all ages, with its modern and relevant tone it will appeal to YA readers, as well as those who love true crime reads. I can not praise this enough, and the awareness that Danielle brings, is not only extremely courageous, it is also very admirable.

Top Girl is a memoir about Danielle's (D's) experience of being a drug dealer and being part of a gang. It starts with her early (seemingly happy) childhood and goes all the way through to her finally leaving the gang and starting a new life. Even while earning big money doing her thing, she frittered it on designer accessories and hair extensions. I wonder that she didn’t think to save a big wedge to get herself a good lawyer and fight for her parental rights. She clearly loves her son. Very strange. I’m sure she has her reasons - I just don’t understand them.This is a harrowing story of how failure by the school, the police and social services drives people further into the abusive dangerous lives they have become involved with. It shows how protection and safety seem more guaranteed with a gang than with the organisations that are supposed to help you. In the end Danielle is helped to leave but even then it only works because she has the intelligence to see that the agencies task to help her are only going to do a half arsed job and she must rely on the skills she has to get herself all the way there. In 2002, The Guardian published an article written by the critic Lyn Gardner about the enduring relevance of Top Girls as the play was being revived in the West End 20 years after its initial premiere. In the article Gardner stated that Top Girls "can still lay claim to being one of the finest postwar British plays. With its postmodern approach to structure, chronology and, most obviously, language, including dialogue that interrupts and overlaps, it is certainly one of the most influential." She also wrote that the play's opening dinner party scene is "one of the most famous scenes in modern drama". [20]

It's a very dark read however, and I had to pause it several times when something terrible happened to Danielle. I'd be like "okay that's enough for now, I'll calm down and continue later".Joyce’s sixteen-year-old adoptive daughter Angie is odd, quiet, and stunted. She is a lonely girl, whose only friend, Kit, is four years younger than her. Angie expresses a keen desire to kill her…

I genuinely think that this book should be available in comprehensive schools up and down the country. A seemingly bright girl who had a loving mum and stepdad, decides she would rather get into dealing drugs and having underage sex. Lister, David (18 October 1998). " 'Waiting for Godot' voted best modern play in English". The Independent . Retrieved 16 October 2020. Sierz, Aleks (3 April 2019). "TOP GIRLS, NATIONAL THEATRE". Aleks Sierz . Retrieved 15 October 2020.We’d rather it was you than Howard. We’re glad for you, aren’t we Nell." - Win, Act 2, Scene 3, p. 50 Kit is a twelve-year-old girl who is a friend and neighbor of Angie’s. Though Kit is young, she is cruel and aggressive, and spars verbally and physically with Angie. Kit seems to feel coerced… The action then switches to Marlene's office where Angie arrives, having taken the bus from Joyce's house in the country. She is shy and awkward and her presence is clearly an unwelcome surprise to Marlene, who nevertheless offers to let Angie stay at her place overnight. They are interrupted by Mrs. Kidd, the wife of Howard, who was passed up for promotion in favor of Marlene. Mrs. Kidd tells Marlene how much the job means to her husband, how devastated he is, and questions whether she should be doing a 'man's job'. It becomes clear that she is asking Marlene to step down and let her husband have the job instead, which Marlene firmly declines to do. She tries to clear Mrs. Kidd out of her office, but Mrs. Kidd only becomes more insistent until Marlene finally asks her to "please piss off". In 1998 the critic David Benedict named Top Girls as his favourite "play of the [20th] century" writing that "Caryl Churchill's stunningly moving study of the enticements of power and the contradictions we are forced to face was groundbreaking in its reworking of the basic dramatic rules governing time, manner and place. It was also utterly alive to the world in which she was writing and remains so today." [1]