Big Girl

“There’s nothing better for writing a novel than rage,” says Meg Elison, one of science fiction’s fearless new “bad girls” who delight in the transgressive, and who dares gainsay her? Her debut novel won the Philip K. Dick award and led off a series that has lodged her on the Tiptree shortlist. She’s already too big to go unnoticed.

Her stories contain both rage and humor in an effective if uneasy mix. As droll as it is tall, “Big Girl” applies journalism’s clueless prose to the hormonal horrors of growing up. First published here, “Such People in It” celebrates the courage of cowardice in nightclubbing and life. The almost-novella “The Pill” promises to change women’s lives as much as The Pill itself did, only this capsule comes complete with screams. “El Hugé” is an explosive new take on teen romance. “Gone with Gone with the Wind” explores the varieties of privilege in late Confederate America. Then of course there’s “Guts.” Turns out you either got ’em or you don’t.