Contemporary Canadian Literature with a Distinctly Urban Twist

Anvil Press

Some Girls Do

Some Girls Do

  • canada orders CAD $18
  • us orders US $18
  • world (outside Canada/US) orders US $18

In prose that’s as sharp as broken glass and shot through with poetry, Teresa McWhirter unlocks the extraordinary subculture of urban adults in their twenties and early thirties. Most startling of all are the portraits of young women —tough, independent party girls who are strong enough to say “no” to love and smart enough to know why.

“McWhirter unearths a community of adult-kids seldom chronicled … Realistic dialogue — heavily peppered with slang, swearing and esoteric pop-culture references — contributes to the novel’s overall believability. The humour and wordplay alone mark McWhirter as a writer to watch.”
—Quill and Quire

“Before approaching this book you have to decide if you are interested in reading about people who are pimples on the ass of society. … Twenty-something alcoholics and druggies do not or cannot read, and people who can afford books do not want to read about them.”
—W.P. Kinsella, author of Shoeless Joe

Some Girls Do is a sharp, poetic glimpse into the yearning but hopelessly unfocused lives of a group of marginal urbanites…surprisingly, McWhirter makes them touching rather than alienating.”
—Elle Canada


  • Publication: Apr 2013
  • ISBN: 978-1-927380-50-5
  • Pages: 168 pp
  • Size: 5.5 x 8 inches

Teresa McWhirter grew up in the Kootenays of interior British Columbia. After finishing high school she went to Europe and later returned to attend the University of Victoria, receiving a BA with a double major in English and Creative Writing. Upon graduating she taught English in Korea, spent time in Thailand and Costa Rica, and traveled extensively throughout Canada and the US. Her first novel, Some Girls Do was published by Raincoast in 2002. Her fiction has been published in many periodicals, including subTerrain, Geist, Bust, and Vice. Presently she lives on Vancouver’s East Side.

Books by Teresa McWhirter