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All month long, we’re celebrating the latest addition to the Sam Maggs canon: Girl Squads: 20 Female Friendships That Changed History. It’s an incredible exploration of women throughout history – and we’re not just saying that because we published it. Did you know about BFF pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, who could plunder with the best of them? How about First Nations twin sisters Sharon and Shirley Firth, who went on to become Olympic skiers? Or how about the Edinburgh Seven, friends who fought to become the first women to be admitted to medical school in the United Kingdom? We told you this book was incredible.

Today, we’re focusing on something a little more now: your own girl squad. Ever find yourself turning to the usual (tired) tropes – brunch or happy hour? Quirk Books to the rescue! We’re here to shake up your calendar and help you make some wonderful memories. Girl squads, unite!

Lest you begin to think Taylor Swift invented the notion of girl squads, you should know that girl squads have been around since the beginning of time. I’m no paleontologist, but I bet even girl dinosaurs would band together with other girl dinosaurs because even they knew the importance of female friendship. Groups of girlfriends taking on the world is nothing new, but it does feel like they had a big resurgence in pop culture during the 1980s and 1990s. Here are a few of our favorites from that time. By the time you get through this list, you’ll be calling your best girls up for an impromptu hang. Girl Power, always and forever. But especially in the '80s and '90s.

Dating in the ‘80s and ‘90s was a simpler time. No Tinder, no Snapchat, no googling or ghosting. Instead, this was a time of phone calls (and answering machines), dinner dates, high school party hookups, and meeting the same guys over and over again. Of course, we don’t mean meeting the literal same person over and over (unless you spent these decades in a particularly small town), but meeting that same trope time and time again. He might have frosted his tips this time, he might have ditched that shell necklace, he might have chosen a suit in eye-wateringly bright colors, but he’s the same underneath it all…and whether it was the Boy Next Door or the Party Virgin, if you were dating in these decades, we guarantee you’ve gone out with at least one of these guys.

[source: Moving Image]

Here at Quirk, we love science fiction. There is nothing as entertaining as a good piece of speculative fiction with great story lines and characters. While there are some writers who are well established science fiction masters like Harlan Ellison, Philip K. Dick and Octavia Butler, there are also some creators who have the skills to make some of the best science fiction to ever hit the shelves but simply haven’t gone down that path yet. With that in mind, it seemed appropriate to speculate on what the future of science fiction writing may look like.

[source: Wiki Commons]

There are a few things to consider when bringing people together in any kind of group. First and foremost, there’s the question of whether they’ll get along — whether their personalities will complement each other. When it comes to book clubs, it’s also important that members are reliable: they’ll read their books, follow the rules, and contribute meaningfully. What would our literary dream team look like, then? This ultimate book club must comprise people who will keep things fun and fresh, who will always be on time, contribute food and wine, and most importantly: actually read the book.

Here are five people who would make a boss book club, and (probably) not harm or hex each other.

We love turning our favorite books into sweet treats. This time around, we're asking a new question: what if these YA books were Halloween candy?