Girl Overboard [Hardcover]

Justina Chen Headley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2008

Everybody thinks Syrah is the golden girl. After all, her father is Ethan Cheng, billionaire, and she has everything any kid could possibly desire: a waterfront mansion, jet plane, and custom-designed snowboards. But most of what glitters in her life is fool's gold. Her half-siblings hate her, her best friend's girlfriend is ruining their friendship, and her own so-called boyfriend is only after her for her father's name. When her broken heart results in a snowboarding accident that exiles her from the mountains-the one place where she feels free and accepted for who she is, not what she has-can Syrah rehab both her busted-up knee, and her broken heart?


Justina Chen Headley writes with an engaging wit and a powerful, distinct voice. Her first novel, Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies) was a Border's Original Voices nominee, a Book Sense pick, and received a starred review from Publisher's Weekly: "Headley makes an impressive debut with this witty, intimate novel."

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

From the moment that “snowboarding became as natural as walking,” 15-year-old Syrah Cheng has wanted to be a professional rider. But after she narrowly survives an avalanche, her parents bar her from the sport. Syrah misses the anonymity and escape she found on the slopes. As the daughter of a billionaire cell-phone magnate, she feels misunderstood in public and abandoned at home by her workaholic, absentee parents, and her isolation intensifies after her only close friend, Age, stops returning her calls. Then Syrah develops a close friendship with fellow-student Lillian, whose sister is dying of cancer. A project to help Lillian’s family becomes the energizing force that pulls Syrah toward new discoveries about her own family, cultural heritage, and strengths. Writing in Syrah’s witty, engaging voice, Headley offers a stirring, layered novel about a Chinese American girl who rejects the false glitter of her superrich Seattle community and resolves to use her advantages to create large-scale change and relationships that are deep and true. Grades 7-11. --Gillian Engberg

About the Author

Justina Chen Headley grew up near Buffalo, NY and San Francisco. After attending Stanford University she spent time in New York and Sydney, Australia before settling near Seattle, Washington, where she currently lives with her two children. This is Justina's second YA novel. Her first, Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies), was a Book Sense pick, and her third novel, North of Beautiful, garnered critical acclaim with three starred reviews.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; First Edition first Printing edition (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316011304
• ISBN-13: 978-0316011303
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,793,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a YA author. My debut novel, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH (AND A FEW WHITE LIES), won the 2007 Asian Pacific American Award for Literature. My next YA novel, GIRL OVERBOARD, is Junior Library Guild Premier Selection. I also have a picture book, THE PATCH.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inspiring and amazing., December 31, 2008

By 

Sarah Woodard (Bremerton, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girl Overboard (Paperback)

Summary: Syrah was injured in a snowboarding accident. Her dream is to become a Pro-Snowboarder. Her family is unsupportive. Her father, Ethan Cheung, made the cell phone of today. Her mother, Betty Cheung, is both a fashionista and do charity fundraising. All she want to do is be on the slopes with her best friend, Age,but he is too busy with his new boyfriend.

She soon befriends Lillan, an energetic and kid person. That spends most of her time at Seattle Children's Hospital. Lillan's sister, Amanda, has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant or she'll die.

Syrah and Lillan organize a Charity Snowboarding Event to help spread awareness for bone marrow transplant and the fact that everyone should register for it

My Review: This book is just plain amazing. It hit my heart strings. For those that don't know this, I am a patient at Seattle Children's Hospital. I have a immunological problem,where I am always at the doctors. I have seen some of these kids that are too young to not be playing with their friends or at school. It literally breaks my heart. I also like the plot and the fact that this book tackles such deep issues. I recommend reading this as soon as possible.

Also, if you are over 16 and are able to donate bone marrow. Please register, you could save someone's life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gutsy Girl Triumphs!, January 13, 2008

By 

Barbara J. Gomez "HS Librarian"" (Olympia, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Girl Overboard (Hardcover)

I know I am not the prime audience for which this book was written. I am many generations removed from the current youth this book was written for and about. Growing up before Title 9, I did not have the sport opportunities available to girls since that milestone legislation. Despite the lack of organized sports, I was a young female athlete, one who had set her sights on representing her country in the Olympics one day.

At that time, I chose the Olympics because it was one of the only avenues available for women athletes to perform on a high level, at least those were my dreams until I tore my ACL at age 13 and had my world tossed upside down. And so, when I meet Syrah Cheng, up and coming snowboarder, who is trying to come back from the same potentially career threatening injury, my heart is with her all the way.

I know the battles female athletes have fought and continue to fight even today and so does Justina Headley Chen, the author. Ms Headley, who says she conceived the novel as she was being trundled down a mountain by the ski patrol after having a similar accident may never have been an up and coming boarder but she knows well the struggles young girls face in our society. That is why she and several other talented YA authors have established "Readergirlz.com" a web community for "gutsy girls" wherever they may be and whatever their passions.

"Girl Overboards' Syrah Cheng has many battles to fight as she struggles to find her niche in the world. Issues of sexism, classism, and cultural identity are all handled with delicacy and power. There are no simple solutions here. Syrah may have been born into a family with many privileges but living in the spotlight of media and community scrutiny only magnifies the struggle to live up to the image of the "perfect daughter". This image includes the struggle of meeting the unhealthy demands our societiy places on the perfect, female body as well As a young female athlete trying to build a body that can meet the demands of the sport she loves, Syrah must also deal with the expectations of both her mother and potential snowboarding sponsors, an image that Syrah has subconsciously accepted until she recognizes it herself.

Which brings us to another wonderful element of the book, Syrah is also a budding illustrator and writer of Manga. In her Manga journal, Syrahs' alter ego Shiraz is able to fly high above the rest in her snowboarding exploits but also ends up teaching Syrah even more about herself.

Which brings me to my only regret about the book. It would be fantastic if future editions of the book could contain some panels representing the journal. Manga is a very hot ticket and would attract a whole other segment of readers. Perhaps there could even be a graphic novel/Manga spinoff or series based on the characters?

This is a compelling read which will speak to many girls and young women. If you have a "gutsy girl" in your life get the book for her today! She won't be sorry!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Get This Girl, December 24, 2007

By 

Little Willow (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girl Overboard (Hardcover)

There are plenty of books - and movies too, for that matter - which focus on athletes training for the big game or competition, only to have accidents! injuries! obstacles! interfere in act three. Luckily, they tend to pull through and win the championship or gold medal, and everyone lives happily ever after. Right?

Thankfully, GIRL OVERBOARD by Justina Chen Headley is more thoughtful and less predictable than those stories. Instead of striving for the win, GIRL OVERBOARD encourages readers to strive for their personal truths.

For Syrah Cheng, recovering from a snowboarding accident and overcoming self-doubt is just as difficult as climbing back up that mountain. Syrah is the daughter of a self-made billionaire whose face is splashed on the covers of magazines and newspapers. Her mother is dutiful and strict, and her older half-siblings, with lives and careers of their own, are distant.

Syrah doesn't want to just be thought of as somebody's daughter - she wants to make a name for herself in her own way. While nursing her injured knee, Syrah begins visiting kids in the hospital whose injuries and illnesses are more life-threatening than hers.

When she was snowboarding, Syrah felt free and powerful. She now finds solace in scribbling in her manga journal, but it can't compare to actually hitting the slopes - or to confessing something that happened to her last year that she hasn't told a soul.

As the story continues, she learns something unexpected about her family which make her look at her parents differently, and she attempts to bond with her older brother and sister with varying levels of success. Finally, she thinks of a way to give back to the community while bringing attention to an important cause. A charity snowboarding event brings her back to the place where she has to confront what happened to her, both physically and emotionally.

GIRL OVERBOARD is an engrossing story not only about overcoming personal injuries, but accepting your family and yourself. Readers will hopefully walk away with the urge to give back to their own communities and to try something new that they've always wanted to do!