Short Synopsis
Girls to the Front is the epic, definitive history of the Riot Grrrl movement—the radical feminist punk uprising that exploded into the public eye in the 1990s, altering America's gender landscape forever.

Full Synopsis
Girls to the Front is the epic, definitive history of the Riot Grrrl movement: the radical feminist punk uprising that exploded into the public eye in the 1990s, altering America's gender landscape—and soundscape—forever. Author Sara Marcus, a cultural historian and critic who's written for Rolling Stone, the New Republic, the Los Angeles Times, and The Nation, interweaves research, interviews, and her own memories as a Riot Grrrl front-liner. Her passionate, sophisticated narrative brilliantly conveys the stories of punk bands like Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and Heavens to Betsy—whose successors include Sleater-Kinney, Partyline, and Kathleen Hanna's Le Tigre—as well as the legions of young feminists who listened up, became inspired, and made their own revolution.

"[A] compelling history . . . Marcus has done a commendable job of telling the little-known history of an important social and cultural movement." ---Booklist Starred Review

"A brash, gutsy chronicle of the empowering music and feminist movement of the early 1990s led by young women rock groups like Bikini Kill and Bratmobile." ---Publishers Weekly

“Exhilarating. . . . Girls to the Front is the well-documented history Riot Grrrl deserves. . . . Marcus writes with the empathy, grace, and balance of a good war correspondent. . . . Her book will undoubtedly prompt a whole new generation of teenage girls.” ---Los Angeles Times

“A fascinating social history. . . . In her impassioned study, Marcus focuses on the girls in the crowd as much as stars like Bikini Kill, placing the story in the context of liberalism’s post-Reagan crisis and mapping a civilization of Xeroxed jeremiads.” ---Rolling Stone

Booklist Review