'Girls of a Certain Age' is a darkly playful and subversive story collection that explores the impossible choices that come with 21st-century femaleness. From abusive partners to unplanned pregnancies, chronic unemployment to disabilities, these women find themselves in disempowering and frightening situations. Maria Adelmann presses the sharp against the tender and explores how they cope through the titular condition. Ranging from magical to terrifying, this book captures the spectrum of strategies we apply to the pain of life.