The first novel in its eponymous series, Girls With Sharp Sticks is set in an elite all-girls boarding school that grooms its students to be poised, subservient, and "perfect" women through classes like "Growing a Beautiful and Prosperous Garden," but Mena just wants to do mathematics, be independent, and have a voice. Fed up by the overbearing gaze of the Guardians, Mena, along with a group of her fellow students, begins to investigate. The dark truth about Innovations Academy begins to unravel, motivating the girls to find out who they are and what they are capable of.