An Intricate Weave: Women Write about Girls and Girlhood

""She's not wearing one. She's wearing an undershirt!"" Thus the heroine of one story here recounts the humiliation of being found out as the only girl in her class who doesn't yet wear a bra. This anthology of 67 excerpted or reprinted essays, poems and pieces of fiction centers on the complexities of growing up female. Miller, a writer, editor and publisher (with her husband) of this book, made her selections from an open submission of hundreds of works with an eye to diversity, emphasizing emerging writers. Although outstanding authors such as Lucille Clifton, Julia Alvarez and Alice Walker are represented, many of the contributors are lesser known but write with talent and sensitivity. Alice Bolstridge offers a haunting fictional description (""Broken Glass"") of a young girl overwhelmed by family problems; Judith Sornberger's memoir (""Lallita"") tells of mothers and daughters. All the pieces celebrate the importance of girlhood as well as express both the pains and pleasures encountered during that period of life. Golden, who was project director for the first Take Our Daughters to Work Day, is a contributing editor to Ms. magazine. (Apr.)