Girl’s recalled quote from free-thinker (7)
I believe the answer is:
heretic
'free-thinker' is the definition.
(someone deviating from conventional thinking)
'girl's recalled quote' is the wordplay.
'girl' becomes 'her' ('her' refers to a girl or woman).
'recalled' is a reversal indicator.
'quote' becomes 'cite' (synonyms).
'cite' in reverse letter order is 'etic'.
'her'+'etic'='HERETIC'
'from' is the link.
(Other definitions for heretic that I've seen before include "Unorthodox believer" , "One breaking with orthodox beliefs" , "Person with views contrary to accepted beliefs" , "One whose opinions are contrary to accepted religious beliefs" , "Person of unorthodox beliefs" .)