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firxtly's review
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is an uplifting story of two friends, both deeply political and fed up with the racism, sexism, and fatphobia they face in their supposedly “progressive” school. The character of Jasmine is well written, fleshed out, and genuine. Her best friend, Chelsea, is her foil and is honestly a brat. We see their personalities and writing styles throughout the book. Overall, Chelsea is extremely performative and comes across like a “woke” nightmare. The messages are phenomenal, but Chelsea was such a difficult character to follow, compared to Jasmine and the other main characters. Also, it lacks diversity in the surrounding cast of characters !!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, Fatphobia, and Sexism
maggior's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Fatphobia, Bullying, Sexism, Chronic illness, Medical content, and Body shaming
clhtdr's review against another edition
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Death of parent, Sexism, Body shaming, and Chronic illness
robyn_fenix's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Bullying, and Cancer
Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexism, Body shaming, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism
mwhite0226's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Cancer, and Fatphobia
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, Grief, Cultural appropriation, and Body shaming
lilradridinghood's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I love Jasmine, but Chelsea is just so self-important and terrible at listening to other people. Her words and actions basically feel like white feminism.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia, Racism, and Sexism
morganperks's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Grief, Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault
alisazhup's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
"Your silence is saying something. Loud and clear.
We hear you.
Now hear us."
Here are some things I didn't like:
This was marketed as a YA book but I think a middle grade audience would enjoy it much more.
The characters did NOT talk and act like teenagers actually would. "I am shook by this!"
The friendships were way too perfect and hardly had any real conflict. When there was conflict, it was brushed over after a chapter.
The two side characters in the friend group (Nadine and Issac) were extremely one-dimensional.
The protagonists kept on shaming women who are girly or housewives, which strikes me as anti-feminist. Encourage women to be in STEM and make it clear that it's okay not to be traditional, yes, but also don't make anyone feel bad for doing things like cooking and cleaning if they want to? The protagonists got called out/challenged on this once or twice, but I would've liked to see more of a focus on that.
The protagonists kept on talking over other women. "I feel like I need to be that voice for her-whether she likes it or not." NO!!! You hate it when people speak over you!!! Don't do it to other women!
Minor note, but in one chapter Jasmine is being harassed on a subway and a woman helps her by pointing her to an empty seat. And Jasmine gets mad at the woman for not telling the man to "shut up"? Instead of directing her disappointment at the man? "I hate it when women reinforce sexism." The man could've been violent or started a fight.
A lot of loose ends were left at the end of the book- I don't know if I can go into them without spoiling- but it just felt like a lot of subplots were created and then discarded.
There were times when feminism was made out to be a joke. Let me provide a quote for this one. The main character shouts "'It's not a little club. It's the Hotbed of Cultural Women's Issues-the Nerve Center of the World, the Command Post of politics Pertaining to the Pussy" AND THEN GETS MAD AT PEOPLE FOR LAUGHING. Who can take you seriously???
Aspects of the school the characters went to were unrealistic, but I'll give that the benefit of the doubt at least.
Since Jasmine is a Black character and Chelsea is white, I would've liked more of a discussion on how that affects their friendship and if they have different definitions of feminism. Intersectionality is a huge topic. But I am white, so that might not be my place to comment.
Plot hole, maybe? Why did Chelsea and Jasmine never recruit any members to their women's rights club? Based on how viral their blog got, I would've expected people wanting to join.
Something on their blog comments, "Who cares about photos of the basketball club or the Environmental Club? This is where it's at!" Are... are climate change and pollution not important issues?
I don't usually hold it against books when I dislike a character because that could be a reflection on me, but Chelsea... Here was one of her worst moments: she and Jasmine were using a bookstore as a space to do some work. When the bookstore owner, who was a big mentor to them, asks them to respect the space because she has a class coming up, Chelsea says "'Thanks, and you know nobody ever comes to class, Leidy. It's like every week it's our special one on one.'" The bookstore owner replies with "'Well, I am hopeful. So please think about someone other than yourself, dear.'" To which Chelsea rolls her eyes. Came off so disrespectful.
What I liked:
Poetry, art, and essays played a big part in this book and I absolutely loved those parts.
Death and grief are themes and they honestly made me cry. It was so real.
Jasmine's character faces fatphobia which is a valuable topic.
I loved Jasmine's character in general.
This was just not the feminist book I wanted.
We hear you.
Now hear us."
Here are some things I didn't like:
This was marketed as a YA book but I think a middle grade audience would enjoy it much more.
The characters did NOT talk and act like teenagers actually would. "I am shook by this!"
The friendships were way too perfect and hardly had any real conflict. When there was conflict, it was brushed over after a chapter.
The two side characters in the friend group (Nadine and Issac) were extremely one-dimensional.
The protagonists kept on shaming women who are girly or housewives, which strikes me as anti-feminist. Encourage women to be in STEM and make it clear that it's okay not to be traditional, yes, but also don't make anyone feel bad for doing things like cooking and cleaning if they want to? The protagonists got called out/challenged on this once or twice, but I would've liked to see more of a focus on that.
The protagonists kept on talking over other women. "I feel like I need to be that voice for her-whether she likes it or not." NO!!! You hate it when people speak over you!!! Don't do it to other women!
Minor note, but in one chapter Jasmine is being harassed on a subway and a woman helps her by pointing her to an empty seat. And Jasmine gets mad at the woman for not telling the man to "shut up"? Instead of directing her disappointment at the man? "I hate it when women reinforce sexism." The man could've been violent or started a fight.
A lot of loose ends were left at the end of the book- I don't know if I can go into them without spoiling- but it just felt like a lot of subplots were created and then discarded.
There were times when feminism was made out to be a joke. Let me provide a quote for this one. The main character shouts "'It's not a little club. It's the Hotbed of Cultural Women's Issues-the Nerve Center of the World, the Command Post of politics Pertaining to the Pussy" AND THEN GETS MAD AT PEOPLE FOR LAUGHING. Who can take you seriously???
Aspects of the school the characters went to were unrealistic, but I'll give that the benefit of the doubt at least.
Since Jasmine is a Black character and Chelsea is white, I would've liked more of a discussion on how that affects their friendship and if they have different definitions of feminism. Intersectionality is a huge topic. But I am white, so that might not be my place to comment.
Plot hole, maybe? Why did Chelsea and Jasmine never recruit any members to their women's rights club? Based on how viral their blog got, I would've expected people wanting to join.
Something on their blog comments, "Who cares about photos of the basketball club or the Environmental Club? This is where it's at!" Are... are climate change and pollution not important issues?
I don't usually hold it against books when I dislike a character because that could be a reflection on me, but Chelsea... Here was one of her worst moments: she and Jasmine were using a bookstore as a space to do some work. When the bookstore owner, who was a big mentor to them, asks them to respect the space because she has a class coming up, Chelsea says "'Thanks, and you know nobody ever comes to class, Leidy. It's like every week it's our special one on one.'" The bookstore owner replies with "'Well, I am hopeful. So please think about someone other than yourself, dear.'" To which Chelsea rolls her eyes. Came off so disrespectful.
What I liked:
Poetry, art, and essays played a big part in this book and I absolutely loved those parts.
Death and grief are themes and they honestly made me cry. It was so real.
Jasmine's character faces fatphobia which is a valuable topic.
I loved Jasmine's character in general.
This was just not the feminist book I wanted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, and Sexism
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
marsiedotes's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I enjoyed the poetry and art in the book as well as the female artists/writers featured. I preferred Jasmine's voice more than Chelsea's, as I felt Chelsea seemed somewhat self-centered and focused on more superficial issues. I did appreciate that she grew to have a more intersectional approach towards the end of the book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, and Bullying
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