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lawbooks600's review against another edition
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
3.75
Representation: Latino/a, Black and biracial (half Black and half white) characters
Score: Six and a half points out of ten.
I wanted to read Does My Body Offend You for a while but I never got around to doing so until now. After reading and not enjoying another novel it was time to read this one, so I finally picked it up and read it. Imagine my surprise when I enjoyed Does My Body Offend You, but it has aspects the authors could improve.
It starts with the first two characters I see, Ruby and Malena who live their separate lives until they meet only a few pages in. Malena had to move to Florida after a hurricane struck Puerto Rico and afterwards, she had a sunburn disallowing her to wear a bra. Unfortunately, when Malena went to school, she unknowingly broke the dress code, infuriating Ruby, who then swoops in to solve Malena's predicament. They soon form a plan to change the dress code by making a petition and then convincing people to sign it all within a few days, with Ruby begging for detention, even though she did nothing wrong. Ruby didn't even wear a bra, yet the institution let her get away with it, while Malena describes her body as a flat surfboard which got irritating after she repeats that.
My gripes with Does My Body Offend You lie in the characters. I initially liked Malena until I hit the 200 page mark, and that was when she rubbed me the wrong way, because after Malena and Ruby got people to sign the petition, the former went to a party at some rich privileged person's dwelling, made a questionable decision and was hungover. Really? How old is she? I don't think she's old enough to drink what she drank. I couldn't connect or relate to Ruby from the get go and I struggled to comprehend why she had to do all the dress code overhauling for Malena. Couldn't Malena solve her problem alone? The conclusion was rushed, as Ruby botched her speech by saying the school must abolish the dress code, not thinking of the consequences. One of the antagonists, Dr Hardaway, magically did a 180, which was unrealistic, and all Malena did was write a poem, petering out Does My Body Offend You.
To summarise, Does My Body Offend You showed promise, but while it was enjoyable, some aspects of it slightly frustrated me and it could be a better read with some alterations.
Score: Six and a half points out of ten.
I wanted to read Does My Body Offend You for a while but I never got around to doing so until now. After reading and not enjoying another novel it was time to read this one, so I finally picked it up and read it. Imagine my surprise when I enjoyed Does My Body Offend You, but it has aspects the authors could improve.
It starts with the first two characters I see, Ruby and Malena who live their separate lives until they meet only a few pages in. Malena had to move to Florida after a hurricane struck Puerto Rico and afterwards, she had a sunburn disallowing her to wear a bra. Unfortunately, when Malena went to school, she unknowingly broke the dress code, infuriating Ruby, who then swoops in to solve Malena's predicament. They soon form a plan to change the dress code by making a petition and then convincing people to sign it all within a few days, with Ruby begging for detention, even though she did nothing wrong. Ruby didn't even wear a bra, yet the institution let her get away with it, while Malena describes her body as a flat surfboard which got irritating after she repeats that.
My gripes with Does My Body Offend You lie in the characters. I initially liked Malena until I hit the 200 page mark, and that was when she rubbed me the wrong way, because after Malena and Ruby got people to sign the petition, the former went to a party at some rich privileged person's dwelling, made a questionable decision and was hungover. Really? How old is she? I don't think she's old enough to drink what she drank. I couldn't connect or relate to Ruby from the get go and I struggled to comprehend why she had to do all the dress code overhauling for Malena. Couldn't Malena solve her problem alone? The conclusion was rushed, as Ruby botched her speech by saying the school must abolish the dress code, not thinking of the consequences. One of the antagonists, Dr Hardaway, magically did a 180, which was unrealistic, and all Malena did was write a poem, petering out Does My Body Offend You.
To summarise, Does My Body Offend You showed promise, but while it was enjoyable, some aspects of it slightly frustrated me and it could be a better read with some alterations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Mental illness
Full trigger warnings: Racism, sexist slur, dubious consent, emesis, alcohol consumption, sexual harassment, assault and abuse, depression, anxiety and PTSD mentioned, hurricane in the past, near-death experience, fire, explosionskmishmael'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? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Body shaming, Sexism, and Classism
mikaylawood's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, and Sexism
Moderate: Classism, Bullying, and Racism
wardenred's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I press the megaphone harder against my mouth and say, loud and clear, for the entire world to hear me this time, “I will not be your victim.”
I can't believe how many important themes are presented in this book: feminism, race, class, being a refugee, body autonomy, sexual violence, family relationships across generations, allyship—that's not even a full list. At the same time, the story never reads as a pamphlet on these topics or anything. The characters are fully realized, relatable, and easy to root for, even when they make the kind of messy mistakes that are inevitable when you're a teenager faced with all the complications of the world around you. It was great to see how each of those mistakes made Malena, Ruby, and others around them, like Carlos and Saraida, actually think, analyze, and grow from the experience. I also really liked how the plot beats were distributed across the two POVs, such as showing Ruby's big apology at the end through Malena's POV—it felt important somehow.
One thing I especially enjoyed was the inspection of the intersections of privilege and marginalization; how someone can have more privilege than another person in some situations, but also face the kind of struggles the other person never has to come across. It was shown very well with the relationship between Ruby and Carlos. And something I enjoyed even more was the whole subject of allyship, and how important it is, when you're trying to help somebody to be heard, to amplify their voice instead of crowding it out with yours. No one is better at explaining a struggle and the ways to help with it than the person who's actually facing it.
One thing that made the book a bit difficult to read for me personally was the amount of Spanish. Objectively speaking, I really loved it, because it's genuinely important to the plot that centers on Latinx characters. On the other hand, since I don't know Spanish, it also made it harder to get immersed in Malena's chapters—the number of Spanish words without translation made me acutely aware I was reading about people who are foreigners for me, if that makes sense? I absolutely wouldn't want to lose a single Spanish word from this book, but I would have appreciated it if there were footnotes with translations included. A lot of the time, it was easy enough to fathom out the meaning of most words based on context, but sometimes I felt like I was missing out on some important meanings and I had to stop reading and google. On the plus side, I now feel like my knowledge of Spanish is sliiiiiightly above zero! :D
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexism, Body shaming, and Misogyny
luminareads's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book!
I liked the strong friendship dynamic between Ruby and Malena, and I liked the story. I'd probably read this again
I liked the strong friendship dynamic between Ruby and Malena, and I liked the story. I'd probably read this again
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Sexism
Minor: Rape, Fatphobia, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Vomit
nat_montego's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Racism, and Sexual content
kiwi_00's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism and Sexual assault
Moderate: Racism
mlovesbooks's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
La vida continúa.
Could not help but relate strongly to Malena, as a Puerto Rican who lived in the diaspora during Hurricane María. Great book.
Could not help but relate strongly to Malena, as a Puerto Rican who lived in the diaspora during Hurricane María. Great book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault
sholcomb's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This book is something I wish I could go back in time and hand to my 14 year old self. Very inspiring, an amazing young adult book for women. Unfortunately sometimes i felt like the main purpose of the book got derailed by some other plot points like relationships and such, but overall i thought it was a great read with some very important themes!!! It reminded me of Moxie
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Sexual assault
catladyreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcohol and Cursing
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