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ellieafterall's review against another edition
3.0
Consider-what are you made of? Also, remember - you don't owe anyone a slice of your soul. Not your parents. Not your friends. Not your teachers or your lovers or your enemies. And you don't have to listen to anyone who tells you what girls are made of. Decide on your own what your heart is. Protect it. Enjoy it. Share it, if you want. You get this one body and this one hundred years. Love it, love it, please, love it.
This book made me severely uncomfortable. And as someone who is okay with being uncomfortable, especially when it is in relation to the horrors young women have to go through, this was a disappointment. I had such high hopes for this book, which, in hindsight, was probably not a good idea. Putting expectations on a book that does everything in its power to break against expectations is almost redundant, so I am sorry for that. I just found it...messy. It wasn't the terrifying imagery that kept being brought up - I saw the point in the messy, traumatizing scenes of the women being tortured. I sat through all of the chicken vs egg metaphors, the pining for a boy, the alcoholic mother, and the pet shelter stories. I read it all.
There it is - my own beating heart. I listen, I try to understand what it means, what it wants.
The problem is that it was laid out in this mishap of events, and that was confusing. I didn't know if we were in the current timeline or the past several times throughout the book, and many scenes felt structured and didn't flow with the story at all. There is a scene where she stalks her ex-boyfriend for a whole chapter, and that is all. They just look at each other, and then she leaves. This is never brought up again. I don't even know. I have to confess that I prefer the author's note to almost everything written in here; her explanation of why she wrote this was the thing I was expecting when I read this book. I see many elements in this book that I could've liked - the girls supporting each other, the discussion of girls being whatever the hell they wanted to be, breaking free from an emotionally detached mother...but it didn't work well together. I didn't like the random Christian imagery scattered throughout the book. That was definitely the worst part.
"As long as there have been women," Mom told me, "there have been ways to punish them for being women."
Anyway, the problem wasn't that Nina was unlikeable or some parts were gross, but that as a whole, the storyline went in a bunch of different directions. It was like I was reading from a diary, but out of order, and I could never keep track of what had already happened, or what was about to happen. I don't like that. I do appreciate Nina, though. I enjoyed her voice. She was almost so open with her thoughts that it felt like she was confessing them to me, in real life. Every single thought, even the horribly judgemental ones, that everyone thinks. I appreciated that. I just wish her story was told more coherently, without mentioning Jesus every 50 pages. Still a good book, though!
This book made me severely uncomfortable. And as someone who is okay with being uncomfortable, especially when it is in relation to the horrors young women have to go through, this was a disappointment. I had such high hopes for this book, which, in hindsight, was probably not a good idea. Putting expectations on a book that does everything in its power to break against expectations is almost redundant, so I am sorry for that. I just found it...messy. It wasn't the terrifying imagery that kept being brought up - I saw the point in the messy, traumatizing scenes of the women being tortured. I sat through all of the chicken vs egg metaphors, the pining for a boy, the alcoholic mother, and the pet shelter stories. I read it all.
There it is - my own beating heart. I listen, I try to understand what it means, what it wants.
The problem is that it was laid out in this mishap of events, and that was confusing. I didn't know if we were in the current timeline or the past several times throughout the book, and many scenes felt structured and didn't flow with the story at all. There is a scene where she stalks her ex-boyfriend for a whole chapter, and that is all. They just look at each other, and then she leaves. This is never brought up again. I don't even know. I have to confess that I prefer the author's note to almost everything written in here; her explanation of why she wrote this was the thing I was expecting when I read this book. I see many elements in this book that I could've liked - the girls supporting each other, the discussion of girls being whatever the hell they wanted to be, breaking free from an emotionally detached mother...but it didn't work well together. I didn't like the random Christian imagery scattered throughout the book. That was definitely the worst part.
"As long as there have been women," Mom told me, "there have been ways to punish them for being women."
Anyway, the problem wasn't that Nina was unlikeable or some parts were gross, but that as a whole, the storyline went in a bunch of different directions. It was like I was reading from a diary, but out of order, and I could never keep track of what had already happened, or what was about to happen. I don't like that. I do appreciate Nina, though. I enjoyed her voice. She was almost so open with her thoughts that it felt like she was confessing them to me, in real life. Every single thought, even the horribly judgemental ones, that everyone thinks. I appreciated that. I just wish her story was told more coherently, without mentioning Jesus every 50 pages. Still a good book, though!
coffeechug's review against another edition
5.0
What Girls Are Made of by Elana K. Arnold http://amzn.to/2qE8aEM - A book that shook me to my core as a parent of two girls and an educator and coach to many more. What are we doing to empower girls to feel like a complete person while also allowing them to realize their thoughts and feelings are natural and real and not to be downplayed?
“You can’t make people love you. Love isn’t something you earn, or something you deserve. Love just is. Or it isn’t. Anyway, there are more important things than love.”
“And I’m more than any of the parts of me—I am more than my good parts, and more than my bad ones. I am more than my mistakes. I am more than my memories. I will say these words again and again, like an anthem, like a prayer, until I believe them."
“You can’t make people love you. Love isn’t something you earn, or something you deserve. Love just is. Or it isn’t. Anyway, there are more important things than love.”
“And I’m more than any of the parts of me—I am more than my good parts, and more than my bad ones. I am more than my mistakes. I am more than my memories. I will say these words again and again, like an anthem, like a prayer, until I believe them."
angkunkel's review against another edition
A really uncomfortable read, but also un-put-downable. An important book for teen girls.
zinelib's review
5.0
This review is a spoiler-ish. It doesn't reveal any plot surprises, but if you prefer a really pristine outlook on a story before reading it, please just take my work for it that What Girls Are Made of is smart without being annoying clever, the mother-daughter relationship is hella weird, but not fraught, and there are interstitial stories that could blow your mind. Scroll down to read the review.
We learn early on that Nina has done a Bad Thing, and because it makes me uncomfortable when protags are bad, I almost put What Girls down. I'm so glad I didn't because, in addition to being a feel-good abortion story, Nina's narrative is complex (in an accessible way) with lots of weird art history and saint tidbits that just about always end in a woman dying miserably to live happily ever after.
And then there are some just wacky images like
In her journey, Nina becomes less close to one of her friends and finds a better one in fellow dog shelter volunteer, Bekah, who is the kind of person who says stuff like
We learn early on that Nina has done a Bad Thing, and because it makes me uncomfortable when protags are bad, I almost put What Girls down. I'm so glad I didn't because, in addition to being a feel-good abortion story, Nina's narrative is complex (in an accessible way) with lots of weird art history and saint tidbits that just about always end in a woman dying miserably to live happily ever after.
But that abortion was the kindest, best thing I have done for myself in as long as I can remember.When I first started reading, I wondered if What Girls is an MFA novel (thank A.j. Michel for that term) because the writing is so full of resonant images like
The room smelled gross in a way I kind of likedabout a boy's room, obviously. I remember feeling that exact way as a teen about things that I knew weren't good for me, but wanted anyway.
And then there are some just wacky images like
Jesus came to her in a vision and placed a wedding ring--made of his own circumsized foreskin.That's not Nina, it's one of her interstitial saints.
In her journey, Nina becomes less close to one of her friends and finds a better one in fellow dog shelter volunteer, Bekah, who is the kind of person who says stuff like
"Being of service. With love, you're waiting around for someone to give it to you, you know? But services...that's something you give."Or maybe I just like that because it's how I feel about COVID-19 and mutual aid. There are a lot of people feeling sorry for themselves, for many legitimate reasons. But maybe if they did something for someone else, their own grievances might get put in perspective.
canuckmum's review against another edition
2.0
This wasn’t for me. I was put off right away by the mother.
emmilou18's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Pregnancy, Medical content, Misogyny, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Abortion
rcaivano's review against another edition
Nina is in love with Seth and will do whatever it takes to keep him happy. If he wants sex, she'll give it to him, she'll stay away from her friends, and she'll play by all of his rules. But her mother has warned her that love is unconditional, and when Seth finally leaves her, she spirals and tries to figure out her place in life without her boyfriend. She finds out she's pregnant, and doesn't even blink It's about how a teenage girl feels about her body and what she's willing to do. It's a bit odd, and included are her essays about the martyred saints.
unielesta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
meg13sam's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0