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sarahthewebnerd's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Body shaming, and Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
Minor: Classism and Racism
hullomoon's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
4.75
I came across this book at work, read it in one setting, and cried.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Body shaming, and Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent and Misogyny
lizziaha's review
4.25
cool (probably) gay aunt character ate
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Body shaming
Moderate: Racism
serendipity421's review
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? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, and Bullying
Moderate: Death of parent and Grief
mariakureads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-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
4.5
Having curly hair and loving it, I totally understand Marlene.... and her hair troubles as well as other people's snide remarks.
Personally I love my hair and I love that there are more books about self-acceptance in today's market. Being able to accept yourself is one thing that a lot of people struggle with, add in school bullies and your own family, well sometimes it's not so easy to express.
It's an odd thing how many other Latinos I've spoken with that had similar experiences that expression wasn't welcomed, it was in my house and we were vocal bout a lot, so seeing Marlene not being able to tell her own mom how she was feeling, how she WAS made to feel by other family members, and how she was being bullied for something so natural at school made my heart hurt.
I loved that eventually, not only was she able to really love herself and her hair, but she adapted to the changes with her Tia's help and was able to talk to her mom and have a heartfelt heart to heart.
Also, need to shout out that I loved the illustration style of Rose Bousamra and the color choices throughout the comic. It was beautiful and i feel like a perfect blend of images and words for the age group this is targeted towards!
Personally I love my hair and I love that there are more books about self-acceptance in today's market. Being able to accept yourself is one thing that a lot of people struggle with, add in school bullies and your own family, well sometimes it's not so easy to express.
It's an odd thing how many other Latinos I've spoken with that had similar experiences that expression wasn't welcomed, it was in my house and we were vocal bout a lot, so seeing Marlene not being able to tell her own mom how she was feeling, how she WAS made to feel by other family members, and how she was being bullied for something so natural at school made my heart hurt.
I loved that eventually, not only was she able to really love herself and her hair, but she adapted to the changes with her Tia's help and was able to talk to her mom and have a heartfelt heart to heart.
Also, need to shout out that I loved the illustration style of Rose Bousamra and the color choices throughout the comic. It was beautiful and i feel like a perfect blend of images and words for the age group this is targeted towards!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Bullying
daniellekat's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.75
This made me tear up 🥹 I have been on this kind of hair love journey and have witnessed it in so many others. The author perfectly captured the way hair appearance can be deeply ingrained into families over generations. The art was adorable and the story was well thought out. My only drawback was that I wish Marlene’s mother challenged her family’s commentary on her daughter’s appearance. That feeling of dreading seeing family members because of what they might say, was so relatable for me and I wish there was some follow up to that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Death of parent and Racism
e_liz's review
funny
hopeful
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
This is such a fantastic, amazing book! This graphic novel introduces colorism & racism in such a direct yet gentle way, I really appreciated it. Growing up with curly hair, IYKYK. I cried.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death of parent, Racism, and Body shaming
notsobinaryart's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Bullying
Minor: Death of parent, Body shaming, and Grief
shaipanda's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
fast-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
5.0
I absolutely adored this!! Although this is very clearly a middle grade book, I didn’t feel that was detrimental to my enjoyment at all. I loved seeing Marlene’s journey with her hair and this book deals with such important issues such as anti blackness, bullying, self love and self confidence among many others
This was an adorable and really well done graphic novels covering really important topics :)
This was an adorable and really well done graphic novels covering really important topics :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, and Body shaming
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Misogyny
greenlivingaudioworm's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, and Death of parent