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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
3.5⭐️
Rules for Being a Girls tells a story that is so vitally important for young women – the main message is that ‘we believe you’ and ‘it’s never your fault’. These are two messages that should be ingrained in young women, and that the rest of us should remember. That being said, I didn’t think this book was perfect. I think this book will be a perfect intro to feminist YA for younger readers (though proceed with caution), but will perhaps not stand up for older readers.
Marin was a really interesting character and a brilliant role model. She’s just preparing to finish high school and move to college, and is discovering feminism for the first time. This really is the story of a young woman discovering what it means to be feminist and debunking myths, which really is a fantastic message to be sending out into the world.
The plot centers around what happens when Marin’s overly friendly English teacher, affectionately known as Bex, steps over the line and kisses Marin. It tackles boundaries between authority figures and the responsibility of adults to not abuse these relationships. When Marin comes forward with her story, she is met with victim-blaming and disbelief, which is sadly the reality for a lot of victims. This can make this book at really tough read at times, so please be aware of that going in. However, the support from her parents when Marin tells them was beautiful and just shows that if you tell someone who loves and cares about you, then they will love and support you – another wonderful message to put into the world. It also shows the power of speaking out and taking back control of the narrative; demanding justice, even if it comes with side effects.
For my personal tastes, I still found this book to centre quite heavily on romance and high school drama, feeling that the topic of feminism and the subject matter of the kiss only really presented itself at the start and end, and in the middle it devolved into something quite bland. However, I think that may work for some younger readers who do not want to read a dense feminist novel. The book briefly touched on intersectionality, though I would have loved to have heard more from the other women in the story and explored this. Overall I think this would work really well for high school aged readers looking to dip into feminism, rather than dive headfirst. For an older reader or someone looking to really delve into this subject matter, perhaps this isn’t the one for you.
Thanks so much to My Kinda Book for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my thoughts and opinions.
Rules for Being a Girls tells a story that is so vitally important for young women – the main message is that ‘we believe you’ and ‘it’s never your fault’. These are two messages that should be ingrained in young women, and that the rest of us should remember. That being said, I didn’t think this book was perfect. I think this book will be a perfect intro to feminist YA for younger readers (though proceed with caution), but will perhaps not stand up for older readers.
Marin was a really interesting character and a brilliant role model. She’s just preparing to finish high school and move to college, and is discovering feminism for the first time. This really is the story of a young woman discovering what it means to be feminist and debunking myths, which really is a fantastic message to be sending out into the world.
The plot centers around what happens when Marin’s overly friendly English teacher, affectionately known as Bex, steps over the line and kisses Marin. It tackles boundaries between authority figures and the responsibility of adults to not abuse these relationships. When Marin comes forward with her story, she is met with victim-blaming and disbelief, which is sadly the reality for a lot of victims. This can make this book at really tough read at times, so please be aware of that going in. However, the support from her parents when Marin tells them was beautiful and just shows that if you tell someone who loves and cares about you, then they will love and support you – another wonderful message to put into the world. It also shows the power of speaking out and taking back control of the narrative; demanding justice, even if it comes with side effects.
For my personal tastes, I still found this book to centre quite heavily on romance and high school drama, feeling that the topic of feminism and the subject matter of the kiss only really presented itself at the start and end, and in the middle it devolved into something quite bland. However, I think that may work for some younger readers who do not want to read a dense feminist novel. The book briefly touched on intersectionality, though I would have loved to have heard more from the other women in the story and explored this. Overall I think this would work really well for high school aged readers looking to dip into feminism, rather than dive headfirst. For an older reader or someone looking to really delve into this subject matter, perhaps this isn’t the one for you.
Thanks so much to My Kinda Book for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my thoughts and opinions.
4.25 stars. This was a solid feminist story of a girl finding her own voice when she is put in an unexpected situation. As the synopsis goes, Marin has everything going for her in her senior year of high school when the English teacher she admires pushes things too far, leading Marin to wonder what she did wrong, a question many girls ask themselves when they find themselves in situations they can’t escape from. Overnight, she finds her voice, her anger, and unexpected support from those at her school who care about the double-standards women face, while unsurprisingly not finding support from those in power. This is unfortunately an all too realistic story where things don’t end up where they should have had she not spoken up. This situation did explode her life in unexpected ways and while it is not fair, it does allow her to grow and make needed waves in her school.
In terms of writing, there is some great humor in this story. I often found myself giggling at snarky realizations and jokes. The chapters are short, propelling the reader along. The writing was straightforward with little unnecessary detail and good conversations. The pacing really picked up about halfway through and at that point it was hard to put down.
The characters were really strong. Marin makes some questionable choices in how to handle things, but ultimately gets her point across. I thought the contrast between Jacob and Gray was a wonderful dichotomy of a sexist teenage boy and one who was respectful and supporting of women. The parents were all supportive and the side characters were good, though in this short book there wasn’t a ton of room for development.
I did think this book was a good contemporary about feminism, but I wonder how it will age with its timely pop culture references. I don’t know if it will ultimately encourage girls to speak up about predatory behaviors in adults or scare them away, but it was a slice of reality and I have to admire that.
Some quotes I enjoyed from the book:
“There are so many unspoken rules...that I can’t help but try to figure out which one I broke to get myself into this situation.” “How long have you been saying what everyone else wants to hear?” “I was desperately in need of a haircut and twelve thousand dollars’ worth of orthodontia... that picture keeps me humble.”
In terms of writing, there is some great humor in this story. I often found myself giggling at snarky realizations and jokes. The chapters are short, propelling the reader along. The writing was straightforward with little unnecessary detail and good conversations. The pacing really picked up about halfway through and at that point it was hard to put down.
The characters were really strong. Marin makes some questionable choices in how to handle things, but ultimately gets her point across. I thought the contrast between Jacob and Gray was a wonderful dichotomy of a sexist teenage boy and one who was respectful and supporting of women. The parents were all supportive and the side characters were good, though in this short book there wasn’t a ton of room for development.
I did think this book was a good contemporary about feminism, but I wonder how it will age with its timely pop culture references. I don’t know if it will ultimately encourage girls to speak up about predatory behaviors in adults or scare them away, but it was a slice of reality and I have to admire that.
Some quotes I enjoyed from the book:
“There are so many unspoken rules...that I can’t help but try to figure out which one I broke to get myself into this situation.” “How long have you been saying what everyone else wants to hear?” “I was desperately in need of a haircut and twelve thousand dollars’ worth of orthodontia... that picture keeps me humble.”
Marin comes up against her school's sexist policies when her teacher steps over the line.
Books like this tend to make me very angry, but this one wasn't so bad. There's an unhinged teacher, a jerk jock, an authority figure who isn't paying as much attention as they should, but no one else is too awful. I was glad about that.
I liked the way the teenagers spoke; it sounded like teens and not like adults pretending to be teens. The characters were good. I guessed a 'twist' about one, and I'm very pleased with how Gray's storyline ended. Just lovely.
I really enjoyed this read.
Books like this tend to make me very angry, but this one wasn't so bad. There's an unhinged teacher, a jerk jock, an authority figure who isn't paying as much attention as they should, but no one else is too awful. I was glad about that.
I liked the way the teenagers spoke; it sounded like teens and not like adults pretending to be teens. The characters were good. I guessed a 'twist' about one, and I'm very pleased with how Gray's storyline ended. Just lovely.
I really enjoyed this read.
~ 4.0 ~
I dove into this book without reading the synopsis first, after hearing a glowing review on BookTok and finding it available at my local library. I recognized the predatory grooming behavior of the male teacher right away, and worried it would be glossed over or dealt with poorly, as I have seen in many teen dramas. The plot does take the reader along on a roller coaster of emotions (the heartbreak I felt for Marin and the rage I felt at the school administration...), but by the end, I was satisfied by the justice served and the character growth that occured.
I will definitely introduce this book to the high school girls book club I lead. I want all girls to know that no matter what, sexual assault is not their fault. I also want them to know their power as young women to speak up, support one another, and make real change. As this book reveals, doing so may not be easy and may lead to loss, but it is a risk worth taking.
I dove into this book without reading the synopsis first, after hearing a glowing review on BookTok and finding it available at my local library. I recognized the predatory grooming behavior of the male teacher right away, and worried it would be glossed over or dealt with poorly, as I have seen in many teen dramas. The plot does take the reader along on a roller coaster of emotions (the heartbreak I felt for Marin and the rage I felt at the school administration...), but by the end, I was satisfied by the justice served and the character growth that occured.
I will definitely introduce this book to the high school girls book club I lead. I want all girls to know that no matter what, sexual assault is not their fault. I also want them to know their power as young women to speak up, support one another, and make real change. As this book reveals, doing so may not be easy and may lead to loss, but it is a risk worth taking.
Bello, bello, bello.
Tocca tanti temi attuali con abbastanza leggerezza da mandare un messaggio chiaro senza annoiare. Consigliato a tutt*, ma specialmente alle persone under 20, sia per affinità rispetto ai personaggi e al contesto sia come primo approccio al tema del femminismo senza manuali farciti di informazioni che talvolta spaventano.
Tocca tanti temi attuali con abbastanza leggerezza da mandare un messaggio chiaro senza annoiare. Consigliato a tutt*, ma specialmente alle persone under 20, sia per affinità rispetto ai personaggi e al contesto sia come primo approccio al tema del femminismo senza manuali farciti di informazioni che talvolta spaventano.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
this was SO GOOD. obviously as a YA book this is a very basic take on Feminism but i still really appreciated the book for what it did, ranging from commentary on school dress codes and slut shaming to white feminism and "reverse racism"! i loved Marin as a main character and would recommend this book to young women looking to start their dive into deeper Feminism.
A pretty engaging and fast-paced read. Main character Marin's transformation from girl who slut-shames and laughs at sexist jokes to outspoken feminist just about gave me whiplash, though. Story touches on important issues such as the fallout for women who report sexual assault and the many conflicting messages women receive from a very young age. Without resorting to spoilers, I'll add that the parents' inaction was shocking to me and the ending wasn't totally satisfying/realistic.
Read my full review for Common Sense Media:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/rules-for-being-a-girl
Read my full review for Common Sense Media:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/rules-for-being-a-girl