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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
Not my favorite YA book, but I loved the message. Throughout the book the main character learns about feminism and starts to look critically at the societal expectations placed on girls her age. I would definitely recommend it to a high schooler.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
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:
No
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Dementia
dark
emotional
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I cried, but I always cry so... take that as you will. I've been disappointed by Katie Cotugno before, but I've never read any Candace Bushnell so I figured I'd give it a shot since it sounded like a good read. Good choice.
So I might've found one of my favorite books of the year in Candace Bushnell and Katie Cotugno's "Rules for Being A Girl." Though I should preface this review by also saying that this read hurt because of how closely I identified with the themes and experiences it presents. It's not a perfectly executed book by any means, and it may take a bit to get into the thick of what this book has to say with some scenes of quirky name dropping brands and pop culture references (Candace Bushnell, I see you and I'm cool with that, to an extent), but when this book starts hitting hard - it goes hard. And I really appreciated it on many levels.
To put my reaction to this book in context: "Rules for Being A Girl" is about Marin, who seems like she has a lot of things going for her with preparations for college, serving as an editor for her newspaper, even getting the attention of her favorite English teacher Mr. Beckett (Bex for short). But things take a swift turn when Bex makes unwelcome advances towards Marin when he takes her to his apartment. Bex doesn't know how to weigh the situation, confesses to her best friend Chloe, but is even more infuriated and confused after Chloe's questions and reactions.
This string of events lights a fire under Marin, who begins to question many things - her relationships, the casual comments and contradictions that surround her every day included. She writes an article for her paper called "Rules for Being A Girl" which is a full list of many toxic statements and microagressions in messages that girls/women face in their lives. Such a list goes down as well as one would expect, mostly either being completely ignored or the people in Marin's life questioning her motivations for writing it in the first place. Not all of the people in her life react this way, though.
When she starts a feminist book club, she finds an unlikely ally in Gray Kendall. She has doubts about him to begin with (some of which being true), but they have a camraderie that's really nice to read on page. But escalations in Marin's personal life - as well as still having to attend Bex's classes despite reporting him and the school ruling in his favor - push Marin to her breaking point in a spiral that gets deeper and more detailed as the book goes forward.
I not only deeply felt Marin's outrage in all the experiences she endures for this book, but I also hurt for her as well. "Rules for Being A Girl" did a fine job of showing multiple reactions and angles of Marin taking the steps that she did, and also showing Marin's reactions in a multi-dimensional scale - her thought process before and after the trauma, what she does to confront it, the falling out of some of her relationships and opportunities, and how she copes with it all, even in her impulsive decisions that aren't so wise in the aftermath. There may be readers that question why Marin makes certain decisions in the thick of things, but I think that speaks to how there's no one reaction in facing traumas and events like this. That's something I can speak to liking about some of Katie Cutgno's other works in particular, in addition to this one. I may not like everything that a character does, but at the very least I can see why she took those steps, and how they're rationalized in the aftermath.
The novel isn't always heavy in tone, as there are sweet moments between Marin and her Gram, the steadily developing relationship between Marin and Gray (which felt very believable as a romance), and even the friendship between Marin and Chloe, which gets tested many times through the narrative.
In the end, I really appreciated the read and Julia Whelan's narration of the audiobook was very well done. Definitely recommend it.
Overall score: 4.5/5 stars.
To put my reaction to this book in context: "Rules for Being A Girl" is about Marin, who seems like she has a lot of things going for her with preparations for college, serving as an editor for her newspaper, even getting the attention of her favorite English teacher Mr. Beckett (Bex for short). But things take a swift turn when Bex makes unwelcome advances towards Marin when he takes her to his apartment. Bex doesn't know how to weigh the situation, confesses to her best friend Chloe, but is even more infuriated and confused after Chloe's questions and reactions.
This string of events lights a fire under Marin, who begins to question many things - her relationships, the casual comments and contradictions that surround her every day included. She writes an article for her paper called "Rules for Being A Girl" which is a full list of many toxic statements and microagressions in messages that girls/women face in their lives. Such a list goes down as well as one would expect, mostly either being completely ignored or the people in Marin's life questioning her motivations for writing it in the first place. Not all of the people in her life react this way, though.
When she starts a feminist book club, she finds an unlikely ally in Gray Kendall. She has doubts about him to begin with (some of which being true), but they have a camraderie that's really nice to read on page. But escalations in Marin's personal life - as well as still having to attend Bex's classes despite reporting him and the school ruling in his favor - push Marin to her breaking point in a spiral that gets deeper and more detailed as the book goes forward.
I not only deeply felt Marin's outrage in all the experiences she endures for this book, but I also hurt for her as well. "Rules for Being A Girl" did a fine job of showing multiple reactions and angles of Marin taking the steps that she did, and also showing Marin's reactions in a multi-dimensional scale - her thought process before and after the trauma, what she does to confront it, the falling out of some of her relationships and opportunities, and how she copes with it all, even in her impulsive decisions that aren't so wise in the aftermath. There may be readers that question why Marin makes certain decisions in the thick of things, but I think that speaks to how there's no one reaction in facing traumas and events like this. That's something I can speak to liking about some of Katie Cutgno's other works in particular, in addition to this one. I may not like everything that a character does, but at the very least I can see why she took those steps, and how they're rationalized in the aftermath.
The novel isn't always heavy in tone, as there are sweet moments between Marin and her Gram, the steadily developing relationship between Marin and Gray (which felt very believable as a romance), and even the friendship between Marin and Chloe, which gets tested many times through the narrative.
In the end, I really appreciated the read and Julia Whelan's narration of the audiobook was very well done. Definitely recommend it.
Overall score: 4.5/5 stars.