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A review by caitlinturningpages
Our Stories, Our Voices: 21 YA Authors Get Real about Injustice, Empowerment, and Growing Up Female in America by Amy Reed, Julie Murphy
4.0
I received a finished copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Review originally posted on my blog, Turning Pages.
Feminist books are so for me. They’re important, always relevant, and educational. Equality is so important. I find that reading feminist books, particularly non-fiction, makes you grow as a person. It’s that kind of fuel that can change a person, and therefore change the world.
Sometimes I struggle with anthologies, because often I only enjoy maybe half of the stories and force myself to finish the rest. There were very, very few stories I didn’t enjoy in this collection which is a pretty big deal. I didn’t really enjoy Ellen Hopkin’s story, because it didn’t feel as impactful as the others. I also took issue with Ilene (I.W.) Gregorio’s story, because she uses the phrase “strong women” as though being bold, daring, and very physically strong is better. I find that phrase to be so harmful. I use to use it myself, until I realized that it’s problematic. There are many ways to be strong, and I think that phrase ignores that fact. It seemed like this story talked about the best way to be a girl, which is judgemental rather than recognizes you can be whatever you want to be.
The stories that I loved shed light on what it is to be a person of colour, LGBTQIA, and a woman. It shed light on rape culture and victims, on the way women are objectified, on racism, hate, misogyny. It lifted women up, expressed hopes and fears. It urges us to be vocal and create change. To band together. It talks about what the presidential election meant from various perspectives. It talked about how some feminists believe you have to reject traditionally ‘feminine’ things like makeup and fashion. All of these are fascinating and important topics. I was hooked to every page of these stories.
Some of my fave stories are “My Immigrant American Dream” by Sandhya Menon, “Finding My Feminism” by Amy Reed, “Unexpected Pursuits: Embracing My Indigeneity & Creativity” by Christine Day, and “Trumps and Trunchbulls” by Alexandra Duncan (though I loved many more than just these).
It was interesting to see the different perspectives, based on personal experiences and culture.
Our Stories, Our Voices is a must-read. It’s full of angering and empowering and educational stories by women from all walks of life. I truly value their voices, and I think everyone needs to read this book.
Review originally posted on my blog, Turning Pages.
Feminist books are so for me. They’re important, always relevant, and educational. Equality is so important. I find that reading feminist books, particularly non-fiction, makes you grow as a person. It’s that kind of fuel that can change a person, and therefore change the world.
Sometimes I struggle with anthologies, because often I only enjoy maybe half of the stories and force myself to finish the rest. There were very, very few stories I didn’t enjoy in this collection which is a pretty big deal. I didn’t really enjoy Ellen Hopkin’s story, because it didn’t feel as impactful as the others. I also took issue with Ilene (I.W.) Gregorio’s story, because she uses the phrase “strong women” as though being bold, daring, and very physically strong is better. I find that phrase to be so harmful. I use to use it myself, until I realized that it’s problematic. There are many ways to be strong, and I think that phrase ignores that fact. It seemed like this story talked about the best way to be a girl, which is judgemental rather than recognizes you can be whatever you want to be.
The stories that I loved shed light on what it is to be a person of colour, LGBTQIA, and a woman. It shed light on rape culture and victims, on the way women are objectified, on racism, hate, misogyny. It lifted women up, expressed hopes and fears. It urges us to be vocal and create change. To band together. It talks about what the presidential election meant from various perspectives. It talked about how some feminists believe you have to reject traditionally ‘feminine’ things like makeup and fashion. All of these are fascinating and important topics. I was hooked to every page of these stories.
Some of my fave stories are “My Immigrant American Dream” by Sandhya Menon, “Finding My Feminism” by Amy Reed, “Unexpected Pursuits: Embracing My Indigeneity & Creativity” by Christine Day, and “Trumps and Trunchbulls” by Alexandra Duncan (though I loved many more than just these).
It was interesting to see the different perspectives, based on personal experiences and culture.
Our Stories, Our Voices is a must-read. It’s full of angering and empowering and educational stories by women from all walks of life. I truly value their voices, and I think everyone needs to read this book.