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A review by bookph1le
Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega
5.0
I loved this book so hard. It made me cry, and I just kept wanting to hug it to me.
I'll preface this by saying that, though I am a white woman, I have hair that is very naturally curly. I've never faced the curl discrimination that people of color have faced, but I have always felt the weirdness of the anti-curl vibe. I know so, so many women who straighten their hair, but on the few occasions when I've straightened mine, I did not feel like myself, so I could really relate to Marlene on that score. I love my curls, always have, and it's always bothered me that curly hair is somehow seen as less-than. It's only as an adult, as I've learned and grown, that I've come to understand the anti-blackness that's behind this idea that straight hair is "good" and curly hair is "bad". Hopefully it goes without saying that this is just straight-up bullshit, and that hating on people because of their hair is gross and based in the kind of nasty racism I hope no one really wants to perpetuate.
I also loved what this book had to say about the confusing messages adults send kids all. the. damn. time. I'm guilty of having done this myself. Adults encourage kids to be themselves, but then do everything they can to try to chide kids into conforming. We tells kids they're beautiful as they are, then suggest that maybe they might want to put on another shirt, do their hair differently, apply a bit of makeup... I've been thinking a LOT about beauty standards over the years, and I am overjoyed to see books for a younger audience addressing this. I would love to see those standards exploded and to live in a time when people can just express themselves how they wish while being respected for the full and complex human beings they are. The book doesn't get into this, but beauty standards are such entrenched misogyny, particularly with regard to women of color, so it's past time those standards were seen for what they are and torn down accordingly.
Both the narrative and art in this book are so strong. The beautiful message is reinforced by the gorgeous drawings. I especially loved the care with which curly hair is depicted because I certainly did not see many depictions of curly-haired heroines when I was growing up. Many attempts I did see were perfunctory at best, so I very much appreciated the loving and detailed depiction of curly hair in all its glorious and varied textures.
This book is such a gift.
I'll preface this by saying that, though I am a white woman, I have hair that is very naturally curly. I've never faced the curl discrimination that people of color have faced, but I have always felt the weirdness of the anti-curl vibe. I know so, so many women who straighten their hair, but on the few occasions when I've straightened mine, I did not feel like myself, so I could really relate to Marlene on that score. I love my curls, always have, and it's always bothered me that curly hair is somehow seen as less-than. It's only as an adult, as I've learned and grown, that I've come to understand the anti-blackness that's behind this idea that straight hair is "good" and curly hair is "bad". Hopefully it goes without saying that this is just straight-up bullshit, and that hating on people because of their hair is gross and based in the kind of nasty racism I hope no one really wants to perpetuate.
I also loved what this book had to say about the confusing messages adults send kids all. the. damn. time. I'm guilty of having done this myself. Adults encourage kids to be themselves, but then do everything they can to try to chide kids into conforming. We tells kids they're beautiful as they are, then suggest that maybe they might want to put on another shirt, do their hair differently, apply a bit of makeup... I've been thinking a LOT about beauty standards over the years, and I am overjoyed to see books for a younger audience addressing this. I would love to see those standards exploded and to live in a time when people can just express themselves how they wish while being respected for the full and complex human beings they are. The book doesn't get into this, but beauty standards are such entrenched misogyny, particularly with regard to women of color, so it's past time those standards were seen for what they are and torn down accordingly.
Both the narrative and art in this book are so strong. The beautiful message is reinforced by the gorgeous drawings. I especially loved the care with which curly hair is depicted because I certainly did not see many depictions of curly-haired heroines when I was growing up. Many attempts I did see were perfunctory at best, so I very much appreciated the loving and detailed depiction of curly hair in all its glorious and varied textures.
This book is such a gift.