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A review by beccabennett
Rookie Yearbook Three by Tavi Gevinson
5.0
I found out about Rookie in my early 20s, which is still not quite the target demographic, but I remember being really impressed with their playlists and reading suggestions. (Also, in a tumble down the YouTube rabbit hole, I had stumbled across their "Ask a Grown Man" videos, in which adult dudes like Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend, aka my imaginary boyfriend, dole out relationship advice to questioning adolescents. It's ADORABLE.) For those not familiar, Rookie is an online zine by teen girls for teen girls, particularly those who do not find adequate representation or interest in mainstream teen publications.
Even though I was a looooong-time subscriber to Seventeen and Teen Vogue, I think Rookie would have been right up my alley back in my high school days (and in many ways, it still is). I drool over the DIY/collage-y aesthetic, and the writing is really, truly intelligent. These essays feel like hanging out with that really sage best friend who relates every story to the Greater Meaning of Life or your chill older sister who's already been there and done that, ya know? Even as I enter my late-20s, there is a lot of great advice to be found here about female empowerment, self-confidence, and authenticity that is still totally relevant to me. Plus, they seek out inspiration and advice from a lot of rad ladies who I currently girl-crush on, like Grimes, Sofia Coppola, Lorde, and Kathleen Hanna. Plus, there's an entire roundtable about the cultural significance of Kanye, y'all! I picked this up from the library to casually thumb through it and ended up reading through the whole damn thing from cover to cover!!
My only complaint is that there was some funky formatting (weeeeeird line breaks/hyphenation) and typos that hopefully the normal reader will not notice. I'll just take these little imperfections as a sign of Rookie's young collaborators' genuine and complete ownership of this project. :)
Rookie is such a loving and inclusive (!) little community, and as much as I wish it had come along when I was a tad younger, I sure hope it is still rockin' along if/when I have a teenage daughter. I can only hope to be as cool as editor Tavi when I grow up. ;) If Rookie is indicative of today's youth, I think the future is in good hands.
P.S. BUILD YOUR OWN THRONE is my new mantra. <3
Even though I was a looooong-time subscriber to Seventeen and Teen Vogue, I think Rookie would have been right up my alley back in my high school days (and in many ways, it still is). I drool over the DIY/collage-y aesthetic, and the writing is really, truly intelligent. These essays feel like hanging out with that really sage best friend who relates every story to the Greater Meaning of Life or your chill older sister who's already been there and done that, ya know? Even as I enter my late-20s, there is a lot of great advice to be found here about female empowerment, self-confidence, and authenticity that is still totally relevant to me. Plus, they seek out inspiration and advice from a lot of rad ladies who I currently girl-crush on, like Grimes, Sofia Coppola, Lorde, and Kathleen Hanna. Plus, there's an entire roundtable about the cultural significance of Kanye, y'all! I picked this up from the library to casually thumb through it and ended up reading through the whole damn thing from cover to cover!!
My only complaint is that there was some funky formatting (weeeeeird line breaks/hyphenation) and typos that hopefully the normal reader will not notice. I'll just take these little imperfections as a sign of Rookie's young collaborators' genuine and complete ownership of this project. :)
Rookie is such a loving and inclusive (!) little community, and as much as I wish it had come along when I was a tad younger, I sure hope it is still rockin' along if/when I have a teenage daughter. I can only hope to be as cool as editor Tavi when I grow up. ;) If Rookie is indicative of today's youth, I think the future is in good hands.
P.S. BUILD YOUR OWN THRONE is my new mantra. <3