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A review by writerdgabrielle
Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution by Sara Marcus
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution traces the origins of a short-lived, grassroots feminist movement in the early 1990s. Through it, author Sara Marcus attempts—and succeeds in ways journalists of the time did not—to outline the highs and lows of the movement, chronicling the lives of its most prominent advocates, without sensationalizing the good or the bad, the camaraderie or the divide.
Growing up on the outside of the revolutions, hearing about it mostly in the past tense, I found a sense of nostalgic longing in these pages that kept me riveted. This was something that, had I been born a few years earlier, somewhere other than staunchly conservative rural middle America, I might have embraced full force. Marcus's prose is effortless; you could be reading a novel about a feminist revolution rooted in the idea that music is for everyone and othering women should not be society's default. It's easy to forget you're reading something factual and historical.
It feels a little weird to be giving my first five star rating in over a year, nearly 20 books, to a work of non-fiction but, as the kids say, 5/5, perfect, no notes. I enjoyed the story, I grappled with some intense emotional reactions, and I found nothing I would have done differently, had I written it myself. Those factors, to me, equal five stars.
Recommended for women—or anyone —35 and older who lived through punk, grunge, the Clinton era, Anita Hill . . . Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. This book is about music, politics, survival, and being a woman in a world that insists that, alone, is enough to make you less than.
Growing up on the outside of the revolutions, hearing about it mostly in the past tense, I found a sense of nostalgic longing in these pages that kept me riveted. This was something that, had I been born a few years earlier, somewhere other than staunchly conservative rural middle America, I might have embraced full force. Marcus's prose is effortless; you could be reading a novel about a feminist revolution rooted in the idea that music is for everyone and othering women should not be society's default. It's easy to forget you're reading something factual and historical.
It feels a little weird to be giving my first five star rating in over a year, nearly 20 books, to a work of non-fiction but, as the kids say, 5/5, perfect, no notes. I enjoyed the story, I grappled with some intense emotional reactions, and I found nothing I would have done differently, had I written it myself. Those factors, to me, equal five stars.
Recommended for women—or anyone —35 and older who lived through punk, grunge, the Clinton era, Anita Hill . . . Bikini Kill and Bratmobile. This book is about music, politics, survival, and being a woman in a world that insists that, alone, is enough to make you less than.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Fatphobia, Racism, Suicide, War, Classism
This is a work of non-fiction. Content listed above is not graphic, nor is it intended for "entertainment;" all depictions of violence or othering are factual recounts of historical events. Real events are not sterilized nor are they sensationalized.