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A review by courtneyleeeann114
What Girls Are Made Of by Elana K. Arnold
4.0
“As long as there have been women,” mom told me, “there have been ways to punish them for being women.”
Here’s the thing. Nina is not a likable character and that’s okay. She’s real. She is perhaps the most honest female character I’ve ever come across in a book portraying how it feels to be a teenage girl. So, yeah, that means that she made bad decisions and was codependent. That she was needy and selfish. She was weak and dramatic. But, weren’t we all? I found myself relating to Nina throughout so many parts of her narrative—though honestly, I wish I didn’t in some instances. However, It is through this honest portrayal that the message is able to shine so brightly—we are not a sum of our bad decisions and weaknesses; we get to become so much more. Girls are made of so much more than their ability to be sexy and visually appealing. They are so much more than objects to be gawked at and played with. Girls are messy and brave. They are broken and beautiful. They are selfish and compassionate. They are fearless and determined. They are whoever the hell they want to be, conditions need not apply, and it’s time we realized that. There aren’t conditions for which they should be loved. They are not to be owned, but rather should own themselves for who and what they are. This book, in telling Nina’s story both very explicitly and subtly, but very poignantly portrayed that message. That girls are made of so much more than they believe.
Here’s the thing. Nina is not a likable character and that’s okay. She’s real. She is perhaps the most honest female character I’ve ever come across in a book portraying how it feels to be a teenage girl. So, yeah, that means that she made bad decisions and was codependent. That she was needy and selfish. She was weak and dramatic. But, weren’t we all? I found myself relating to Nina throughout so many parts of her narrative—though honestly, I wish I didn’t in some instances. However, It is through this honest portrayal that the message is able to shine so brightly—we are not a sum of our bad decisions and weaknesses; we get to become so much more. Girls are made of so much more than their ability to be sexy and visually appealing. They are so much more than objects to be gawked at and played with. Girls are messy and brave. They are broken and beautiful. They are selfish and compassionate. They are fearless and determined. They are whoever the hell they want to be, conditions need not apply, and it’s time we realized that. There aren’t conditions for which they should be loved. They are not to be owned, but rather should own themselves for who and what they are. This book, in telling Nina’s story both very explicitly and subtly, but very poignantly portrayed that message. That girls are made of so much more than they believe.