Because Olivia was yelled at for wearing a tank top when she had to keep her sweatshirt wrapped around her waist.
Because Liza got dress coded and Molly didn't, even though they were wearing the exact same outfit.
Because when Jessica was pulled over by the principal and missed a math quiz, her teacher gave her an F.
Because it's impossible to find shorts that are longer than her fingertips.
Because girls' bodies are not a distraction.
Because middle school is hard enough.
And so Molly starts a podcast where girls can tell their stories, and soon her small rebellion swells into a revolution. Because now the girls are standing up for what's right, and they're not backing down.
I went to school in Ireland. We had uniforms. The concept of 'dress coding' is very odd to me. Certainly we were given out to if we were missing parts of the uniform or wearing it wrong, but missing class? Sent home? No. Never happened.
With that said, I really enjoyed this read. I'm loving this wave of 'girls standing up for themselves' novels, and this one is right up there. The characters are great, the story moves at a good speed, and everything - almost everything - makes sense. The only problem I have is that we never find out why the principal and Fingertips were acting as they were. Religious beliefs? Mistakenly thinking it would improve discipline? Just really, really hate tween girls? We don't know, we'll never know, but as the main characters are all tweens it at least makes a little bit of sense.
This is a great read. I loved the way the podcasts are woven through it to help tell the story, the way the girls slowly came together over the course of the year. I also liked the flashbacks to earlier years, to meetings or events that shaped characters and relationships - because those things do matter, and they do make a difference, even if adults have forgotten it.
I'll be recommending this one. Fantastic.
Edit: the author replied to explain that these characters were based on real people, and that they acted out of "power and control and a compulsion to make people feel small." Thanks so much Carrie! I really appreciate you taking the time to answer.
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