Rules for Being a Girl

January 15, 2020
A teen has a feminist awakening after being assaulted by her teacher. Marin is a pretty ordinary high school student--she is navigating senior year and relationships, studying hard to get into her dream school, and aspiring to become a journalist. She and her best friend, Chloe, are co-editors of Bridgewater Prep's school paper, and they spend their free time in the newspaper office with their adviser and favorite teacher, Mr. Beckett. Bex, as all his students call him, is not like other teachers--he is young and gregarious and doesn't keep his private life a secret. Both Marin and Chloe think Bex is cute and are a little obsessed with his sex life. After Bex offers Marin a ride home from school and then kisses her without consent, Marin wonders what she did to give him the wrong signals. When neither Chloe nor the school's board believes her, Marin starts fighting back against the unwritten rules for girls. The book shines a light on the pressures of being a girl and the double standards that readers will immediately recognize and appreciate or learn from. The writing is complicated in the way that female friendships can be. Although the authors include a passage about intersectionality, with all major characters seeming to be white, it feels like an afterthought. A light read about a heavy topic. (Fiction. 14-18)

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February 1, 2020

Gr 9 Up-Overachieving, Ivy League-bound Marin grudgingly accepts the sexism around her, from an English curriculum dominated by male writers to a principal who publicly humiliates female students for dress code violations. Then her teacher Mr. Beckett tries to kiss her. Shaken and ashamed, she worries that she unwittingly sent him romantic signals. But soon she gets enraged at the idea that women are supposed to behave according to some unspoken code of conduct. In an incendiary editorial ("The Rules for Being a Girl") for the school paper, she censures the traditional rules and excuses: "Don't let things go too far. Don't give him the wrong idea. Don't blame him for trying." The response is disappointing; her best friend Chloe finds the piece shrill, and her boyfriend Jacob dubs Marin a "crazy feminist." But Marin comes to embrace that label, starting a feminist book club and finding the strength to speak out against Mr. Beckett. While the characters are thinly developed stock types and the ending wraps up too neatly, Marin's transformation into a clear-eyed young activist will inspire teens. Rife with references to pop culture, this fast-paced narrative introduces the complexities of intersectionality, identifies the insidious impact of rape culture, and encourages readers to take a stand against everyday injustices. VERDICT Young people starting to explore social justice will find this engaging work a stepping stone on the way to heavier fare such as Roxane Gay's Bad Feminist or Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.-Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 10, 2020
Authors Bushnell (Sex in the City for adults) and Cotugno (99 Days) team up in this novel about a young woman facing assault and sexist power dynamics in a post-#MeToo era. Best friends Chloe and Marin share a crush on their high school English teacher, Mr. Beckett, who’s also their advisor on the school paper, where the girls are coeditors. When Bex, as he’s known, moves from being friendly with Marin to kissing her, she isn’t sure where to turn; Chloe questions Marin’s account entirely, advising her not to ruin Bex’s life by telling. When Marin writes an editorial about double standards, Bex warns her of “blowback,” which she promptly receives, called “some crazy feminist” by her boyfriend. As Marin becomes more aware of problematic issues at her largely white school, including a sexist dress code and an all-white, all-male reading list, Bex threateningly gives her the first D grade of her life, and she decides that it’s time to report him, prompting gossip and ridicule—and disbelief from the school board. The authors write a convincing teen exploring the complex, frequently sexist social norms that girls and women navigate daily. Ages 13–up.

April 15, 2020
Grades 9-12 Marin knows exactly how her senior year is going to go. She'll crush it as editor of the school paper, impress her passionate young English teacher, and score an acceptance to Brown, her dream school. Everything seems to be going according to plan, too?that English teacher, Mr. Beckett, or Bex, is especially encouraging. He tells Marin her writing is mature, gives her rides, and offers to write her a recommendation to Brown. But when he completely crosses a physical line, a horrified Marin reports it, only to find herself with no support. The administration is reluctant to take action, her boyfriend is hostile, and her best friend thinks she's looking for attention. As Bex retaliates, Marin searches for allies and takes matters into her own hands. Like Jennifer Mathieu's Moxie (2017), this is a blistering look at a girl who, when her eyes are opened by an injustice, reacts by taking action. The ground it covers is well-trod in YA, but it's still needed, and readers will be glad for this take from two powerhouse creators.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Bushnell is the columnist behind the megahit-HBO-show-spawning Sex and the City anthology; Cotugno is a NYT best-selling force. Both know a thing or two about girls on the brink of self-discovery. Together, they'll bring out the crowds.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)