Hi all!
Today I am back to review another new release – Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell and Katie Cotugno – which was published just 2 days ago. I was permitted to read an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) thanks to NetGalley. This young-adult novel follows Marin, an ambitious student who finds herself in a strange position when her English teacher tries to kiss her. When Marin decides to speak out and report him, nobody believes her; including her best friend. Marin is determined for everybody to know the truth. This story highlights the importance of being heard as a woman in a world that predominately favours men. As always, I am going to provide my honest thoughts and let you know whether I think it’s worth checking out or not. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Trigger Warnings: sexual harassment from a teacher.
WHAT THIS BOOK DOES RIGHT
The moral of the story is perfection! As a woman, I know what it is like to be treated differently/unfairly based on my gender. This book is so similar to What Kind of Girl which I reviewed earlier this year. You can check that out here. I found the story to be extremely compelling, heartbreaking and well-written. Marin is a very admirable character. After her teacher makes his move, she is not afraid to speak out against the injustice. She also launches a feminist book club at her school and writes a passionate article in the school paper called ‘Rules for Being a Girl’ which is the inspiration for the title. She dumps her jerk of an ex-boyfriend and tries to educate her friends on what is wrong with the patriarchal society. If you’re a feminist, you’ll love this story. There is plenty of strong character development and powerful themes. I will also add, Marin has great, supportive parents which is very rare in YA fiction.
WHAT THIS BOOK DOES WRONG
I have two minor issues with this book. The first being lack of representation. The protagonist is white, the love interest is white, the teacher is white, the best-friend is white etc. I wish it had been a little more inclusive of colour, race and sexuality. The second issue was with the love interest. He felt…unnecessary? I’m guessing the only reason he was there was to show that not all men are sexist, but we didn’t need him. This wasn’t about men. It was about females and how they are treated. I personally thought he didn’t add anything or substance to the story.
I gave this book 4.5/5 stars.
If you are interested, you can order a copy here.
I hope you enjoyed this honest review. Let me know your thoughts down below. I appreciate all feedback. Thanks for reading!
Peace & Love xoxo
Disclaimer: This post includes a link to my Book Depository Affiliate. I am not being paid or sponsored for this post/products – all my thoughts/opinions are my own