Rules For Being A Girl- ARC Review*
Happy Publication Day to Rules for Being A Girl by Candace Bushnell and Katie Cotugno!
Quick story about my process for requesting this book for review:
I was very intrigued by the book trailer, promising a dark young adult contemporary full of intrigue and with women and feminism as a focal point.
I had heard of Cotugno's latest YA novels and they seemed a lot fluffier, but I am more of a hard-hitting contemporary reader.
It reminded me so much of that video I saw on Instagram recently posted by Girls. Girls. Girls. Magazine called "Be A Lady, They Said", which left me shook.
What with the video being narrated by Cynthia Nixon and the author of Sex and the City being the other half of the author duo, I decided this was more than mere coincidence and proceeded to request this book.
It reminded me so much of that video I saw on Instagram recently posted by Girls. Girls. Girls. Magazine called "Be A Lady, They Said", which left me shook.
What with the video being narrated by Cynthia Nixon and the author of Sex and the City being the other half of the author duo, I decided this was more than mere coincidence and proceeded to request this book.
After I was approved for the digital ARC- a huge thank you to Edelweiss and Balzer&Bray- I spotted this rant review for the book, which I ended up saving for later so as not to be spoiled (and I am so glad I did, because I like knowing as little as possible for the book I'm about to read and this review would have messed with my reading experience);
however, my expectations were reasonably adjusted and I can happily report I enjoyed this book- at least, a lot more than Carly did.
On to the actual REVIEW:
The Premise:
Marin, the protagonist, is your next door cookie-cutter female protagonist of a YA contemporary book set in high school: well-behaved, has good grades, a best friend slash co-worker slash co-editor of the school paper, a nice nuclear family, an athletic boyfriend... You get it.
Then her relatively young, attractive and oh-so-approachable teacher makes a move on her. While this is fairly gradual, it happens early on in the book, leaving Marin to cope with the consequences.
The Good:
This was such a fast read and my coming-of-a-reading-slump soul was craving a book to fly through!
Marin's shock following her teacher's move and her inability to share was very realistic and relatable in my eyes. Her goodie-two shoes behaviour is INDEED what young girls are told to do in order to be taken seriously or, rather, listened to at all. Her dilemma throughout this novel was:
Speak your truth vs be compliant, don't get hate, don't mess things up for you by TELLING.
We see her building up these walls that were not there before out of sheer shock that something like this happened to her; and that, worse still, she may have somehow caused it, encouraged it, invite it.
I suppose this could perceived as another trope of "ugh, no communication again?". To each their own. I personally saw where this conduct was stemming from.
Feminism plays a big role in this book and it would be a good start for the reader- particularly young women- to get informed on the subject matter and not vilify it- one would think that this would not be happening in 2020. Well, are they wrong...
I also appreciated Marin's interaction with her grandmother and her struggle with Alzheimer's Disease (perhaps it was dementia, do not quote me on that").
Talking with a grandparent about their past, the special bond between a gram and her grandchild was one of my favourite elements here.
Rules For Being A Girl US edition |
The Not-So-Good:
I love character-driven stories, but I cannot categorise this book as neither a plot-driven nor character-driven story.
For one thing, the plot is almost excruciatingly predictable after reading the first fifth of the book.
For another, this book had the most one-dimensional characters I have ever read.
There was the jerk, the good guy who gets it, the pain-in-the-neck friend. It sounds more like a set-up for an anecdote than a novel.
The switch in Marin's character came also rather unnaturally; it felt like the incident alone was not enough to justify her growing feminist antennae out of smoke. Her voice was ignored and can cause frustration, anger, hate, shame... but hardcore feminism? That quickly?
Overall this was very "unseasoned", to quote Carly from her review linked above.
The title might even be a bit misleading. I thought we would get a modern manifesto of what being a young girl comes with.
Instead, we get an article by Marin about that and some research material through the characters; which is not bad. Just not what I thought I would be getting.
I have to admit, I thought the authors were trying to force in diversity here and there; but that statement feels a bit unfair, because I do NOT have the answer on an execution of a balanced and inclusive story. Come to think of it, there's not only one answer. Nevertheless, the narration had an element of "we are Caucasian, yet we recognise all the racial and LGBTQ+ groups out there, see? We mentioned them, no biggie". It's good that they did, but... I guess mentioned is the key word.
And then I feel slightly guilty about saying that, because I may be overcompensating for my own white background.
I guess this book raises the point of diversity in YA, which is a big issue lately. Between the political correctness and the light shed on this subject matter I cannot help but feel like sometimes we are reading about authors "following a trend" rather than diversity being an integral and organic part of the story. So I projected all of that bafflement onto that book.
Rules For Being A Girl UK edition |
All in all, I do not regret reading that book and I would recommend it to younger readers. Still, I though it was rather blunt and rough around the edges.
⭐⭐⭐
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