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nightgoesblack's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
readingwithmuggy's review
3.5
“These are the bodies we were born into. The bodies given to us by our mamis and our abuelas. What is so wrong with these bodies?”
This book follows two high school girls who couldn’t be more different from each other. Malena is from a tight knit Puerto Rican family that fled to Florida following a bad hurricane. She lives in a bigger body with a single working mom because her dad had to stay behind in Puerto Rico. Ruby is a skinny white girl who comes from a family of high achievers and “white saviors”.
A incident at the beginning of this story, brings this unlikely pair together to bring a change to sexist dress code at their school.
I love how this story really focuses on survivors & the idea that women are not to be blamed for men’s inappropriate behaviors. TW: There are depictions conversations around sexual assault. This book also dives into the complexity of racism, misogyny, social justice reform, the use of social media as advocacy & more.
Some of the dialogue was overly cheesy but I was willing to forgive it for the sake of the story and the overall meaning behind it.
This book follows two high school girls who couldn’t be more different from each other. Malena is from a tight knit Puerto Rican family that fled to Florida following a bad hurricane. She lives in a bigger body with a single working mom because her dad had to stay behind in Puerto Rico. Ruby is a skinny white girl who comes from a family of high achievers and “white saviors”.
A incident at the beginning of this story, brings this unlikely pair together to bring a change to sexist dress code at their school.
I love how this story really focuses on survivors & the idea that women are not to be blamed for men’s inappropriate behaviors. TW: There are depictions conversations around sexual assault. This book also dives into the complexity of racism, misogyny, social justice reform, the use of social media as advocacy & more.
Some of the dialogue was overly cheesy but I was willing to forgive it for the sake of the story and the overall meaning behind it.
alannar2422's review
5.0
This book was so powerful and really represented the struggle us women face on a daily basis. This was a pleasant book that had a lot to teach and carefully navigated feminism for a more in-depth look at it.I loved that Malena is from Puerto rico and our culture was represented so beautifully, from the descriptions of Santurce to the smell of mofongo. Great book overall!
meheehee's review
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I like the message but it just didn't really hit the way I thought it would.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
miariinfinityreads's review
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ellenpederson's review
4.0
I wish I could put this book in a time machine for my high school self to read. Empowering and uplifting like some other recent books along the same lines, but with a healthy dose of reality and intersectionality that's often lacking in MG/YA novels. People totally dropping the ball and falling apart at critical moments? Yep. Chasing a glowing victory with a drunken PR nightmare? That too. Well-meaning but ignorant white girl making a mess of things? Ohhhhh yes. There's also some thoughtful exploration of the border between being free and empowered vs doing something just because you can. The dual perspective approach worked well for the story, but I found myself getting annoyed by both main characters. (If I read the phrase Mr. Sporty Balls one more time...
gwynethburns21's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
lawbooks600's review
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Representation: Latino/a, Black and biracial (half Black and half white) characters
Score: Six and a half points out of ten.
I wanted to read Does My Body Offend You for a while but I never got around to doing so until now. After reading and not enjoying another novel it was time to read this one, so I finally picked it up and read it. Imagine my surprise when I enjoyed Does My Body Offend You, but it has aspects the authors could improve.
It starts with the first two characters I see, Ruby and Malena who live their separate lives until they meet only a few pages in. Malena had to move to Florida after a hurricane struck Puerto Rico and afterwards, she had a sunburn disallowing her to wear a bra. Unfortunately, when Malena went to school, she unknowingly broke the dress code, infuriating Ruby, who then swoops in to solve Malena's predicament. They soon form a plan to change the dress code by making a petition and then convincing people to sign it all within a few days, with Ruby begging for detention, even though she did nothing wrong. Ruby didn't even wear a bra, yet the institution let her get away with it, while Malena describes her body as a flat surfboard which got irritating after she repeats that.
My gripes with Does My Body Offend You lie in the characters. I initially liked Malena until I hit the 200 page mark, and that was when she rubbed me the wrong way, because after Malena and Ruby got people to sign the petition, the former went to a party at some rich privileged person's dwelling, made a questionable decision and was hungover. Really? How old is she? I don't think she's old enough to drink what she drank. I couldn't connect or relate to Ruby from the get go and I struggled to comprehend why she had to do all the dress code overhauling for Malena. Couldn't Malena solve her problem alone? The conclusion was rushed, as Ruby botched her speech by saying the school must abolish the dress code, not thinking of the consequences. One of the antagonists, Dr Hardaway, magically did a 180, which was unrealistic, and all Malena did was write a poem, petering out Does My Body Offend You.
To summarise, Does My Body Offend You showed promise, but while it was enjoyable, some aspects of it slightly frustrated me and it could be a better read with some alterations.
Score: Six and a half points out of ten.
I wanted to read Does My Body Offend You for a while but I never got around to doing so until now. After reading and not enjoying another novel it was time to read this one, so I finally picked it up and read it. Imagine my surprise when I enjoyed Does My Body Offend You, but it has aspects the authors could improve.
It starts with the first two characters I see, Ruby and Malena who live their separate lives until they meet only a few pages in. Malena had to move to Florida after a hurricane struck Puerto Rico and afterwards, she had a sunburn disallowing her to wear a bra. Unfortunately, when Malena went to school, she unknowingly broke the dress code, infuriating Ruby, who then swoops in to solve Malena's predicament. They soon form a plan to change the dress code by making a petition and then convincing people to sign it all within a few days, with Ruby begging for detention, even though she did nothing wrong. Ruby didn't even wear a bra, yet the institution let her get away with it, while Malena describes her body as a flat surfboard which got irritating after she repeats that.
My gripes with Does My Body Offend You lie in the characters. I initially liked Malena until I hit the 200 page mark, and that was when she rubbed me the wrong way, because after Malena and Ruby got people to sign the petition, the former went to a party at some rich privileged person's dwelling, made a questionable decision and was hungover. Really? How old is she? I don't think she's old enough to drink what she drank. I couldn't connect or relate to Ruby from the get go and I struggled to comprehend why she had to do all the dress code overhauling for Malena. Couldn't Malena solve her problem alone? The conclusion was rushed, as Ruby botched her speech by saying the school must abolish the dress code, not thinking of the consequences. One of the antagonists, Dr Hardaway, magically did a 180, which was unrealistic, and all Malena did was write a poem, petering out Does My Body Offend You.
To summarise, Does My Body Offend You showed promise, but while it was enjoyable, some aspects of it slightly frustrated me and it could be a better read with some alterations.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Mental illness
Full trigger warnings: Racism, sexist slur, dubious consent, emesis, alcohol consumption, sexual harassment, assault and abuse, depression, anxiety and PTSD mentioned, hurricane in the past, near-death experience, fire, explosionsbmpicc's review
4.0
I loved this. There are definately a few trigger warnings in here. Well told and I really appreciated the 2 perspectives. A good reminder too that you don't always know someones full story.