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alongreader's review
4.0
So. I'm not a creator...unless you count one very small blog...and I'm certainly not an influencer. However, I did, once, have alopecia. I was lucky, and it never progressed beyond the initial spot; it's grown back in now, and even while it was there my hair is thick enough to cover it. It wasn't a fun time, though.
It's a feeling that Byrony, who has suffered alopecia on and off for years, captures beautifully in this new book. There are increasing numbers of reads out there about the dangers of social media and influencer culture (though Bryony beautifully shows us the upside as well in the character of Zal) but few have looked at it from quite this angle, and it makes for an amazing read.
I'm still not sure how I feel about Sorcha, which is probably the sign of a good character. I did think that Jen and Barb made up a little bit easily. But all is forgiven with that triumphant ending scene, which I just want to keep and reread on a bad day. It's amazing.
This is a great read and a really clever way to update a fairy tale. Highly recommended.
It's a feeling that Byrony, who has suffered alopecia on and off for years, captures beautifully in this new book. There are increasing numbers of reads out there about the dangers of social media and influencer culture (though Bryony beautifully shows us the upside as well in the character of Zal) but few have looked at it from quite this angle, and it makes for an amazing read.
I'm still not sure how I feel about Sorcha, which is probably the sign of a good character. I did think that Jen and Barb made up a little bit easily. But all is forgiven with that triumphant ending scene, which I just want to keep and reread on a bad day. It's amazing.
This is a great read and a really clever way to update a fairy tale. Highly recommended.
laurasbookjourney's review
4.0
I received an electronic advanced reader copy of this book in return for my honest opinion. Thank you to Hachette and Bryony Gordon for letting me read this before it’s release.
Let Down Your Hair is a modern day reimagining of the beloved fairy tale Rapunzel. This book revolves around social media in the modern world, and the main character’s journey as she develops alopecia as a hair content based social media creator.
Barb is a 16 year old girl who has recently finished school, but for many she is better known by her social media tag @letdownyourhair. With hundreds of thousands of followers and an aunt that is obsessed with making her a social media star, Barb spends her days in her room filming content. Her friends are no longer her friends and she is weighted down with the guilt of her mothers demise during her birth.
Honestly, the star of the show here was Barb’s journey with Alopecia. While I enjoyed the book as a whole, I really think it would have benefitted from less of the story being taken up by her life pre condition, and more of her life as she discovers it and her development on learning to love herself regardless of her hair. I’d have loved to have seen more after the end chapter, to see how Barb developed as a person after being faced with losing what at the end of the day, was all anyone appeared to focus on. As a consequence, I feel like the story rushed to tie itself up near the end, which could have been fixed easily by either shortening the pre condition section, or lengthening the book as a whole.
That being said, this book brings important focus upon a health condition that can so easily affect a persons self esteem in a world that is so focused on being picture perfect, on societal beauty standards and upon the pressures of social media. It was an interesting take on reimagining a fairy tale I love so much, and it is worth a read.
Let Down Your Hair is a modern day reimagining of the beloved fairy tale Rapunzel. This book revolves around social media in the modern world, and the main character’s journey as she develops alopecia as a hair content based social media creator.
Barb is a 16 year old girl who has recently finished school, but for many she is better known by her social media tag @letdownyourhair. With hundreds of thousands of followers and an aunt that is obsessed with making her a social media star, Barb spends her days in her room filming content. Her friends are no longer her friends and she is weighted down with the guilt of her mothers demise during her birth.
Honestly, the star of the show here was Barb’s journey with Alopecia. While I enjoyed the book as a whole, I really think it would have benefitted from less of the story being taken up by her life pre condition, and more of her life as she discovers it and her development on learning to love herself regardless of her hair. I’d have loved to have seen more after the end chapter, to see how Barb developed as a person after being faced with losing what at the end of the day, was all anyone appeared to focus on. As a consequence, I feel like the story rushed to tie itself up near the end, which could have been fixed easily by either shortening the pre condition section, or lengthening the book as a whole.
That being said, this book brings important focus upon a health condition that can so easily affect a persons self esteem in a world that is so focused on being picture perfect, on societal beauty standards and upon the pressures of social media. It was an interesting take on reimagining a fairy tale I love so much, and it is worth a read.
_rebeccareads_'s review
4.0
A glorious young adult story about the realities of social media and the world of influencers, and about how not everything is all its cracked up to be.
I really enjoyed Zal's character and how Bryony talked of the importance of making social media, and the world in general, accessible for all. Would also like to praise this book for raising awareness of alopecia.
This was a super fast easy to read book, one I thoroughly enjoyed, and I think it could be an important read for young people in a social media obsessed world.
I really enjoyed Zal's character and how Bryony talked of the importance of making social media, and the world in general, accessible for all. Would also like to praise this book for raising awareness of alopecia.
This was a super fast easy to read book, one I thoroughly enjoyed, and I think it could be an important read for young people in a social media obsessed world.
johanna_b's review
4.0
Barb's hair is her life. After leaving school at 16, her time is fully dedicated to growing her audience on ShowReal, a social media platform where Barb shares content focused on her hair. But soon she realizes that life as an influencer isn't as great as it's cracked up to be. And when one day Barb discovers a bald spot on her head, she'll have to find the strength to learn that she is so much more than her hair as she comes to term with her alopecia and tries to break free of social media's snare.
This was such an enjoyable and easy read! It kept me engaged the whole way through and the story was so clever! I loved Barb's character and how, just like the original Rapunzel, her story is ultimately one of self-discovery and learning how to make a stand against those who want to control you. Barb's Aunt Sorchia was such a twisted character! Sometimes I felt pity but then other times I couldn't stand her and despised the hold she had over Barb. The author did such a great job of writing about social media in a way that's accessible to everyone. She took an incredibly hard topic and was able to present it in a way that I think all readers will be able to resonate with whether they are big into social media or not.
There were just two things that held this back from being a five star for me. One, I found the ending to be really confusing. Everything was rushed and I had a hard time keeping track of who was meant to be upset with who and what had been resolved or not. Two, there was one paragraph which I really disliked where the author attempted to sum up the life of a teenager because apparently Barb was "missing out" on things "normal" teenagers enjoy doing like getting drunk, sneaking out and finding a boyfriend. I'm actually so glad that Barb was different and hadn't experienced any of those things because I'm so fed up with that being the marker of what a teenager should look like and I have zero interest in reading about it because I see it enough already in my peers.
Besides that though, I would still call this book a win! I'd recommend it to teens with an interest in social media but as I said above you don't necessarily need an interest in it to enjoy this book. Happy Reading :)
This was such an enjoyable and easy read! It kept me engaged the whole way through and the story was so clever! I loved Barb's character and how, just like the original Rapunzel, her story is ultimately one of self-discovery and learning how to make a stand against those who want to control you. Barb's Aunt Sorchia was such a twisted character! Sometimes I felt pity but then other times I couldn't stand her and despised the hold she had over Barb. The author did such a great job of writing about social media in a way that's accessible to everyone. She took an incredibly hard topic and was able to present it in a way that I think all readers will be able to resonate with whether they are big into social media or not.
There were just two things that held this back from being a five star for me. One, I found the ending to be really confusing. Everything was rushed and I had a hard time keeping track of who was meant to be upset with who and what had been resolved or not. Two, there was one paragraph which I really disliked where the author attempted to sum up the life of a teenager because apparently Barb was "missing out" on things "normal" teenagers enjoy doing like getting drunk, sneaking out and finding a boyfriend. I'm actually so glad that Barb was different and hadn't experienced any of those things because I'm so fed up with that being the marker of what a teenager should look like and I have zero interest in reading about it because I see it enough already in my peers.
Besides that though, I would still call this book a win! I'd recommend it to teens with an interest in social media but as I said above you don't necessarily need an interest in it to enjoy this book. Happy Reading :)
stuarts_stories88's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
emmakahardy's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.5
tasha5492's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jessbaldwin's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Easy read. Like the storyline
abbie_davis_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
This was a slow read for me, felt like a word count needed to be reached so similar sentences were used. Usually a big fan of Bryony Gordon but wouldn’t rush to read this again!
bookishintrovert's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0