Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - Rules for Being a Girl

Firstly, I feel like this book was directed at a younger audience. The writing was a bit rushed and rather simple. The story has a very good message, but there were also parts that felt a bit forced. Another part I hated was that there are so many scenes where the main character doesn’t stick up for herself, and just complied with what everyone else tells her. It just keeps happening. But I really like the message it sent about Marin and Bex. I think a lot of people need to hear it, and that no matter what Marin did, it was still his fault, not hers.

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crunchycrystals's review against another edition

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i could smell the teacher grooming students from a mile away and i don’t want to read about it. it seems good based on the reviews but i only read the reviews to verify that yes, he’s grooming her. literally one chapter in (even like the first few bits that teacher was sus as hell). may return one day to study signs of grooming so i can avoid it

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booksandmagic's review against another edition

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4.5

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mengzhenreads's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book had a lot good things going for it! I really enjoyed the message and Marin's character growth and inner turmoil was also handled really well. I think the simple writing style really makes this book accessible for people of all ages and skill levels and I really enjoyed the commentary and reflection on the expectations society has for girls at Marin's age.

What kept me from giving this book 4 stars was that I felt that a lot of the pop culture references that the author's made during the story were a bit outdated and weren't necessary to the plot at all. I also felt like the end was a bit too neat and tidy, but honestly it doesn't bother me that much since I think we deserve more happy endings anyways. Overall, this was a really good and I would definitely recommend it to people who want to learn more about feminism and the teenage girl experience in high school.

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thebooknook180's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad

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? It's complicated

4.75

Read majority of this in one sitting right now, and am too emotional to write any coherent thoughts right now. But just wow.

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janneke2302's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I really love this book. It's incredibly well written and made me very emotional. Now I'm not really going to give any spoilers about what happens, but I will talk about my feelings on the ending, so spoiler warning.

On the one hand I wish everything got tied up neatly into a bow and Marin had her happily ever after, on the other hand I recognise that that's not what would have happened. So I love and appreciate the ending we got a lot. It is still a happy ending, even if it does feel bitter sweet, but instead of the fantasy-wrapped-up-in-a-bow type of happy ending, it's a more realistic version of what a happy ending in this situation would look like. That doesn't mean it didn't nearly make me cry though.

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jainnyreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional fast-paced

Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

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kristinbookdragon's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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