Dress Coded

 

From the publisher:

In this debut middle-grade girl-power friendship story, an eighth grader starts a podcast to protest the unfair dress code enforcement at her middle school and sparks a rebellion.

Molly Frost is FED UP...

Because Olivia was yelled at for wearing a tank top.

Because Liza got dress coded and Molly didn't, even though they were wearing the exact same outfit.

Because when Jessica was pulled over by the principal and missed a math quiz, her teacher gave her an F.

Because it's impossible to find shorts that are longer than her fingertips.

Because girls' bodies are not a distraction.

Because middle school is hard enough.

And so Molly starts a podcast where girls can tell their stories, and before long, her small rebellion swells into a revolution. Because now the girls are standing up for what's right, and they're not backing down.

My thoughts:

This is a cute, sassy, middle level book. Carrie Firestone, the author, captures the middle level voice in her characters and the complex relationships ring true. As a long time middle level educator, this mirrors the drama going on via group chats as well as in the hallways. Firestone is so accurate in depicting the complexities of middle school including early bloomer problems, late bloomer problems, even the horrifyingly accurate menstruation problems. 

This is not just about students complaining over dress code. This is about gentle protest, equity, empowerment and giving voice to others. This is about all the awkwardness of middle school done in a way that still makes this a feel good novel. 

What is most refreshing is that the adults are neither cartoon versions of humans, nor are they oddly absent. The adults presence or lack of presence is often puzzling in YA literature, but in this case, the adults are also capable of complexity and as a whole, they are rounded characters and not just cardboard cut outs. 

This is a book for the middle school invisible student who spends their recess observing others and wants to be more than a silent witness to the parallel community we call middle school.