RULES FOR BEING A GIRL

A teen has a feminist awakening after being assaulted by her teacher.

Marin is a pretty ordinary high school student—she is navigating senior year and relationships, studying hard to get into her dream school, and aspiring to become a journalist. She and her best friend, Chloe, are co-editors of Bridgewater Prep’s school paper, and they spend their free time in the newspaper office with their adviser and favorite teacher, Mr. Beckett. Bex, as all his students call him, is not like other teachers—he is young and gregarious and doesn’t keep his private life a secret. Both Marin and Chloe think Bex is cute and are a little obsessed with his sex life. After Bex offers Marin a ride home from school and then kisses her without consent, Marin wonders what she did to give him the wrong signals. When neither Chloe nor the school’s board believes her, Marin starts fighting back against the unwritten rules for girls. The book shines a light on the pressures of being a girl and the double standards that readers will immediately recognize and appreciate or learn from. The writing is complicated in the way that female friendships can be. Although the authors include a passage about intersectionality, with all major characters seeming to be white, it feels like an afterthought.

A light read about a heavy topic.