Born a Girl

Starred review from February 1, 2024
Grades 7-10 *Starred Review* This accessible offering comes with a bright, cheerful cover with vibrant, eye-catching illustrations of five young women representing various cultures. This engaging artwork belies the serious content of the book, a look at five contemporary misogynistic cultural practices intended to isolate, humiliate, and control women. Chapters begin with a first-person, graphic-novel-format introduction to a representative character invented by the author, in which a teen explains the realities of her life, followed by informative and straightforward commentary. Kaneila lives in Tibet and is banished to a shed in the forest every time she has her period. Mahnoosh lives in Afghanistan and is a bacha posh, a girl who must pose as a boy to defy the Taliban. Jade lives in France and is constantly shamed because others think she's too big; in Mexico City, strange men think nothing of groping Luisa on public transportation. Makena from Kenya learns genital mutilation is in her near future. The evenhanded content explains how each practice evolved and how it affects all women, as well as sharing both grassroots and international movements to ban these types of traditions. Each character does stand up for herself and finds support through other women. This informative and inspiring offering should help teens assert their rights as well.

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January 1, 2024
In this translated import from France, profiles of five fictional girls describe struggles with societal norms and introduce critical gender-related issues. In a village in Nepal, menstrual taboos exile Kaneila to a distant, doorless hut during her period, leaving her vulnerable to wild animals and sexual assault and banning her from attending school. Even as she questions these superstitions, a biology student from a village that's discarded this custom comes to educate her class about female physiology, inspiring Kaneila to want to empower other girls. Dussutour then explains how "periods are political," describing initiatives and challenges worldwide. In France, Jade is fat-shamed by her mother, doctor, classmates, and strangers. She's humiliated and confused by media messages, but support from her sister and a friend who's experienced racism help her focus on her body's strength and share her feelings with her family. The author covers body positivity, the negative toll of diet culture, the prevalence of eating disorders, and related topics. Other chapters talk about Afghanistan (Mahnoosh dresses as a boy so she can have freedom of movement), Kenya (Makena flees female genital mutilation to live in a matriarchal community with her sister), and Mexico (Luisa copes with sexual harassment in public and at school, and her sister becomes a victim of domestic violence). Saturated, vibrantly colored illustrations highlight the girls and symbolic items in their lives. The book celebrates those who are working for change from within their cultures. Celebrates girls' resilience, courage, and initiative. (resources, index) (Nonfiction. 12-16)

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April 1, 2024

Gr 7-10-Translated from the original French, this work tells five stories of five girls in different parts of the world, where being born female can have serious consequences. Teens will read about domestic violence, menstrual discrimination, genital mutilation, and other triggering subjects. These topics, while uncomfortable, are necessary for today's youth to know of. The world is not an easy place for girls, and learning about cultures different from one's own can only further our understanding and empathy for our fellow humans. There are also pages of facts after each fictional story to help make the narrative better understandable. The bright illustrations and matter-of-fact language keep these tales in the realm of children's literature, even though the subject matter is very adult at times. Back matter includes information about activists and associations as well as books and films for those who want to learn more or get involved. VERDICT Difficult but necessary, this work is both triggering and empowering.-Jessica Durham

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