February 1, 2022
Two girls launch a movement to protest their Florida high school's dress code. When 15-year-old Malena shows up at school without a bra, she's not trying to look sexy or attract attention. On the contrary, Malena just has a painful sunburn and is quietly trying to get by after moving from Puerto Rico, which was recently devastated by Hurricane Mar�a. Yet, to Malena's utter humiliation, an assistant principal scrutinizes her chest, then orders her to cover her nipples by putting panty liners beneath her shirt. While she's in the bathroom, senior Ruby overhears Malena crying while attaching the panty liners and, after peeking into the stall without permission (behavior that crosses boundaries and is not clearly called out), convinces her not to do it. After noncompliance lands Malena in detention, she's initially upset that Ruby encouraged her to defy directions. Despite her good intentions, Ruby is later rightfully called out for overstepping in other ways, such as acting like a White savior and needing to be a better listener. Told through Ruby's and Malena's alternating first-person viewpoints, the plot unfolds thoughtfully after Ruby and Malena team up to challenge the dress code. The book includes important discussions about how race and body type impact the way clothes are perceived as well as about sexual assault and the wrongful shaming of victims. An ultimately heartwarming story about activism and allyship, learning when to speak up and when to listen. (Fiction. 14-18)
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March 7, 2022
Living in Puerto Rico, 15-year-old Malena Malavé Rosario was a “natural leader” and “doer”; now, though, stuck in Florida with her mother following Hurricane María, she’s a “spectator,” missing home and her father. When a bad sunburn makes it painful for her to wear a bra, and school administration calls her in for attending class without one, she’s mortified—and initially taken aback as another student tries to come to her aid. White senior Ruby is low on personal boundaries but genuinely eager to help; having moved from Seattle to care for her grandmother, she knows what it’s like to feel out of place. The two begin organizing protests against the sexist dress code, sweeping up fellow students, including Malena’s cousin Carlos, a star baseball player with a crush on Ruby. Cuevas (Salty, Bitter, Sweet) and Marquardt (Flight Season) alternate first-person chapters, subtly taking up hot-button issues—not just unfair dress codes, but varying judgments for “a curvy brown girl” and “a twiggy white girl,” sexual assault, and the arrayed privileges and expectations the characters bring to the situation—in an energetic, thought-provoking story of friendship and girl power. Ages 12–up. Agents: (for Cuevas) Saritza Hernandez, Andrea Brown Literary; (for Marquardt) Erin Harris, Folio Literary.
April 15, 2022
Grades 9-12 After escaping Puerto Rico's Hurricane Mar�a, high-schooler Malena and her mother find refuge in Florida, living close to relatives and hoping to keep their heads down during the remainder of their time in a new land. However, a single incident involving Malena's braless chest turns into a situation that cannot be ignored. Joining forces with her new friend Ruby to confront their school's sexist (and often otherwise biased) rules about clothing, Malena decides to make a stand for women's rights. Cuevas and Marquardt tell the story from both Malena's and Ruby's points of view, showing that though they come from different backgrounds, they--like so many women in the world--still share the experience of sexual harassment. The book starts and ends very strongly but loses steam during the second part of the story. Nevertheless, the story offers a valuable perspective and will find purchase in the age of #MeToo, especially among young readers who have experienced harassment or received unwanted attention.
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May 1, 2022
Gr 10 Up-This pitch-perfect character study, delivered by alternating narrators, explores intersectionality and feminism through the lens of a friendship hastily built on big ideas and even bigger blind spots. Both Ruby and Malena are newcomers to a high school in Florida. Ruby is white and hails from Seattle, overshadowed by her activist older sister. When Malena, a Puerto Rican transplant whose life was turned upside down by Hurricane Maria, is disciplined by an assistant principal for not wearing a bra to school, Ruby encourages her to fight back. Readers might think they know where this is going as the two team up to protest the dress code, but they will be surprised: Cuevas and Marquardt unravel the harm of white privilege and explore, not victory, but failure. They break down stereotypes in other characters as well, such as baseball god Carlos and the principal Dr. Hardaway. Readers witness the nuances of the reticent, then impassioned and implosive, friendship between the two narrators. The support that Ruby receives from her grandmother and Malena from her cousins, and the art-making that ensues, which incorporates the experiences and expressions of the entire school community, play a significant role in the healing and repair of relationships in the aftermath of the failed crusade. It includes surprising plot structure with fresh, bona fide dialogue. VERDICT Young activists will find creative ways to protest and will discover tools to navigate cross-cultural relationships while enjoying an authentic teen tale of romance, friendship, school culture, and body shaming.-Sara Lissa Paulson
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