Recommended Reads — Youth

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Dress Coded

a novel by Carrie Firestone


Favorite quote:

“My name is Molly Frost, and this is Dress Coded: A Podcast. I’ve decided to speak out on the issue of school dress coding after my friend was humiliated by the principal of our middle school for wearing a tank top that exposed her shoulders.”


What did you find intriguing about this book?

Molly (a white eighth grader who describes herself as “built like a 9 year old”) and her friend Liza (who is a curvy girl of color) wore the same outfit to school one day.  But only Liza got “pulled over” and reprimanded by the dean of students because her outfit was too distracting.  So Molly started a podcast where girls can tell their stories.  Their rebellion becomes a revolution when the girls stand up for what’s right and they don’t back down.     

I enjoyed how the girls spoke up about the assumption that girls’ bodies are a distraction and that growing into your shape is natural, not something to get detention for.