Candace Bushnell

Katie Cotugno

Candace Bushnell, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sex and the City, and Katie Cotugno, New York Times bestselling author of 99 Days, team up to write a smart, feminist novel about a girl who fights to expose sexism at her school after a run-in with a predatory teacher. It starts before you can even remember: You learn the rules for being a girl. . . . Marin has always been good at navigating these unspoken guidelines. A star student and editor of the school paper, she dreams of getting into Brown University. Marin's future seems bright--and her young, charismatic English teacher, Mr. Beckett, is always quick to admire her writing and talk books with her. But when "Bex" takes things too far and comes on to Marin, she's shocked and horrified. Had she somehow led him on? Was it her fault? When Marin works up the courage to tell the administration what happened, no one believes her. She's forced to face Bex in class every day. Except now, he has an ax to grind. But Marin isn't about to back down. She uses the school newspaper to fight back and she starts a feminist book club at school. She finds allies in the most unexpected people, like "slutty" Gray Kendall, who she'd always dismissed as just another lacrosse bro. As things heat up at school and in her personal life, Marin must figure out how to take back the power and write her own rules.

Rules for Being a Girl

Anna 

** spoiler alert **
           ps: ještě než mi začnou do zpráv létat věty typu 'ty jen nesnášíš feministky, ty jsi jen not like other girls nebo pick me girl, ty prostě máš se vším problém', jen vám chci říct, že jsem feministka. každý by měl být feminista, protože feminismus prosazuje stejná práva pro všechny, nehledě na pohlaví, rasu nebo náboženství. je to common sense, být feministou. sama jsem na základce bojovala proti diskriminaci. tak si prosím tyto poznámky předem nechte pro sebe. díky! 
měla jsem od toho poměrně vysoká očekávání. femimistická kniha pro mladé dívky, plus obtěžování učitelem. to jsou poměrně složitá a důležitá témata, o kterých se musí mluvit. bohužel v téhle knize to nebylo pojato tím nejlepším způsobem. hodlám používat ukázky/scény z knihy, takže tato recenze je opět se spoilery.
tak zaprvé; nesnášela jsem tu hlavní hrdinku. opravdu hrozně moc. a nerada to přiznávám, ale občas jsem byla spíš na straně jejích kamarádů, kteří nic nechápali. hlavně mě nepochopte špatně: obtěžování ze strany učitele je velmi závažná věc a mluvit by se o ní mělo, a kdyby mi někdo řekl, že ho políbil učitel, věřím mu. co ale nechápu, je to, že Marin se nesnažila nikomu nic vysvětlovat, a rovnou si myslela, že jí všichni rozumí a že to je přece úplně jasný. když Marin napsala článek Pravidla pro holky, šla si sednout na oběd ke svému příteli jacobovi, a jacob se jí zeptal na ten článek. myslím, že dokonce řekl, že se mu líbí, ne? o tom ale nechci lhát. buď se mu líbil, nebo ne, ale to není důležité. důležité je, že Marin si najednou vzpomněla na všechny sexistický věci, co Jacob kdy řekl, a rozešla se s ním během minuty. Jacob vůbec nevěděl, co se děje, a nevěděla jsem to upřímně ani já. lidi, když má váš přítel sexistický/rasistický/jakýkoliv jiný zlý narážky, tak mu řekněte, že se to nedělá. call people out. a pokud nepřestanou nebo se vám jen smějí, tak až potom se s nima rozejděte. lidi se mění, a možná byste jejich změnou k lepšímu mohli být vy. nemůžete předpokládat, že jsou všichni perfektní since the day 1. bylo by to krásný, samozřejmě, ale takhle to bohužel nefunguje.
Marin vůbec nic nikomu nevysvětlila. to se váže k mé první vsuvce. nedokázala lidem říct, co se stalo, a co po nich chce. automaticky předpokládala, že jí snad přece všichni pochopí, a když jí nepochopili, byla naštvaná. teď nemyslím Chloe, Chloe se chovala opravdu zle, ale třeba ten Jacob byl prostě... já nevím.
jako další věc, kterou mám v poznámkách, je to, že cenzura špatných věcí jako takových není řešení. řešení je vysvětlit, proč je daná věc problematická. nedokážu teď přijít na žádný příklad v knize, ale jelikož jsem si psala poznámky během čtení, někde se tam o tom asi mluvilo.
taky se mi nelíbilo, jak Marin pojala svůj vývoj na supr feministku. opět, prosím, neberte mě zle, ale Marin byla extrémní příklad. takhle se většinou feministky nechovají. v knize byla scéna, kdy měla seznam povinné četby, a spustila na učitele, proč není v povinné četbě jiný člověk než jen bílý muž. je fajn se na to ptát, moje třída se na to taky nedávno učitelky ptala, ale normálně jsme o tom diskutovali a nedávali to za vinu danému učiteli. nechovali jsme se jako vševědoucí, narozdíl od Marin. v tom mi přišla asi nejvíce nepříjemná; políbil jí učitel a ona se ze dne na den stala feministkou, která se rozvádí s klukama a ví všechno a chce chránit ostatní holky, které nosí dvoudílné plavky (to v tý knize opravdu bylo).
teď se přesunu k pozitivům: líbilo se mi to, že ten polibek s učitelem řešila, i když byla většina lidí proti ní. je hrozně moc důležité o tom mluvit. celá ta dějová linka ohledně jí a Bexe se mi 'líbila' a byla jsem ráda, že dopadla tak, jak dopadla. že Bex byl potrestán, bohužel sice teprve po několika obžalováních, ale byl. taky jsem hodně oceňovala Marin myšlenkové pochody, třeba že když udělala chybu, zamyslela se nad tím a řekla si 'jo, asi jsem se v tu chvíli fakt nechovala nejlépe' (ten rozchod s Grayem mě taky neskutečně vytočil a doteď jsem Marin neodpustila to, jak se k němu zachovala). příklad byl třeba ten, že na Brownově univerzitě, kam se hlásila, byla větší rasová diverzita než u ní na škole, ale ona to nebrala jako nějakou výhru pro poc, dokud jí jedna zaměstnankyně školy - černoška - neřekla, že když studovala ona, byla jedna z mála poc ve škole. 
takže tak. líbilo se mi, že Marin (občas) dokázala nad svými činy přemýšlet. sice až potom, co je provedla, ale aspoň něco. nelíbilo se mi ale mnohem víc věcí.
.
knize dávám 2,5*/5*, nenadchla mě.

Melissa Palmer

This is a great read. Marin's English Teacher kisses her and she doesn't know what to do. She reports him. This can complicate her life. She writes an editorial about sexism and begins a feminist book club at school. Powerful stuff, high school girls should read this book.

Alexa M

this was SO GOOD. obviously as a YA book this is a very basic take on Feminism but i still really appreciated the book for what it did, ranging from commentary on school dress codes and slut shaming to white feminism and "reverse racism"! i loved Marin as a main character and would recommend this book to young women looking to start their dive into deeper Feminism.

Shawna Delellis

I’m glad this is available for young girls to read. I enjoyed it

From Katie Cotugno and author of Sex and the City Candace Bushnell comes this fierce and feisty exploration of feminism: standing up, speaking out and rewriting the rules. Don't be easy. Don't give it up. Don't be a prude. Don't be cold. Don't put him in the friendzone. Don't act desperate. Don't let things go too far. Don't give him the wrong idea. Don't blame him for trying. Don't walk alone at night. But calm down! Don't worry so much. Smile! Marin is a smart, driven, popular girl - she's headed for Brown when she graduates and has a brilliant career as a journalist ahead of her. Especially in the eyes of English teacher Mr Beckett. He spends a lot of time around Marin, and she thinks it's harmless . . . until he kisses her. No one believes Marin when she tells them what happened, so she does the only thing she can: she writes an article called 'Rules for Being a Girl' for the school paper to point out the misogyny and sexism that girls face every day. As things heat up at school and in her personal life, Marin must figure out how to take back the power and rewrite her own rules.

Nichole Bogard

Yes 👏🏻 Yes 👏🏻 Yes👏🏻 this book was so empowering and so good! This YA feminist novel is everything you want your daughter and all the girls to read. It sends the message that it is ok to stand up for yourself and it is ok to fight back when you know something isn’t right! I love a good book that can leave my emotions raw and this definitely hit the mark. 

Remember, girl: it’s the best time in the history of the whirl to be you. You can do anything! You can be anything! You can do everything! You can be whatever you want to be! Just as long as you follow the rules.

Marin is a 17 year old high school senior who was hit on my her English teacher. She struggles with whether to report the incident for fear of backlash. And her greatest fears came to light when she finally has the courage to stand up for herself. Administration and much of the student body did not take her seriously. Along the way she also loses her best friend for a while. Instead of hiding away she used all of the resources she has at hand. She wrote an articles for the paper, started a feminist book club and just continued on with her daily life. She finds allies in places she would have never thought. In the end there was success and a lot of heartbreak. 

This book gave you all angles of the story from all involved . In the end everyone’s futures have taken a hard hit and nobody walks away unscathed. 

This book really puts things to in perspective and makes you think really hard about issues that are taboo. Especially if you are raising a daughter or know a young female. I related to Marin’s mom I’m so many levels and was angry right along with her and proud that her daughter stood up for herself in light of all the horrible that came with it.

This book portrays an amazing message and was such a great read!

Candace Bushnell, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sex and the City, and Katie Cotugno, New York Times bestselling author of 99 Days, team up to write a smart, feminist novel about a girl who fights to expose sexism at her school after a run-in with a predatory teacher. It starts before you can even remember: You learn the rules for being a girl. . . . Marin has always been good at navigating these unspoken guidelines. A star student and editor of the school paper, she dreams of getting into Brown University. Marin’s future seems bright—and her young, charismatic English teacher, Mr. Beckett, is always quick to admire her writing and talk books with her. But when “Bex” takes things too far and comes on to Marin, she’s shocked and horrified. Had she somehow led him on? Was it her fault? When Marin works up the courage to tell the administration what happened, no one believes her. She’s forced to face Bex in class every day. Except now, he has an ax to grind. But Marin isn’t about to back down. She uses the school newspaper to fight back and she starts a feminist book club at school. She finds allies in the most unexpected people, like “slutty” Gray Kendall, who she’d always dismissed as just another lacrosse bro. As things heat up at school and in her personal life, Marin must figure out how to take back the power and write her own rules.

Shan

A book by Katie Cotugno is an automatic buy for me. A book about feminism is a must buy. RULES FOR BEING A GIRL is a must read & I think should be a required read for high schoolers. I loved this fast paced read and read it in one sitting.

Aleeya Metro

Y’all the fact that this book bring in real world problems for girls. Because when girls come forward about SA they are rarely believed about it. Would 100% recommend to someone needing a real world problems book

Rebeca Keren Nuñez

Divertido, ágil y sobre todo relevante. Creo que toda joven debería leerlo. Lo comencé y no paré hasta el final. Me sentí identificada como seguro le va a ocurrir a todas, ya que he pasado por una situación así y me sentí así. Creo que los personajes se sostienen bien, me vi venir por un momento a la sorpresa del final, pero porque desafortunadamente esto pasa en la realidad. Lo más importante creo que es transmitir a las demás que nosotras también pasamos por eso, que no están solas y sobre todo, que les creemos!

Mikayla

I just got done reading this book and it was most definitely a really good read. There were many different things present in this book that had me throughly engaged and loving every moment. I’m really glad I picked this book up as it brought out a huge theme of feminism throughout the book. 

The writing style was really well done and easy to follow. The whole book flew by really fast since it was super easy to understand. I loved every minute of it, which you can tell with how I finished it in under a day. 

The overall message and theme being portrayed within the book was exceptional. Being a Women especially in today’s society with so many expectations for you is difficult. It’s hard for young Woman growing up sticking to what we’re told we have to do. I loved that the Author talked about the many different messages so young Women can learn and talk about these issues themselves and later educate others as well. They’ll be able to see the messages within the text, and know that Feminism is important and we should all be feminists and challenge today’s societies expectations. 

Overall, I’d recommend this to any Women. Young or older. They’ll be able to learn from this whole book and the many different messages in-front of them and do what they will with that information.

Caitlin Snyder

(+) Loved this book! Reminded me so much of Moxie. Was such a fast read with extremely important messages.

Rules for Being a Girl

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