Renée Watson

Ellen Hagan

Newbery Honoree, and Coretta Scott King Award winner Watson and debut novelist Hagan present two dynamic, creative young women who stand up and speak out in a feminist anthem novel featuring their powerful art and poetry.

Watch Us Rise

kiran 

great introduction book for young people into issues prevalent in society today including inequality, racism, and gender discrimination. characters were well developed and interesting. young people still in school are easily able to relate to the characters and what they’re going through.

Sahi K

Wow just wow !!! I knew from the blurb that this was going to be a very interesting book on intersectional feminism but the way it’s written in the form of poems, essays, quotes, art etc just blew me away. It made me think, rage, reflect, feel joy and also sadness. It’s been a great reading experience but I definitely don’t know if I can properly express my thoughts in this review.

Jasmine and Chelsea are two great realistic portrayals of teens who have a lots of thoughts and ideas, want to find a voice and express themselves but quickly learn that it’s not always easy, even at their very progressive New York high school. Jasmine is a big black girl actress and writer, Chelsea is a white girl poet ; their best friend Nadine is a Japanese Lebanese designer and Issac is a Peurto Rican artist and an ally to their cause. They are all encouraged especially by Jasmine’s dad who calls them “art-tivists” - people who can use their art to bring change and I loved the support he gave. Jasmine felt very relatable to me, mostly because I could feel everything she felt when she had to deal with conversations around her weight. She also came across as very thoughtful, even when dealing with the obstacles they face, along with her father’s terminal cancer diagnosis and the subsequent grief over her loss. On the other hand, Chelsea is very passionate about her ideas and doesn’t like to be stifled, so she can sometimes come across as rude/ stirring up the pot unnecessarily - however, I could also understand where she was coming from and she just needed a proper channel for her to voice her rage. But these two girls are not just feminists, they are also teenagers and I thought it was very realistically depicted. They have crushes, can get overwhelmed, have to deal with their feelings for boys and family issues; all the while wanting to be activists and not knowing how to reconcile all their various issues.

What I loved about this book is how it talks about broad issues but focuses on specifics that the girls face. The most relevant one I felt is the representation of women in the media, specifically women of color - how we are always subjected to the same old stereotypes which have racist origins, and how difficult it is to make people realize that stereotypes are harmful and affect so much of our thinking. The conversations about weight and how fat women are always represented as sad and needing to lose weight to be more happy; unable to find clothes in the usual sections because somehow, there has to be a separate but small plus size section ; how every movie and media and magazine reinforces the same old beauty standards which only leads to more self-esteem issues among young girls. There are also many many more conversations here about sexism and misogyny and sexual harassment and microaggressions and how even the Principal/ teachers of a progressive school can be tone deaf to certain issues that stem from intersectionality. Another thing I absolutely loved about this book is how it gives so much detail about historical women who have been great activists, their notable works and many more resources for young women and allies who want to make a change and want their voices heard in this day and age. There is so so much more in this book, I probably highlighted almost half of it, but I’m just not able to articulate how important this book felt to me.

If you’ve enjoyed reading The Nowhere Girls or Moxie, then this book is definitely for you. I highly recommend this book to everyone - young and old, feminists and those who are unsure - this has something to ponder and think for everyone. It’ll give you a chance to reflect on your thoughts and actions of the past and how we can do better, how we can change the people or society around us in our own little ways. Just pick up this book and prepare to join the conversation.

Angie

OMGGGG, ESTE LIBRO ESTÁ ESPECTACULAR!!!
que bella narrativa, que bella enseñanza. 
10/10. 
Amo todo del libro. Fue una lectura tan fresca pero a la vez tan vigorizante🌠🌠

Megan

i,,, loved this?? so much more than I thought I would??? honestly it is PERFECT for what it is (an empowering YA novel about two best friends rallying against the system they find themselves in) and I would really recommend it to everyone who is struggling to read right now - it's such an easy and quick read!!

UPDATE: lowered this to a four star on here even though its a 4.5 or 4.75. I'm just trying to be more picky with my 5 star ratings and I don't think this is going to be a book that sticks with me like my favourites do (HOWEVER this makes me even more angry that Goodreads doesn't offer half star ratings bc 4 stars feels like a disservice :///// )

 Bruna Acioly Leão

We demand a space for our voices to be heard and our thoughts and ideas to be valued and shared. We will not be silenced or shut down or shut out of the conversation just because you don’t agree with what we are saying. Hear us! 

Watch Us Rise is an empowering feminist book that I wish I could give to myself when I was around 18 years old and just discovering myself as a feminist (not that I wasn’t one before, but that was when I started educating myself on the subject more).

We follow two narrators: Chelsea, an outspoken feminist poet who really wants to create a better world for women everywhere and not give in to society’s expectations of women and also impress the boy she is crushing on in the process; and Jasmine, a black and fat main character who struggles with race and body issues, with her dad getting diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and with her feelings for her best friend developing into romantic ones.

The two girls feel frustrated with their current school clubs (poetry for Chelsea and acting for Jasmine) and decide to start their own feminist focused group. The story is also told through blog posts and poems that the girls write both for the club and to work out through their own difficult experiences and issues.

I really feel this book has thought me a whole lot and I love it for that, and I want to always keep it both in my heart and for future reference. It is a great starting point to learn about feminism and discuss feminist issues. 

A few small problems I had with it was that while it did its job really well on fleshing out our main characters and their struggles and setting up their fight for female rights, I feel like the book didn’t give us a lot in terms of the side characters and some of their plot lines felt incomplete by the end. That’s okay, because plot really wasn’t the point of this book. Its focus was mainly our two characters and the Write Like a Girl blog they had set up and their struggles to keep their voices being heard through the loudness of the patriarchy. 

The setting of the book is New York, but most of it takes place in there character’s homes or at school, so while it does have some New York things inserted here and there (mentions of cultural places and small apartments), it could have really been set anywhere, and in a way that is a good thing for a book like this, because it inserts in the reader a sense that they could also do the things that Chelsea and Jasmine are doing: write and fight for their rights.


 Maybe we are all like that, always a work in progress, always complete and lacking at the same time.

Ocean

I love reading about activism and feminism. Jasmine is a fantastic character, it takes a lot to call out your friends when they don't acknowledge parts of you and the intersections of your life. I cried when Jasmine's dad died because my dad also died of cancer when I was a teenager. It hit me hard. Chelsea was an annoying character at times but I liked her in the end. I'm glad she stood up for herself and wouldn't let anyone treat her like who she is isn't good enough. Overall I liked this book and would recommend it to teenagers who want to stand up and fight for something.

Watch Us Rise

Reviews