Insta Review: Girls like Me, by Lola Stvil

Insta Review gives you a new book recommendation in under a minute. Go ahead, time it!

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Girl feels sad. Girl hates body. Girl hates life. Girl meets boy. Boy LOVES girl?! EVERYTHING IS BETTER! Sigh. What messages are we sending our young ladies? Despite some lovely poetry, a creative format, and some nice character development, Girls Like Me is, at it’s core, another story of a girl who can’t find any worth in herself until a boy notices her. Yes, we see some strength and confidence develop over the course of the novel, but it’s all tied to flirty text messages. I am ready for heroines who find themselves through hard work, travel, academics, family, friendship, writing, find strength within…. romance is fine, but girls, you are so much more than that. I know, this is a common mindset in high school. And I know, this formula sells novels. But I have moved past it, and I think that many of my readers have, too. Clearly, I’m getting old and cantankerous over here with my chick lit… Girls like Me is well written and clever, if you’re in the mood. I’ll step off my soapbox now. #bookreview #bookstagram #ireadya #youngadult #feminist #sigh

A post shared by Ms. Fitz (she/her) (@fitzbetweentheshelves) on Apr 14, 2018 at 7:30am PDT

One thought on “Insta Review: Girls like Me, by Lola Stvil”

I haven’t read this book but you make a lot of good points here. I wish heavyset characters (especially girls and women) weren’t fixated on their weight and not feeling attractive all the time. I have a weight problem and I don’t feel like I’m pretty but I’ve still got other stuff going on in my life besides my weight. Being fat isn’t usually the center of a person’s world, and there should be more to fictional characters than that. The media’s representation of people who don’t have Hollywood bodies needs to be a lot better.

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