Friday, January 31, 2020

Book review - Go With the Flow

Title: Go With the Flow
Author: Lily Williams and Karen Schneemann
Genre: realistic fiction
Similar books: Moxie by Jennifer Matthieu
                      Rebel Girls by Elizabeth Keenan
Rating:
Summary (provided by publisher): Good friends help you go with the flow.
Best friends help you start a revolution.
Sophomores Abby, Brit, Christine, and Sasha are fed up. Hazelton High never has enough tampons. Or pads. Or adults who will listen.
Sick of an administration that puts football before female health, the girls confront a world that shrugs—or worse, squirms—at the thought of a menstruation revolution. They band together to make a change. It’s no easy task, especially while grappling with everything from crushes to trig to JV track but they have each other’s backs. That is, until one of the girls goes rogue, testing the limits of their friendship and pushing the friends to question the power of their own voices.
Now they must learn to work together to raise each other up. But how to you stand your ground while raising bloody hell?


My opinion: I'm all in favor of the message of this book. The sheer cost and lack of availability of feminine hygiene products is frustrating. And then when you tack on the associated shame ... infuriating. As females we're made to feel like we can't talk about menstruation. The marketing for period products tends to be more about discretion than empowerment or hygiene. So I get what Williams and Schneeman are going for. The lack of conversation and the dismissal of female issues is a real problem and one that we can help to correct with small achievable steps. We can make strides just by refusing to be quiet. So, on messaging alone this book is worth the read. I found the plot sort of scattered. Side plots are introduced but never resolved.
Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley.

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