Molly and her Middle School friends are fed up with the overly strict dress code. An administrator has been specifically hired to monitor the clothing of females in the middle school and many have gotten in trouble for dress code violations. As Molly begins to hear stories of why the dress code was violated (one girl was very sick and running a high fever so she removed her sweatshirt and was wearing only a spaghetti strap t-shirt, another had a period accident and removed her shirt to tie it around her waist until her family brought her a change of clothes) she starts a podcast to share these stories. The podcast gets quite a bit of attention and the girls find other ways to confront the unfair dress code practices and consequences. As an aside, Molly's brother is giving her family problems by being the school's distributor of vaping pods.

As a public school educator, I have always supported the need for dress codes. This book, though, made me change my thinking a little. While I still feel all students should dress in clothes that are not distracting, I appreciated the perspective and reminder that middle schoolers are going through growth spurts and changing bodies and finding clothes is sometimes very difficult. I also appreciated the perspective that seeing a shoulder or a leg is not distracting to learning, and that there may be a myriad of circumstances leading to a student breaking a dress code.

Although the issue of vaping in middle school age children was a side note to the story, I was glad to see it brought up in order to show what kind of effects an addict has on a family.

Great story filled with fresh perspectives on dealing with overly strict rules, learning when and how to speak out against unfairness, and vaping.

I enjoyed this novel and my students are going to love it! Dress codes are a hot topic in my schools, and this book addresses the issue in an engaging way.

For middle school and up!

This is a novel that I know my middle school students would love! The characters are relatable and their situation is one that all middle school students would cheer!

Molly is determined to change her middle school's dress code, which is unfairly enforced, and body shames girls. I loved how she stood up for what she believed in and the conversations the book has about dress coding, how unfair it is, and how it can be racist and exclusionary for trans individuals. The format of having some of the podcast scripts was fun, and I liked the resolution of the book.

Everything else was meh. There was a lot going on here and it didn't really work to make a cohesive whole. The subplot with her brother was a little ridiculous. He's vaping and selling pods to the middle schoolers, which yes, is bad. Smoking and vaping are bad. But her parents reaction to it--the stress they're under, her mom quitting her job to be around for him more, sending him to a grandparent's for the summer, seeing an addiction counselor--is way over the top. It's not like he was doing heroin or crack, and how everyone reacted to it made it seem like this was hard drugs. Perhaps it's just my own family history with drug use, and the drug use in my town, but when you've dealt with middle schoolers dealing hard drugs to have such a focus and stress on vaping just doesn't quite read real. It almost felt like maybe he was doing harder drugs and an editor told her to tame it down.

Molly also kinda outs a friend, which is really not okay. It's only to one person, and the friend has told her parents and friends, but isn't broadcasting it so to speak, but she still someone without that friend's permission and that felt really weird and uncomfortable. Moll'y's mom is also obsessed with prom, like keeps suggesting people for her to take to prom even though she's in the eighth grade, which feels unrealistic.

The strongest part is the girls fighting against the dress code, and I wish we'd stuck with that.

Thank you Netgalley for an advance copy of this book.
I always need a good friendship book in for my middle grade readers and this one will jump to the top of my pile. I'm looking forward to seeing students again so I can share this one.

Firestone does an excellent job presenting the issues related to puberty, sexualization, and objectification in an age-appropriate and accessible way. This book will be a springboard for many meaningful and important conversations with young readers.

This is definitely one of my favorite books of 2020, maybe one of my favorite books of all time. I want to put it in the hands of not only every child I meet, but every adult who works with children.

This middle school read is a must for all girls of the 10-13 age range. The narrative of the main character gives the reader an insider "view" into the mind of a middle school girl, and all the emotions and issues that a reader might not know or understand happens. The complexity of navigating life, friendship, schoolwork, all while trying not to get in trouble for wearing clothing that can be deemed distracting to boys is something that the author accurately portrays throughout this novel. As the reader, you're rooting for some sort of resolution to the issue at hand, and are in awe of the strength it takes for everyone to ban together for their voices to be heard.

While Molly Frost is the kind of heroine you just want to root for, there was a lot about this book that I didn't like. I felt like most of the adults were very one-dimensional, almost bordering on caricature. Dr. Couchman and Fingertip were almost laughable in their single-mindedness of enforcing an unfair dress code at Fisher Middle School. I went to Catholic schools and I currently teach in a Catholic school where we have uniforms and dress code policies for casual dress days. I don't think dress codes are necessarily a bad thing, but only if there is equal enforcement for all students. Bravo for Molly for standing up for all of the girls at FMS who were targets of two unreasonable bullies.

I really loved this! It was a lot of fun, well written and the characters were well developed! I highly recommend this for others!! This was an important read and I found the book to be so great!

A little young foir my students, but I will definitely recommend it to my middle school friends and students!

When a girl in Molly’s class removes her sweatshirt to cover up a period blood stain, she gets dress-coded for wearing a tank top. As a result, the class trip gets cancelled and Olivia gets blamed. Furious, Molly starts a podcast to raise awareness of the school’s unfair and unequal dress code. Their followers mount, but so do the bullies. Meanwhile, Molly’s brother gets busted for selling tobacco vape pods, causing emotional and financial struggles within the family. Will Molly make a difference and get the dress code changed? What will happen with her brother? Timely and engaging, this novel educates its readers and makes them think. The author realistically portrays a diverse amount of characters and personal struggles and vividly conveys a unique, contemporary novel. The characters deal with some relevant issues and fears facing middle school students, and even every middle school girl’s worst fears and most embarrassing moments. Readers who like realistic fiction, current issues, activism, and school stories will enjoy reading this book.

Please note: This was a complementary review copy from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No financial compensation was received.

I found this to be a very interesting perspective having seen the dress code from a teacher's point of view and being a parent. The dress code was not fair or equitable to anyone in the different schools I have taught in. It makes it extremely hard for the parents to but their kids clothes with the constant changing styles. As a teacher it was so hard to enforce.

Written well and I really like the fact that the girls had mentors along the way.

This FANTASTIC middle grade novel is about Molly Frost, a plucky 8th-grader, raging against her school's sexist dress code. She starts a podcast to shine a light on an awful incident of two male administrators berating a 13-year-old girl for wearing a tank top. There is more to the story than meets the eye, and Molly is incensed to do something about the injustice she has witnessed.

There are a lot of middle school problems in this book, and there is a really diverse group of students represented. I absolutely adored the characters and the voice of our narrator, Molly. Included in the many people we meet are: a girl with cerebral palsy, a boy with a traumatic brain injury, a brother with a vaping addiction, families with money problems, friends with crushes on other friends of the same sex, and classmates of different racial backgrounds.

This is a young feminist anthem, and I know so many students who are ripe for something like this. Its inspiring to see what a group of young women can do with a focus on what is right and with friends to have your back. I can't wait to press this book into the hands of the young women in my school.

I have long held opinions on the dress code situation and Firestone's "fictional" account feels like it could actually happen. Molly is a great character and I love the care and consideration that is taken with her family issues, while she's trying to navigate the world of middle school. This is reality for our youth. It also brought up discussion with my own kids (boys) about how to be a good friend to girls. The fire gets lit by an incident most of us who menstruate have faced. Honestly, this book made me cry in parts.....for my young self and for girls everywhere. The tears at the end are tears of hope and solidarity!

Eighth grader Molly Frost is spurred into action when she sees one of her friends reduced to tears by 2 school administrators over what they feel are her infractions of the middle school dress code. Molly has never been dress coded, even though she has tried, but she has heard and seen enough to realize that the female students, some more often than others, were targeted and humiliated by two administrators for nonsensical reasons. Molly draws on her skills as an interviewer to encourage both middle and high school students to share their experiences in being harassed, which she then shares as podcasts. Issue driven with great voices from the 8th graders, the high schoolers, the teachers, and the parents. Highly recommend.

Carrie Firestone brings together the power of peaceful protest and the power of middle school kids in this novel about unfair and discriminatory school dress code practices. Molly is having all the typical middle school girl drama and problems but add to that her brother is causing havoc in her family life with his vaping addiction. Her friend Olivia becomes a victim of the school's unfair dress code policy which launches Molly into taking action when parts of her life feel really out of control. Through her podcasts, Molly begins to see that the dress code policy has affected many girls and boys, not just her friends. Firestone's debut middle grade novel is sure to be a hit!

This book was a breath of fresh air. I am an educator. I have been becoming more and more against school dress code policies these past few years for various reasons, but this book brought me back to my 7th grade self who also had a teacher and a sub who were known for dress coding girls in front of their class. I remember having to stand up red faced and do the fingertip test in front of my class on a few occasions that hot year and shrinking up my shoulders just a smidge and praying they wouldn’t notice. They didn’t make cute fingertip length shorts for girls with short torsos and long limbs. This story captures all of my experiences with dress codes and body shaming in middle school and so much more. I hope to see many students, teachers, and others working to reform dress code rules.

At first the story being broken into chunks with several side characters had me going a bit hesitantly through the text, but once I got a few sections in, I sped through the rest and felt caught up in Molly’s story.

I appreciate that racial and trans issues were brought up towards the end, but I do wish there had been a bit more and/or sooner.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to preview this book. Dress Coded tells the story of middle school girls who are tried of being targeted by a school employee for dress code infractions. It shows how certain students are targeted to receive dress code notices, while other students wear the same outfit without consequence. The questionable outfits are discussed by the characters on a podcast, which accuses the school leaders of showing preferential treatment to certain students and allows dress coded students to shares their experiences. Overall, the characters are not fully developed and fall a little flat. Although I could understand that the dress code wasn't be applied equally, I didn't find myself caring deeply about the students who received notices. The school leaders remained one dimensional with no explanation given as to why they were so strict about the dress code. Dress Coded does provide examples of students being unfairly targeted by a strict dress code policy, but it left me with unaddressed questions.

I was actually able to read an ARC copy of this in person from my book review group #BookAllies. I LOVED Dress Coded for many reasons. I found Molly to be a character girls will be able to connect to and find relatable when it comes to feeling judged. This book is perfect for any middle schooler based on all of the issues they are facing today. It dealt with hard issues like vaping and social media problems. I loved the activism that this book screams at you as Molly takes it all on!