I think Firestone did a wonderful job of showing the power that students have in creating reforms at their schools. Molly was really strong as a character, and I loved following her throughout the dress code changes and her own life. I'm also glad that it showed that not everyone's dress coded the same way - larger people or people with more cleavage, hips, or thighs are often dress-coded more.

While the way it's done at Fisher Middle School might sound extreme to some, for some it might hit really close to home. I think it's a really good story and one that should be shared with middle schoolers in order to encourage them to use their voice.

Carrie Firestone really captured what real middle school kids are like. She uses the reflected experience of her older characters, as well as the visceral responses in the moment from the younger ones, to show how, even if well-intended, dress codes can harm girls in a way they just don't affect boys, and what it means to our society that women's bodies should be policed for the good of the male students they come into contact with. I can't wait to get this book on the shelf in my class!

I cannot express how much I loved this book. As a female who was terrified of my dress code in high school, I thought the incidents were all realistic and captured the true essence of the dress code issue facing many schools today. The book also touched on several other timely discussions, vaping, addiction, LGBTQIA+, school shootings, social media usage, and more. This book is a timely read, and some parents may want to consider picking it up to0 if they have questions about how students are "dress coded" today.

Eighth grader Molly Frost starts a podcast to protest the unfair dress code enforcement at her middle school. The dress code seems to target girls - after all, how can boys be expected to focus on school when a girl is wearing short shorts or spaghetti straps? I liked the idea of this book. It focused on issues related to women's bodies, objectification, and sexualization of preteens. However, I don't understand how horrible the majority of the school staff is. As a middle school teacher myself, it was offensive. The behavior of the principal and dean of students in this story is disgusting and went on for years. Is it believable that not one single parent or teacher tried to go to the superintendent and/or board of education to get it stopped? The reader is to believe that the children were tormented at this school for years and no one listened to their cries for help. As an educator, this is problematic for me. That on top of the widespread vaping turned me off from wanting to recommend the book to my students.

Wow. This book gets all the feels! What an amazing and accurate portrayal of middle school, and what an amazing character Molly is. The love and acceptance she shows, even to her personal bullies, is amazing! I want to be Molly when I grow up!

Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone is a Middle School Reading Book about standing up for what is right. The book is well written, thoughtful and powerful. I liked the premise of the book and how Molly fought back.

The Middle School where Molly goes to school has a dress code. The dress code is unfairly enforced and punishments do not seem to be fairly given. Molly is fed up after watching one of her friends humiliated and decides to start a podcast. Molly’s defense of her friend and her organizing other’s stories are a powerful beginning to the story.

On top of what Molly is going through at school, there is a secondary issue with Molly’s family and her brother, vaping and selling vaping pods. While this issue is addressed, it is more of a side note in the story. However, her brother’s issue does impact Molly.

I found the book is full of Middle School issues including body image, consciousness of body parts, cruelty between students who are different, emotions that change and attraction to others. I liked how the various issues were dealt with - some well and some not so well - just like everyday life. Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone is a good read that really highlights the issue of body shaming in Middle School.

This is an empowering novel about standing up for what's right and finding ways to change the system. Molly and her friends are 8th graders who are sick and tired of an unequal dress code policy that embarrasses and objectifies girls and interferes with their education. When Olivia is dress coded for wearing a tank top and not putting her sweatshirt back on (she had it wrapped around her waist because of a period accident), Molly goes into action with a podcast called Dress Coded.

Molly's podcast welcomes people who have been dress coded to be interviewed about the infraction and how it made them feel. If they agree, she takes a pictures of the outfit and posts it on-line. Eventually, word gets out and she has high school students willing to talk about what they went through, posters being hung in the middle school, letters sent to the superintendent, and finally a camp-in at the school where students pitched tents and refused to move until changes were made.

I really liked the friendships in this book - they were sometimes complicated and felt authentic for middle school. There were a lot of adult characters who listened to and supported the students, as well as some who didn't, and again, that felt realistic. I only wished this book had existed when my kids were in middle school.

My thanks to G.P. Putnam's Sons and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My instinctual response to the enforcement of the dress code in Dress Coded was that it’s a bit over top and leans almost into parody. It’s like every single bad story you’ve heard about dress coding happening at one school. Unfortunately, I’m sure there are schools just like Molly’s. The message and actions of Molly and co. will still resonate with any kid who’s been asked to cover their shoulders or change into longer shorts, even if it’s not been in as embarrassing or aggressive situations as at Molly’s school.

Molly read to me as your average white middle schooler. She doesn’t stick out much. She doesn’t get into anything too exciting or risque. At first glance, she doesn’t seem interesting enough to be a protagonist. But she sees an injustice and raises her voice about it. Dress Coded highlights what this generation of young students can achieve, with their keen sense of justice and access to new technologies.

I loved the relationship between the high school, middle school, and elementary school students. The high school girls are keen to support the middle schoolers, because they know what they’re going through and want to help them make a change. As well, Molly and her classmates will move to high school before administration enacts any changes, but they still want to make a difference for the elementary schoolers coming up.

Interestingly, dress coding is only a problem at Molly’s middle school. The high school doesn’t enforce the dress code. I wonder how common that it is? My own experience was reversed (i.e. dress code more strictly enforced at high school. Of course, that was 10+ years ago now…)

Molly’s relationship with her older brother Danny forms a significant subplot. Danny’s in grade 11. He has a vaping addiction and has been selling to kids at Molly’s school. Molly has always had a difficult relationship with her brother, even before vaping entered the picture. She wants him to treat her like a big brother should – she wants kindness, friendship, support – but he treats her poorly and takes advantage of her desire for a good relationship with him.

This subplot is almost equal to the main plot. Their relationship isn’t perfectly resolved by the end of the story. There are steps forward and steps back. Molly learns that she’s not to blame for Danny’s treatment of her. I haven’t read many middle grade stories that depict imperfect sibling relationships, so I really appreciated that narrative. (Writing this makes me realize I wouldn’t say no to a YA novel from Danny’s perspective.)

While there’s lots to love about this book, it isn’t perfect. A couple questionable moments stood out to me. A Black girl from Trinidad appears about 70% into the story to share her experience with a boy who wouldn’t stop touching her hair. The teacher told Talia she needed to fix her hair, instead of telling the boy to stop. Her story appalls Molly and co.; teachers and parents “listen with horrified expressions” and “shake their heads”. (As if the only racist experience Talia had at that school was with that one teacher…) While I think it’s good that this example of racism is included, I wish Talia had been a more fleshed out character and not just an example/lesson.

A more prominent character throughout the book is Molly’s friend Megan, who has cerebral palsy. We hear stories from when Molly and Megan were little. They hang out together. A few incidences address the bullying Megan experiences. It wasn’t until about 65% of the way through that I started to question if Megan might be read as ‘inspiration porn’. This is when Molly directly asks Megan, “How are you still happy? How has all that horrible stuff not affected you?” Megan answers that her mom taught her not to give them her energy, which resonates with Molly. I think Megan is a well-rounded character, but I would like to hear from #ownvoices reviewers on this. While Megan’s portrayal may be problematic, I can say I would have liked Talia to have been a larger part of the story, like Megan is.

💭 The Bottom Line:With two story lines on keenly relevant topics converging on the point of a young girl learning to speak up and make a change, Dress Coded makes a strong addition to today’s contemporary middle grade. Pair with Maybe He Just LIkes You.

3.5, rounded up. The book, which I would describe as upper middle-grade or young YA, at its core relays the story of how a dress code at a middle school is unfairly enforced and the way a group of students tries to remedy this. There are, however, many subplots within the larger story. In fact, there are so many that it seems like Carrie Firestone was trying to create a mirror for every kind of kid out there--someone with cerebral palsy, someone with a traumatic brain injury, the main character's vape-dealing brother, students flagged for being too small or too big--and, consequently, she fails to fully flesh out these characters. The writing is sharp and insightful at times, but again, Firestone is so focused on incorporating all these points of view that it the book was dizzying to read at times.

The story and underlying message about rampant sexism and the difficulty of middle school are certainly important, despite the book's flaws.

This is such an empowering book about standing up for what's right, even if others deem it's wrong.

Molly takes on a major issue occurring in her middle school: being dress coded by Fingertips, the principal, and rude male staff. Molly is not like the many girls that do get dress coded *many* times a day... the reason why is that she doesn't have a big butt or chest. She goes unnoticed. However, it's not fair that her friends wearing the same kind of clothing like herself, but do have a bigger butt or chest, get called out.

Molly starts a podcast that is shared publicly where she interviews kids who have been dress coded at the middle school. It starts a revolution within the school and with the staff members who deem it's "inappropriate". All the girls want is for the dress code to no longer exist.

What kids will learn from this book is how important it is to address and voice your concerns, how making a change is a must when sometimes it can be uncomfortable. We get to see how Molly forms a peaceful protest, how she demands to be heard through written letter to the superintendent, sharing the many voices of victims to this terrible act, and speaking at a public meeting. This is a wonderful book for readers to read, take in, and see how it is possible for even kids to make a change.

The perfect book to be read by middle schoolers and their families in 2020! Speak your mind, hold peaceful protests, and don't give up on educating others about basic rights!! Molly is an 8th grader who starts a podcast after she is horrified by how girls are treated at her school by school staff. This podcast leads to more and more girls speaking out on their experiences. This book is enjoyable and also touches hot topics. Middle schoolers everywhere should read this book!

A great book with an important message. The many issues that the characters are dealing with represent many just how much young people are dealing with.

Thank you, NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for honest review.

I like the idea of Dress Coded. My own, fashion conservative, daughters have been dress coded not at school, but in another extracurricular group they were part of. The reason, of course, is that boys could be "distracted". Boys, however, were allowed to walk around in tank tops and shorts. The problem wasn't in the clothing. The problem is teaching boys how to control themselves. Pretty sure their minds would be in the same place no matter if a bra strap shows.

This book covers all of that. Molly, the main character, starts a podcast and then protest movement to challenge dress code rules. Like I said, I like the idea of that. But there was so much happening in the book, I couldn't keep the stories straight.

In addition to dress, the book deals with broken friendships, romance, vaping, family dynamics, and the mention of a friend with Traumatic Brain Injury, yet the TBI never comes into play so I'm not sure why it's even mentioned.

The principal and dean (in middle school?) are dress code enforcers, yet they are portrayed as shallow. Not all admins are great, but surely there had to be some parent conversation or school wide conversation before a trip to the board of education. And what board meeting happens on a Friday night at 7:00pm?

The character ages were broad, from 8th grade to 12th grade. As a middle school teacher, I can see some of these conversations happening, but the maturity level was all over the place. I think this book is a good introduction to the dress code conversation. My brain was just trying to keep up with all of the plot lines.

Carrie Firestone has written a book that will resonate with many middle-grade and young adult readers. When Molly realizes that the dress code at her middle school is unfair, she leads the way in calling for change. Along with way, she navigates friendship and family dynamics.

Firestone's style of writing is well-suited to the middle-grade reader. Molly has a podcast, which serves as a great change of pace to keep the reader engaged. The voices of the characters feel authentic, as well as the situations and issues in the book. Middle-grade readers will keep turning the pages of this book and will stick with Molly and her friends to the end.

"For the unlikely rule breakers, the ones who keep going, the ones who change minds"

Molly Frost and her friends at Fisher Middle school are done! They are fed up with unfair dress code practices by their administration. When a class trip gets cancelled because of an infraction, the students band together to let their voices be heard.

Middle school is hard. As a person who "just survived" middle school, this story resonated with me. Molly is struggling with family problems, changing friendships and realizing who she is to become, she doesn't have time to be worrying about the dress code as well.

Firestone's cast introduces multiple characters, but she writes them so well that it's not difficult to distinguish one from the other. I appreciated the distinction between sleepover friends and lunch table friends. Firestone is able to show us with her words how all these friendships weave together. We get to see how relationships began/started and how they have tightened or unraveled over time. As the mother of two feminists sons, I was especially intrigued by the character of Tom. I feel like, more than Will, he's a good example of how to be an ally.

I LOVE how the characters were empowered to work together to get the change they were after. I feel like this is something students often don't realize how to do, and reading this with students would lend itself to some amazing discussions about things like social change. Your boundary testers, your undercover rule breakers, your tenacious souls will LOVE this book as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a powerful middle-grade novel about speaking up and standing for what is right. The book was full of such strong and amazing female characters, which I loved! I also loved the format of including podcast dialogue. Recommended for any young person who wants to make a difference and stand up for what they believe in. 4 stars!

Girls are often penalized due to dress codes that typically target girls more than boys. Dress code violations--such as a girl’s shoulders showing--often result in missing classes. The excuse is often that girls’ bodies are a distraction to boys, thus sending a clear message that not only are girls responsible for boys’ actions, but their education is valued less than boys’ education.

Molly is careful about what she wears to school, as the school strictly (though unequally) enforces a dress code that targets girls. She sees a former friend in tears one day after being yelled at for violating the dress code. This is the tipping point for Molly after nearly two years of seeing the dress code unevenly enforced; when girls wear the same outfit, one might be found in violation while the other is not. Molly decides to fight back and starts a podcast where girls can tell their stories.

Molly is not only fighting back against the administration, she also is dealing with a home life that has fallen apart due to her older brother’s addiction. She discovers courage within herself, including how to use her voice.

This book is timely, especially as dress codes have come into the conversation more. Although this book does include one instance in which a Black girl was penalized for her hair, the disproportionate and systemic targeting of BIPOC people in dress codes is mostly absent from the text.

Overall, this book provides a peek into the impacts of dress codes, vaping/nicotine addiction, and middle school politics. This will likely provoke conversations with middle school students, and perhaps it will spark some action to change dress codes.

Middle school teachers and librarians, this is a must-purchase. The short chapters are not all written in traditional narrative style, but are also made of podcast transcripts, lists, chats, and letters. This format kept me hooked and I didn't want the story to end.

Molly just witnessed a friend get dress coded by their principal. And the thing is, Molly was sure it was a very unfair punishment. And her friend is not the only victim. A lot of the girls in their school are getting dress coded and they didn't even try to understand. So Molly had an idea to make a podcast about it and finally remove the dress code in the handbook.

I have not read a middle grade book in a long time. So when I started reading this, I was not 100% into it. I just felt that it was slow and, you know, like an old person I am, I thought the main issue in this book was quite silly. In my defense, I wore a uniform in all my years of schooling. So I didn't really understand the issue of dress code very well.

When I did get into reading it. I definitely felt more sympathetic to the characters and understand what they're going through. And if I felt empathy while reading this, what more if kids actually read this?

The characters in this book are really amazing. I am impressed how the author made them authentically like kids. Like the way Molly's thoughts and words were so unfiltered, genuine and unapologetic. I love that the book also presented parents so vulnerable. I'm just so used to seeing parents in MG books as the wise one and well put together. We also see different teachers as both the ally and the enemy. And I think it's really great seeing those typical characters in a book in a different light.

What I'm really impressed most of all is this not the middle grade books that I was used to reading growing up. There are other issues here that were present like rocky relationships in family members, friendship disagreements, same sex crushes, unhealthy habits, and just the whole dress code stories presented by the characters in the book. Very well done and amazingly represented.

Overall, this book surprised me a lot. I am so happy that I read it. And I am glad to see the present issues that real kids are actually going through and help educate people who don't go through this. Just very well done.


*I received this book from a giveaway and in exchange, I will do an honest review.

An all-too-relatable portrait of the systemic sexism and double standards perpetuated in junior high - and beyond. The podcast device allows Firestone to bring in a variety of voices, examining issues relating to intersectional feminism in a way that's accessible for middle graders.