This book combines Jha's experience of raising her son as a feminist, with the research and experiences of others raising feminist sons. It's part advice and part look back at her own journey as the mother of a son. I thought it was a great read full of good insights.

Great resource! Not the type of book to read in one seating in my opinion but something to come back to. I really wanted to read this to see if it was good to gift to my sister.

4.75+ stars

This is a really excellent book. I don’t have kids of my own right now, but this book strikes me as one that would be beneficial for anyone who is interested in intersectional feminism, who cares about both contemporary and historical social issues in the world, and/or who works with kids/teens in any capacity. I really liked the chapter divisions and titles; the topics were interesting and were addressed with a very readable mix of storytelling and research. I’ll probably pick up a physical copy for myself in the future, I’ll definitely be recommending/gifting it to others as well, and I’ll be looking for ways to incorporate excerpts into future classes. All in all, this was a wonderful, well-written, throughly-researched, reflective book that I completely enjoyed.

This is a strong memoir/guide about the reality of raising a son in our current environment. I think I was expecting more concrete steps, but what I found instead was more along the lines of essays related to the author’s experiences raising a son. While it was different than what I expected, I found myself thinking about essays long after I finished them and turning to bits of the wisdom in my own conversations with my young son. It’s not what I anticipated, but it has stuck with me in unexpected ways.

"Feminism is about love. If we teach our children this new way to love, we will see that love grow and take new forms that will make our hearts burst open at unexpected moments. And, when this happens, we will slow down and feel the world turning, changing."

As a mom of two boys who cares very much about raising her kids to be feminists, I jumped at the chance to read this advanced reader copy (thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC!). I was hooked from the first page, as Sonora Jha writes in an inviting tone, melding personal stories with research and facts. She shares her experience raising a son, the reasons why she chose to do so in America instead of her home country of India, and provides the reader with her own helpful tips and tricks from the other side (her son is now in his twenties). It reads more as a story and less as a list of how-tos and should-dos, leaving room for interpretation about how to approach situations in your own parenthood journey. I highlighted many passages and had lots to ponder both during and after finishing. I appreciated that the back end of the book is chock full of more resources for books, movies, and TV shows to help other parents along in their feminist parenting. Highly recommend!

I had such high expectations for this book, somehow I was convised, that I will love it at that it will change my life.
However I was hugelly dissapointed. The author seemed ver arrogant and too dramatic. Felt like this book was literally about nothing, just a lot of words, but zero usefull information. It was a torture to read it and I had to force myself to pick it up.
Maybe someone will find it usefull, however I found only irritation and boredom.

I really enjoyed this book. I like how the author used her personal experiences to tell the story of her relationship with her son. This book was less 'how to' and more memoir but it was still full of practical examples. It was encouraging and not preachy. Great and relevant read.

"Pick a place on the planet. Feminists made it better for you."

Sonora Jha does a beautiful job of weaving personal history with education and actionable tasks for those who want to raise feminists. With a young son of my own, I was particularly intrigued by this title, and I was not disappointed - I am recommending this book to all of my parent-friends, and may keep it in stock to give out as new-parent gifts in the future! Jha makes the topic accessible through beautiful prose, relatable parenting anecdotes, and implementable tasks with each chapter.

Very interesting and a topic very close to home for multiple reasons, but mainly because I have a son of my own. Extremely important read.

How to Raise a Feminist Son is a collection of essays by Sonora Jha talking about her experiences trying to raise her son as a feminist. Instead of talking about the "how-to," this is more like love letters to her son with her expectations. I like this book as the author raised her voices and concern. I am still far from being a mom and worrying these issues, but I would definitely come back to it when it is the time for me. Would recommend this book to my friends, especially for guys!

Thanks to Netgalley and Sasquatch books for the ARC of this! I switched back and forth between the ebook and the audio from my library.

This was a lovely look at raising a feminist child, especially one who has the privilege of being viewed as male by society. Jha points out multiple times that society lets down boys too, how you can try your hardest to be a good ally and still mess up sometimes, and how fraught parenting can be with doubt about whether you are doing it “right”. Definitely recommend to anyone who wants their son(s) to treat women as equals and with respect but is worried about where to start.

A mix of personal stories and experiences along with insights and recommendations this book is highly readable.

You learn about Jha's personal experiences growing up and facing down abuse at home, belittling at work, threats in public and her fear over raising a son for him to turn out to be another misogynistic abuser.

Each chapter ends with thought provoking questions that make you consider your stance, approach or what you can do to enact change.

As a mom of two boys I sometimes felt panic reading this that I haven't done enough, soon enough, but also gives me hope for a softer world for them and others that allows men and women to embrace who they are and pursue their dreams.

In “How to Raise a Feminist Son,” Sonora Jha weaves recollections from various stages of her life with discussions about teaching and modeling gender equality and equity when parenting. My own
son was a toddler when the #MeToo movement gained steam, so for the last several years I’ve thought about how I should raise him to not only be respectful and kind to women, but also an empathetic ally. Part-memoir and part-manifesto, I found this book to be a well-written and thought-provoking read.

I must point out that this is less of a how-to guide for raising feminists and more like a series of autobiographical essays that encourages personal reflection and informed action in the reader. It may be more helpful to some than others. Because the author’s sociopolitical stances so closely align with my own and because of my social sciences background, this book was less educating and more value-affirming to me. Therefore, a few sections dragged a little for me—“preaching to the choir” came to mind a handful of times—but the chapters toward the end of the book that explored sex & sexuality, race, and being a “good” feminist were the strongest and most stimulating in my opinion. Overall, I think this would be a good addition to someone’s parenting library.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sasquatch Books for an advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This review was posted online on April 24, 2022 to Goodreads here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4656922414.