By Carrie Firestone
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2020. Fiction.
Molly Frost is fed up with the unfair and unevenly enforced dress code at Fisher Middle School. Since the first day of seventh grade, Molly has seen her friends and female classmates be targeted, harassed, and embarrassed by the school administration and their unflinching adherence to rules -- even over the comfort of students. When Molly's friend Olivia is dress-coded and the school administration cancels the eighth-grade field trip -- blaming Olivia -- Molly decides enough is enough. She starts Dress Coded: A Podcast where she publishes her classmates' horror stories. And, little by little, Molly's quiet insurrection ignites into a movement. After letters to the school district are ignored, Molly and her growing group of supporters take their case to the school board and a full-on protest is born.
This book should be read by any and all tweens with a passion for social justice or a desire to take action. Molly and a wonderfully diverse, sprawlingly inclusive, and deeply varied group of supporting female characters are likable, realistic, and add authenticity to this middle school story. Subplots spring out in all directions, dealing with friendship, bullying, crushes, and Molly's brother's vape dealing; but even with many characters and storylines, nothing in this book feels out of place and the reader is rewarded with a believable glimpse into the fictional Fisher Middle School. This book is triumphant, important, long overdue, and, best of all, a great read.
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