A breezy, accessible, and uplifting guide to body positivity.
Plus-size supermodel and activist Holliday empowers readers to reject traditional beauty norms and love themselves, inside and out.
Holliday, whose body-positive “Eff Your Beauty Standards” social media campaign went viral, acknowledges her commitment to striving to make “the world a better and safer place for folks in larger bodies” and the pride she takes in being “part of a collective of people who have helped shift a generation,” particularly since she grew up without positive role models who looked like her. This work, which Holliday co-wrote with YA author Coon, draws on the expertise of four consultants with diverse backgrounds and professions, and urges teens to practice self-acceptance. The material is divided into two parts: “Love Your Outer You” and “Love Your Inner You.” Some sections encourage readers to become aware of and challenge the stereotypes they hold about others based on identity labels relating to gender, religion, social class, and other factors. Holliday and Coon strive to include language and content that will engage people of many genders, styles, and cultures. The fun fonts and graphic design, short segments (frequently divided into bullet points or numbered lists), and style and personality quizzes peppered throughout mean the book may be most appealing to younger teens. Even as the work addresses difficult topics like disordered eating and food insecurity, the tone remains upbeat, focusing on messages of kindness and confidence.
A breezy, accessible, and uplifting guide to body positivity. (Q&A, further reading, resources) (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Aug. 26, 2025
ISBN: 9780762489152
Page Count: 176
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
BOOK REVIEW
Small but mighty necessary reading.
A miniature manifesto for radical queer acceptance that weaves together the personal and political.
Eli, a cis gay white Jewish man, uses his own identities and experiences to frame and acknowledge his perspective. In the prologue, Eli compares the global Jewish community to the global queer community, noting, “We don’t always get it right, but the importance of showing up for other Jews has been carved into the DNA of what it means to be Jewish. It is my dream that queer people develop the same ideology—what I like to call a Global Queer Conscience.” He details his own isolating experiences as a queer adolescent in an Orthodox Jewish community and reflects on how he and so many others would have benefitted from a robust and supportive queer community. The rest of the book outlines 10 principles based on the belief that an expectation of mutual care and concern across various other dimensions of identity can be integrated into queer community values. Eli’s prose is clear, straightforward, and powerful. While he makes some choices that may be divisive—for example, using the initialism LGBTQIAA+ which includes “ally”—he always makes clear those are his personal choices and that the language is ever evolving.
Small but mighty necessary reading. (resources) (Nonfiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 2, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-09368-9
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2020
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change.
Testa’s connection to and respect for nature compelled her to begin championing animal causes at the age of 10, and this desire to have an impact later propelled her to dedicate her life to fighting plastic pollution. Starting with the history of plastic and how it’s produced, Testa acknowledges the benefits of plastics for humanity but also the many ways it harms our planet. Instead of relying on recycling—which is both insufficient and ineffective—she urges readers to follow two additional R’s: “refuse” and “raise awareness.” Readers are encouraged to do their part, starting with small things like refusing to use plastic straws and water bottles and eventually working up to using their voices to influence business and policy change. In the process, she highlights other youth advocates working toward the same cause. Short chapters include personal examples, such as observations of plastic pollution in Mauritius, her maternal grandparents’ birthplace. Testa makes her case not only against plastic pollution, but also for the work she’s done, resulting in something of a college-admissions–essay tone. Nevertheless, the first-person accounts paired with science will have an impact on readers. Unfortunately, no sources are cited and the lack of backmatter is a missed opportunity.
Brief yet inspirational, this story will galvanize youth to use their voices for change. (Nonfiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Oct. 13, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-22333-8
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
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