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Gr 7-9- This is a fun, sassy, lighthearted story of a Florida high school freshman who's trying to make a graceful transition into young adulthood. Kayla faces the usual difficulties: parents who don't understand her, a beautiful younger sister, and, of course, boy troubles. An aspiring journalist, she is persuaded by her friend Rosalie to try out for the Lady Lions dance team and expose its prejudice for large-breasted girls. This is an opportunity to stand up for women and show that looks don't make the person. Things don't turn out as expected, however, and Kayla finds herself making the team and enjoying the friendship of the other dancers. The novel is written in first person, diary style, with teen jargon and quotes from Zora Neale Hurston, Oprah Winfrey, Mary Wollstonecraft, and others interspersed throughout. A "Lexicon of Kayla-isms" is appended.-Sheilah Kosco, Bastrop Public Library, TX
Anonymous
Posted January 5, 2012
This book TOTALLY summarizes what i am going thru. I have small boobs and love to dance but i am afraid nobody will think i am good. And yes i can write to i am in honors classes for literature total nerd here!!!!!!!
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Aspiring journalist Kayla Dean and her best friend, Rosalie, are committed to feminism and fighting the injustices of society. Rosalie's latest plan is one that will push Kayla out of her comfort zone: Kayla will try out for their school dance team in order to prove their hypothesis that the Lady Lions only take girls with ¿big, luscious breasts,¿ and Kayla will
write an expose for the school paper.
But Kayla, a great dancer who has never quite gotten her confidence level to the point where she's comfortable performing, is in for a shock when, despite wearing an A-cup, she makes the team. Even more surprising is her realization that she likes being a Lady Lion and enjoys getting dressed up and wearing cute outfits. Now she has to find a way to reconcile her long-held beliefs with her newfound hobby¿¿"and to do so without losing her best friend.
I liked this book because it takes a fairly ordinary high school situation and makes it interesting with a distinct, funny style that reflects the main character's personality. Kayla tends to think in headlines, like ¿Kayla Dean Infiltrates Dance Team. Senate Probes Plight of Itty-Bitties. A-cups Get Their Due!¿ She also invents so many of her own words and phrases that there's a ¿Lexicon of Kayla-isms¿ at the end of the book. Kayla-isms include ¿blind-sexy: when someone looks so good even a blind person would go, `Mmm!'¿ and ¿dis-bliss: the point at which bliss gets run over by the dump truck of disgrace.¿
Kayla is a funny, memorable character, and the book's theme - "the ability to retain one's femininity while still fighting for women's rights - "is one that will resonate with readers.
Anonymous
Posted July 2, 2010
No text was provided for this review.
Overview
Kayla Dean, junior feminist and future journalist, is about the break the story of a lifetime. She is auditioning for the Lady Lions dance team to prove they discriminate against the not-so-well endowed. But when she makes the team, her best friend and fellow feminist, Rosalie, is not happy.Now a Lady Lion, Kayla is transformed from bushy-haired fashion victim to glammed-up dance diva. But does looking good and having fun mean turning her back on the cause? Can you be a strong woman and still wear really cute shoes? Soon Kayla is forced to challenge her views, coming to terms with ...