Thank you Netgalley and Publisher for this early copy.

I believe it should have better a bit longer and included more artwork. However, the artwork was beautiful and it was well-written. I'll be looking for more from this artist/author in the future.

This was too simple and lacked depth. The artwork was gorgeous though. i think the themes could have been explained more .

I was sent an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and Second Story Press for providing this!

Recently I received a copy of What Makes Girls Sick and Tired by Lucile de Pesloüan, and I quickly devoured this book in a matter of minutes.

The Blurb:
What Makes Girls Sick and Tired is a feminist manifesto that denounces the discrimination against and unfairness felt by women from childhood to adulthood. The graphic novel, illustrated in a strikingly minimalist style with images of girls with varied body types and personalities, invites teenagers to question the sexism that surrounds us, in ways that are obvious and hidden, simple and complex.
The book’s beginnings as a fanzine shine through in its honesty and directness, confronting the inequalities faced by young women, every day. And it ends with a line of hope, that with solidarity, girls will hurt less, as they hold each other up with support and encouragement.

My review:
This YA graphic novel is a 48-page feminist manifesto designed to spark creativity in the minds of young feminists. This was a difficult one to rate fairly, as I’m sure I do not fit the requirements of the targeted audience. To me, the imagery and wording of this book were truly beautiful, but nothing new. I have been a feminist for several years and have even been studying feminism for the past few years as a Gender Studies minor, and the design of this book was to spark a conversation and to get people to start asking questions, so these are conversations that I have already begun, conversations that I have been exploring.

I gave this book a high rating because I am extremely excited that it exists and that others will have a book that I did not have when I first started asking questions. This book 100% serves its purpose, but unfortunately, it’s a purpose that didn’t really apply to me, so I could not give it five stars. There’s truthfully a lot more that I think could have been included in this book. There were times where something was almost poetic, but just barely missed the mark. I only found two quotes that I thought were significant enough to highlight, even though every single page is filled with things that I was hoping would be quotable.

“Girls are less sick and tired when they are encouraging, supportive, and united in solidarity with one another. It’s one of the best parts of feminism.”

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone that’s just getting their start into feminist literature and for all young women (teens mostly) everywhere.
I would truthfully recommend it to all readers that want to give it a shot. It took me about twenty minutes to read this book and I would definitely say that it was twenty minutes well-spent. It was a joy to read and I would definitely pick up any possible sequels!

This is a fantastic look into the world of women, and what they face in today's modern society. The illustrations do the heavy lifting here, as the text is a bit simplistic (though I very much appreciated the citations throughout!). This is a fun primer that also serves as a wakeup call for feminists everywhere.

First off, I would like to thank the publisher, author, and Netgalley for providing this ARC. Please note that the finalized version may differ from the version I read.

6.5/10 - The two things I really liked about this manifesto (note: this is not a book!) were the graphics & the focus on intersectionality. Right now it is very important to make people aware of intersectionality and this work made sure to do so.

However, I didn't always like how 'universal' the tone was, not all experiences apply to all girls - and that is okay. I think the work could use a comment about that. In one or two cases I even felt like the wording excluded some girls, like when talking about girls not wanting to be princess-like or shaving their body hair. Some do like being princess-like and shaving their body hair. Hailee Steinfeld's most girls is a great example for what I mean.

I did enjoy it, and it's a short read so I would recommend others picking it up.

‘Girls are less sick and tired when they are encouraging, supportive, and united in solidarity with one another. It’s one of the best parts of feminism.’

This was a fantastic insight into what girls and woman face in today’s society. I, myself have felt and experienced some of the issues raised in this book. It is shocking that in the 21st century woman are still facing these issues.

The illustrations were beautiful - simple yet highly effective. They added a lovely purple pop of colour to break up the often shocking facts.

It certainly offers a wake up call - and it would be ideal for anyone who tries to shoot down feminism or use it as an insult.

'What Makes Girls Sick and Tired' by Lucile De Peslouan is a novel that is targeted at young girls who want to learn more about feminism. It is about making the ideas of feminism accessible for a younger audience in order to build their knowledge of what feminism is, why we need it and the effects of female oppression. Although it was extremely short, only 52 pages, for its demographic , it ultimately works. Each small paragraph detailing 'What makes girls tired' is concise enough that it packs a hefty punch - and even I was sitting at my desk ready to roar. It is meant to have an emotional effect on the reader because it is presenting absolute facts of how women across the world are being treated because they are a woman or woman-identifying.

It completely and utterly fulfills its purposes and the graphics within this novel are absolutely stunning and both supplement and compliment what the text is emphasising. My only issue concerns the length as I felt it was too short, and although it did pack a punch, it was superficial and I think there might need to be more of an attempt at extrapolating some of the points raised in order for young people to fully understand this issue that is extremely prevalent within our society today.

Overall, though, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars because it shares such an important message for all young people and I hope schools and community libraries stock this because it is needed.

What Makes Girls Sick and Tired is a starter into the 'complicated world' of girls. Filled with gorgeous images and short explanation, it's perfect for anyone. The only problem was that it was too short.

This is a very nice, first intro to trying to understand women's issues generally. A good kind of overview of why feminism is important and possibly a good thing to give to a preteen who doesn't seem to be 'getting' the challenges that they or others face and what that means for their ability to handle daily life.

You know when you read a book and you can relate to every single page because they are so true? Yeah, that is this book. What Makes Girls Sick and Tired is a quick read but really important in the truth of all the facts.

“I was born here”


My connection to this book is detached. Which from reading this.. most likely will mean I am selfish. The above quote is what I connected with. I can’t say much without giving the foundation away.

I’ve never read anything like this, though Ive seen much of this in media/politics/every day life. If you call yourself a feminist then this might be your brochure or handbook to explain your cause.

Very quick but also a very powerful read! Girls ARE sick and tired and the world needs to take notice!

I love comics like “What Makes Girls Sick and Tired” by Lucile de Pesloüan and Genevieve Darling. I don’t even know what exactly to say about this book, because I just want to quote everything from it.

I love the concept of the comic book. We talk about women’s problems not with confidence, but almost apologetically for giving discomfort to other people just because we want equality. Thankfully, this is already changing and we are becoming fierce. In addition, Lucile de Pesloüan created this “sick and tired” thing and for me it was like enlightenment. I finally understood that I’m really so fucking tired of all problems described in the book. So tired of trying to convince antifeminists that we still don’t have equality. But surprisingly, this sickness and tiredness gave me more strength to change things and to talk about women’s rights louder.

I recommend this comic to everyone. People need to think about problems described in this book. They need to talk about them.

Thank you NetGalley and Second Story Press for this eARC.

Oof this small book is so good and so hard to read. It details the never-ending experiences of existing as women under the patriarchy. It's a validating read for any woman, and it's a must-read for anyone who doesn't identify as a woman.

A short but straight to the point read - as a woman myself I can completely relate to almost all of the examples of things included in this book. It's frustrating that we have to keep reminding people of simple things but this book does it in a very blunt way which I really liked.

The illustration was presented nicely and this would be a good book to have within schools to educate both young boys and and girls.

Oh my gosh I loved this. I love that it was laid out like a children's book, with stirring but neutral art, and powerful one-liners. A quick read to be sure, but one you can easily pick up again and again. I adore the message and learned some new things.

This is the kind of book you could buy a few of to give to others. Easily digestible but no less powerful for it, compact and worthy of sharing.

I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


What Makes Girls Sick and Tired is a short illustrated book highlighting sexism and the need for feminism. I enjoyed the illustrations in this quick read. However, I’m a little disappointed with the rest.

To most women like me, the facts and stats in the books are nothing new. I don’t know who the intended audience of this book is, because those that would gravitate toward it are probably also like me. Those who could really benefit from reading it, might not pick it up. I think this could possibly serve as an introduction to feminism and sexism for teens.

What Makes Girls Sick and Tired is a lovely little fanzine highlighting some of the issues that affect women and girls on a day-to-day basis.

The illustrations in this are lovely, and I wish I had a physical copy to appreciate it more. There's a wide variety of things mentioned in this short zine, which I really liked - from work related issues, to the pink tax, to race and violence.

While I really enjoyed this quick read, I do agree with some other reviews that I'm not quite sure who this is targeted to, and I'm not sure what its purpose is. Nevertheless, if you're trying to read more about feminism, this is a great place to start!

This short graphic novel perfectly depicts the things that girls constantly have to go through purely because of their gender. By discussing these issues openly and in this way, this book brings to light the many societal issues we are currently faced with.

I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

While I think the idea behind this book is great, and the illustrations are AMAZING, I wish there were a few more layers to it, but maybe that's because I went into reading it thinking it was targeted towards adults completely. Because it is so straightforward, I think this book would be great for girls at the 7th-8th grade level range that are just beginning the conversation about gender equality, feminism, etc. This could lead to bigger discussions at school/home. More books about these topics should be available to middle school age kids to begin the conversations!