This is a small feminist manifesto book with mono-colored illustrations. The idea is given successfully with clear writing and the illustrations are a nice addition. Even though it can be enjoyed by readers from any age, I felt like this would be a great book for kids around the age of 10-16. It is a quick read with a lasting effect.

What Makes Girls Sick and Tired lists all the reasons that make us girls feminists, things that we've had to deal with for so long, things that need to change.

This book isn't a story, it's a peek into life as seen by girls. And not just white girls, but all kinds of girls; queer, trans, shy, indigenous, racial, and every other girl on the planet.

The thoughts are accompanied by art that emphasis on said points, making the facts stand out.

I finished this book in fifteen minutes tops, and I'd count it as fifteen minutes well spent.

A quick read about what makes girls sick and tired and there are plenty and most of them are in this book. This book is a neat way of spreading the information so that all can understand.

I got an ARC of this book.

I got this book because, well feminism, feminist manifestos, and graphic novels are three of my favorite things out there. There is always a risk when I read feminist literature that it will be from a sect that I just can't support or agree with like TERFs and feminism that ignores intersectionality. This book was perfect. 

There were topics covered that I didn't expect. There was talk of female genital mutilation (known as female circumcision as well), there was talk of mass rapes as part of war, misgender a trans person, the male gaze, and so much more. This book was like WGS 101. There was just so many topics covered in such a brilliant way. 

The art was tastefully done. There was no gore for gore sake and no over sexualization to make a point. The art had more meaning than that. I was worried that the art would be something I would overlook or it would detract from the message, but I just loved it. It was simple and powerful. There were not crazy amounts of details to take away from the messages, but the pictures also supported the messages in a really powerful way. 

My only issue with this book is I wanted more. I could have read this for days. I would have gotten way too over excited if I had though. Every page made me more impressed with this book and more excited to see more voices being heard. It was queer friendly in the most inclusive way, it was aware of different countries, it was aware of race. It was just amazing. This is the sort of book that I would want to see in spaces where teen girls are. I want this book available. I want them to know that their voice is being heard and that they should be heard. 

Just a ton of yes for this book.

LOVED THIS! I wish it was possible to make all schools read this, and just have kids growing up knowing these facts about treating women equally. This is such a great, quick, but impactful story regarding feminism. Highly recommend!

First things first-- the artwork in this graphic novel is great! Loved seeing all of the illustrations!
I think this is a great book for a younger child who is looking to be introduced into feminism. It feels like it would be great for a middle school aged reader. For older audiences, this book is too superficial. I would have a appreciated slightly more depth and length. While the facts that are within this graphic novel are true and important, the execution feels like it is lying on the surface level. Facts slip by the pages without creating the impact that they deserve.
Nonetheless, the book would make a great stocking stuffer or present for any young feminist in the making!

I really enjoyed this. I liked that the author had relatable comments women come up against day to day, interspersed with cold hard facts and statistics, some of which were quite shocking.
I found myself reading parts out to my partner, starting further discussion about feminism as a whole.

I'm not sure what to think of this graphic novel. I did like how it made a clear point and how it actively tried to be inclusive. But I'm not sure that's enough to carry it.

The art was great, and I loved the coloring. Those aspects made this manifesto a lot more fun to read. But it's the content that I'm conflicted about. Because of course, these things are all true. But what exactly is the point of this book? It seems to me that the target audience would be very much aware of these issues, and I'm not sure what the author is trying to achieve by pointing them out. This makes the relevance of this book as a manifesto a little less clear: it's said that the goal is to start discussion, but there is already a lot of discussion around feminism, so I fail to see what's the added worth of this specific publication.

That said, it was a fun, quick overview into some real issues, and it can't hurt to read it!

This text serves as an introduction to gender roles and stereotypes. It would work with a gender role unit we have in place and it would help our male students understand the female perspective. The book represents intersectionality. There is little text and the book does not overwhelm with statistics.

I recieved a digital arc of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I was really excited about this. A graphic novel about feminism? Yes please! But the experience was kind of a disappointment. As far as feminist books go, I have read better. While I really enjoyed the artwork so much (seriously it was the best thing about this book and so stunning in its simplicity) and the effortless diversity it showed, but the text was pretty mediocre. It doesn’t bring anything new to the table, it’s basically just a list that starts out the same way on every page. I dont know what target audience it is, but it a book that tackles subject everyone should be reading and talking and thinking about. However, the unapologetic tone (which made me happy) would probably put off readers who see feminism as angry and hysterical. It’s very repetitive and probably preaching to the coir. I liked the messages of the book about things we need to change in our society and perception of women, but I also did before I read the book.

But what really ended up ruining my reading experience was that the ebook did not load very well on my kindle app. Text got cut of mid-sentence, artwork was pushed around weirdly and it made for a very strange reading experience.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

“What Makes Girls Sick and Tired” is a graphic novel that talks about exactly what the title says. This short book discusses issues not just in Canada/the western world but issues girls around the world face. Everyone should read this book to get these issues out in the open. Even if you are female, you are likely to learn some statistics from this book. This book should be an opening to discussing these very real problems with the world, not the final say on the subject. At under 50 pages, this book just scratches the surface of problems women face.

I received an advance copy of this through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review of this content.


I honestly don’t know what to say other damn WOW, this was definitely one of the best books I’ve read this month.
The powerful message that this book conveys is very eye opening and it’s so spot on. I especially really loved the graphics that are shown as you read the words. I am very sad that it wasn’t longer and that everything wasn’t properly addressed. I still felt like it was a great start and really opens up the doors for people to start a discussion and try to tackle some of these issues.

I’m hoping that this little graphic book is granted a sequel or maybe a continuation on this. That addresses more of the issues not currently listed in here.

I am very thankful to have read this, I really do think it’s a must.

A VERY SHORT READ about female stereotype. Some illustrations with written description below.

I totally agree the part where girls are expected to clean up afterwards and wearing push up bras were sexy but when nursing a baby, cover the breast.

Enjoyable short read but nothing I don't know about. Can be read in a few minutes.

This graphic novel is a feminist manifesto. A complaint against the patriarchal society.
This book should be given to girls at a very young age. I know that if I had a little girl I'd read it to her everyday.
It's a feminist serenade!

'What Makes Girls Sick and Tired' is set to be released in March 2019. "What Makes Girls Sick and tired' is being advertised as a feminist manifesto in graphic novel form" (Amazon Synopsis). Lucile De Pesloūan shares the struggles of growing up female in today's society and the "unfairness" women face.

In my personal opinion, I would classify this book as an adult picture book more than a graphic novel (I consider graphic novels as more of a comic book style). This story rounds out at a whopping 48 pages (according to Amazon) and is told in a form of one large picture on the page with a short statement underneath. 'What Makes Girls Sick and Tired' does have mature pictures and opinions therefore, I do believe it is written for a mature audience.

As for the story itself, it was a letdown. I went into this book thinking the author would be talking about struggles us women face and then provide ways to empower change in the world, in ourselves or even encouraging us women to support other women. But, in reality, all this story did was list opinions about what women are sick and tired of. There were a few statistics thrown in that supported the claim made by the author, which was a nice touch. Because of this, I do not know what the target audience would be for such a story. If you are reading this as someone who is familiar with the feminist topic, it may give you a feeling of "Duh, I know this makes women sick and tired". And if you are someone who is unfamiliar with this topic, it may just feel like a book that is making whiny opinions with no solution or suggestions to help solve the problem.

Overall, this left me unsatisfied and wishing for more.

*This ARC was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

What Makes Girls Sick and Tired is a short feminist manifesto mixed with a graphic novel. Its aim is to denounce discrimination against women of every social class, age, sexual orientation and ethnic culture.

For me, this book is a collection of extremely valid points and I really enjoyed it for what it is. Not to mention, I love how every sentence comes together with the illustrations on the page.

My main complaint is that it's too short which made it have a somewhat superficial approach to the topic in hands. I believe that if it was longer it could have had a deeper concept. Not to say it isn't important to have this approach sometimes because it is, not everyone knows what sexism is or that it even exists.

What all that being said, I did enjoy this book and recommend it if you are new to the topic of feminism.

(The review is not yet on my blog but will be on the 4th of March. For now, I'll link where all my reviews can be read and later on I'll add the specific link to it if possible.)

This graphic novel is a good preview of feminist theory for teenagers in an easy-to-understand presentation.

Thanks to NetGalley and Second Story Press for the opportunity to read an ARC of What Makes Girls Sick and Tired.

What Makes Girls Sick and Tired is a short illustrated book that strives to be a feminist wake-up call, highlighting many of the issues women face. While I enjoyed this quick read, I found it lacking in body diversity with the exception of a few panels. There were also many issues that weren't covered at all.

It seems introductory at best and may be aimed towards middle to high school-aged children to give them a basic overview and get them interested in learning more about feminism.

Exactly what it says on the tin — an insightful, thought-provoking introduction to feminism and the hardships women face each day — but I find myself wishing it was longer, or perhaps a little more in depth. The art was lovely, the content was (sadly) incredibly relatable, and the statistics were a welcome addition. A quick, important read that serves as an excellent starting point for anyone interested in reading more about feminism.

Well this was absolutely brilliant.

This album is the perfect introduction to feminist. It is frank without being radical. It gives great examples and clear statistics. It reaches a broad variety of subjects and included people of color, first nation and LGBTQ+. And it ended on a positive note of friendship without being cheesy or defeatist. Finally, I loved the repetitions and rhythm that keeps you going and gives power to the text.

My very sole critic is how the references were included in the text. I understand that in a world where feminism is very often doubted putting your sources on display is important, but I think it kind of broke the flow of my reading experience.

I would absolutely recommend this book to any audience.