"For the unlikely rule breakers, the ones who keep going, the ones who change minds"

Molly Frost and her friends at Fisher Middle school are done! They are fed up with unfair dress code practices by their administration. When a class trip gets cancelled because of an infraction, the students band together to let their voices be heard.

Middle school is hard. As a person who "just survived" middle school, this story resonated with me. Molly is struggling with family problems, changing friendships and realizing who she is to become, she doesn't have time to be worrying about the dress code as well.

Firestone's cast introduces multiple characters, but she writes them so well that it's not difficult to distinguish one from the other. I appreciated the distinction between sleepover friends and lunch table friends. Firestone is able to show us with her words how all these friendships weave together. We get to see how relationships began/started and how they have tightened or unraveled over time. As the mother of two feminists sons, I was especially intrigued by the character of Tom. I feel like, more than Will, he's a good example of how to be an ally.

I LOVE how the characters were empowered to work together to get the change they were after. I feel like this is something students often don't realize how to do, and reading this with students would lend itself to some amazing discussions about things like social change. Your boundary testers, your undercover rule breakers, your tenacious souls will LOVE this book as much as I did.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a powerful middle-grade novel about speaking up and standing for what is right. The book was full of such strong and amazing female characters, which I loved! I also loved the format of including podcast dialogue. Recommended for any young person who wants to make a difference and stand up for what they believe in. 4 stars!

Girls are often penalized due to dress codes that typically target girls more than boys. Dress code violations--such as a girl’s shoulders showing--often result in missing classes. The excuse is often that girls’ bodies are a distraction to boys, thus sending a clear message that not only are girls responsible for boys’ actions, but their education is valued less than boys’ education.

Molly is careful about what she wears to school, as the school strictly (though unequally) enforces a dress code that targets girls. She sees a former friend in tears one day after being yelled at for violating the dress code. This is the tipping point for Molly after nearly two years of seeing the dress code unevenly enforced; when girls wear the same outfit, one might be found in violation while the other is not. Molly decides to fight back and starts a podcast where girls can tell their stories.

Molly is not only fighting back against the administration, she also is dealing with a home life that has fallen apart due to her older brother’s addiction. She discovers courage within herself, including how to use her voice.

This book is timely, especially as dress codes have come into the conversation more. Although this book does include one instance in which a Black girl was penalized for her hair, the disproportionate and systemic targeting of BIPOC people in dress codes is mostly absent from the text.

Overall, this book provides a peek into the impacts of dress codes, vaping/nicotine addiction, and middle school politics. This will likely provoke conversations with middle school students, and perhaps it will spark some action to change dress codes.

Middle school teachers and librarians, this is a must-purchase. The short chapters are not all written in traditional narrative style, but are also made of podcast transcripts, lists, chats, and letters. This format kept me hooked and I didn't want the story to end.

Molly just witnessed a friend get dress coded by their principal. And the thing is, Molly was sure it was a very unfair punishment. And her friend is not the only victim. A lot of the girls in their school are getting dress coded and they didn't even try to understand. So Molly had an idea to make a podcast about it and finally remove the dress code in the handbook.

I have not read a middle grade book in a long time. So when I started reading this, I was not 100% into it. I just felt that it was slow and, you know, like an old person I am, I thought the main issue in this book was quite silly. In my defense, I wore a uniform in all my years of schooling. So I didn't really understand the issue of dress code very well.

When I did get into reading it. I definitely felt more sympathetic to the characters and understand what they're going through. And if I felt empathy while reading this, what more if kids actually read this?

The characters in this book are really amazing. I am impressed how the author made them authentically like kids. Like the way Molly's thoughts and words were so unfiltered, genuine and unapologetic. I love that the book also presented parents so vulnerable. I'm just so used to seeing parents in MG books as the wise one and well put together. We also see different teachers as both the ally and the enemy. And I think it's really great seeing those typical characters in a book in a different light.

What I'm really impressed most of all is this not the middle grade books that I was used to reading growing up. There are other issues here that were present like rocky relationships in family members, friendship disagreements, same sex crushes, unhealthy habits, and just the whole dress code stories presented by the characters in the book. Very well done and amazingly represented.

Overall, this book surprised me a lot. I am so happy that I read it. And I am glad to see the present issues that real kids are actually going through and help educate people who don't go through this. Just very well done.


*I received this book from a giveaway and in exchange, I will do an honest review.

An all-too-relatable portrait of the systemic sexism and double standards perpetuated in junior high - and beyond. The podcast device allows Firestone to bring in a variety of voices, examining issues relating to intersectional feminism in a way that's accessible for middle graders.

Book may appeal to middle schoolers because certainly contains those things important to them. I found it very choppy and skipping ideas/events. I didn't finish it as it just didn't have a strong plot line never connected to any of the characters. But then, I'm not a middle schooler.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC! I will definitely be purchasing this book for my seventh grade classroom library.

I know that when I first started teaching I “pulled over” way too many students for not following dress code rules. I hate to know that I probably made more than one female student feel bad about herself. The longer I teach, the more I realize that relationships with my students are more important than enforcing patriarchal standards.

Molly, the main character in this story, reminded me how much change middle students must endure, with most of it being completely out of their control. I loved that she stood up for what she believed and that her parents supported her!

This should be a required read for all middle school teachers and school board members!

A really good middle-grades book about the inherent sexism behind many school dress codes. Molly Frost, 8th grader at Fisher Middle School, is fed up with the administration's arbitrary dress code. She's seen the kind of emotional damage it's caused her friends, though--as a late bloomer--she has yet to be "pulled over" for her clothing choices. (The very fact that she hasn't, even when she's been wearing exactly the same outfit as her more developed friends, tells her everything she needs to know about what's being policed at the school).

To fight back, she starts a podcast in which she interviews girls who've been dress coded. Through Molly, Firestone points out that the real "problems" aren't with the girls' clothing, but with adults' misperceptions and misunderstandings about why they're wearing them. The podcast starts when Molly's friend Olivia is reprimanded for refusing to put the hoodie she's tied around her waist back on when an administrator tells her that the tank top she's wearing violates the school dress code. Slowly the story comes out: Olivia's period started, she had a leak, and she's tied the hoodie around her waist to cover it up. What middle school girl, or former middle-school girl, hasn't had that experience, or known someone who has? Molly's podcast eventually starts a school wide movement, and she learns to use her voice to help others.

_Dress Coded_ handles the topic of dress codes in a lighthearted but serious way, broadening its scope to talk about Black students who are "pulled over" for wearing natural hairstyles, and the cruel way kids can turn on kids with disabilities. As one of Molly's interviewees says when asked whether the school should have a dress code at all, "No. Middle school is hard enough."

I'd definitely recommend this to my English-education majors who are planning to teach middle school. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a great book for discussing how women's bodies are objectified starting in childhood. The school officials in this story reinforce the idea that girls are responsible for the behavior of boys, and I enjoyed the girls rallying to their own defense. However, I found the vaping addiction story bizarre - it seemed to come straight from a 1980's after-school special. I was half expecting Nancy Reagan to appear as a ghost warning about the dangers of smoking. The brother's behavior (a rehab stint!) was WAY too exaggerated to take the message seriously. It was like the author initially meant it to be meth/heroin but did a last-minute change to vaping.

received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Quick Summary: Molly attends 8th grade at Fisher Middle School, and she, along with many of the girls at her school, is getting annoyed with the school’s dress code. Girls are getting singled out more than the boys, and the principal has even hired someone specifically to monitor the dress code. Molly takes the matters into her own hands, starts a podcast, and begins a protest against the dress code.

This book is a great middle school book. The format was easy to read, and the text messages and podcasts were a good break to the regular novel format. The author did a good job of keeping the action moving throughout the book, which is vital to a good middle grade novel.

The main character, Molly, is a believable middle school student. She isn’t perfect, has family drama, and has to navigate bullies and friend drama. I appreciated the variety of characters within the story, even the older brother Danny who is the main cause of Molly’s family drama.

As a teacher, dealing with dress code is one of my least favorite things to do. In fact, most of the time, I just don’t say anything…except for hoods and hats, but that’s more for so we can see who they are. Most dress codes are unfairly focused on females, and I liked that this book tackled that subject.

As far as students who will like this book, I am thinking the 6th and 7th graders will like it more than the 8th graders. There is a little crush/romance, but it is a minute part of the book, but it does cause a little bit of friend drama.

My only complaint with this book is that most of the friendships are very surface level. Of course, that does seem to be the case with a lot of middle schoolers. The littlest thing can disrupt a friendship. Other than that, it is a good book that I think a lot of students will enjoy…especially those who hate their school’s dress codes.

I just finished Dress Coded by Carrie Firestone, and it was AMAZING! The story follows a group of girls at Fisher Middle School. The leader of the group, Molly, is fed up with the unequal enforcement of the dress code at her school after a terrible incident she witnessed with another student, so she starts a podcast. Molly interviews girls at the school about their embarrassment from being targeted for the dress code, and even recruits a few high school girls who remember what happened to them. Finally, Molly and her friends stop talking about the dress code, and start working to make change!

This was a wonderful middle grade book that every middle school girl could relate to. I love that it teaches students that their voices are powerful, and that sometimes adults can be in the wrong. It also shows kids that sometimes it's ok to stand up for what you believe. This would be a great pairing with Lisa Moore Ramee's A Good Kind of Trouble!

Enough is enough. Molly Frost is sick and tired of her friends getting dress coded - shamed, punished, reprimanded for dress code infractions. She decides to start a podcast where students can tell their stories and others can hear about how students are unfairly targeted and how it can be arbitrary. Can Molly and her friends make a difference?
This was a good story about an issue that is quite prevalent in middle schools and high schools. I felt it could have been trimmed down a bit - it seemed to lag in the middle for me but overall quite good and could lead to some healthy discussion on the topic.

This was an absolute dream of a book, which will be purchased for my library cart.

This was a great story about standing up for what you know is right, no matter who stands in your way. I fell in love with Molly. I would listen to her podcast in real life too. It was really nice to see that the high school girls and the middle school girls shared in a struggle again the dress code. It was magical and endearing to see all the friendship flourish and sprout.

I went to school in Ireland. We had uniforms. The concept of 'dress coding' is very odd to me. Certainly we were given out to if we were missing parts of the uniform or wearing it wrong, but missing class? Sent home? No. Never happened.

With that said, I really enjoyed this read. I'm loving this wave of 'girls standing up for themselves' novels, and this one is right up there. The characters are great, the story moves at a good speed, and everything - almost everything - makes sense. The only problem I have is that we never find out why the principal and Fingertips were acting as they were. Religious beliefs? Mistakenly thinking it would improve discipline? Just really, really hate tween girls? We don't know, we'll never know, but as the main characters are all tweens it at least makes a little bit of sense.

This is a great read. I loved the way the podcasts are woven through it to help tell the story, the way the girls slowly came together over the course of the year. I also liked the flashbacks to earlier years, to meetings or events that shaped characters and relationships - because those things do matter, and they do make a difference, even if adults have forgotten it.

I'll be recommending this one. Fantastic.

Dress Coded is for Middle School students. It should be for upper elementary because I've seen this abuse there. It should be for adults. I watch adults do this to little girls all of the time. The point of the entire book is summed up nicely in a letter the narrator writes to her younger self that says that, yes, talking about girls developing is funny to them when they are little (that stupid four letter word). It won't be for her very soon. Soon, it will be either one of two things: a) a sudden, almost overnight, growth or b) no growth. But either way they will walk hunched over so people will not comment on what they either have or do not have inside their shirts. And that if they have a sudden growth and their shirts get too tight, that they might have to stand there while adult men yell at them for it.

We need to stop treating our girls like this because some people never get over thinking like fourth graders.

Girls wearing the same exact thing as their friends get "dress coded" because their body grows differently. Clothes suddenly become tight, your legs grow faster, your breast grow faster, your butt gets bigger...and you are "distracting." I'm going to go off on a tangent here because, as a teacher, this has come up. Sixth grade girls at our school often have sudden growth spurts and some of the adults sexualize those girls by calling their bodies distracting. An honest talk with the boys shows that they don't really think there is anything distracting about the girls shoulders showing or wearing shorts when it is 100 degrees. The problem is with the adults.

Molly, our narrator, witnesses a classmate pulled from school and badgered by two adult men who insist she remove the sweatshirt from her waist and cover her tank top. She says that she can't and the two adult men decide that the entire 8th grade will be punished for it. Class trip canceled. Of course, everyone know who caused them to lose their trip. It's middle school. Oh, and if you don't know why she wouldn't remove the sweatshirt from her waist and didn't want to talk to two adult men about it, ask a woman you know.

Molly doesn't think it is right and she wants to set the record straight. She starts recording a podcast to tell the story, trying to bring people together, and get the school to fight back against the dress coding that is only done to girls. Interviews with girls and their experience with the dress code make her podcast. She even speaks to boys about it. Basically, no one is distracted by shoulders. The boys who are going to be distracted by girls don't care what that girl is wearing. And every girl describes themselves as less than human.

There are a lot of little stories about middle school and the terror of being between child and teenager-the lessons you learn and all that you don't know. I really enjoyed the honest look at how young girls are held to a higher standard than boys and held responsible for the thoughts of others. Everyone should know how that makes them feel. Being a teacher, I see it constantly.

I am so impressed with this debut middle grade novel. To begin, this book is current and timely with strong female characters that protest the injustices of their middle school’s inequitable dress code. Firestone incorporates podcasts, short-titled sections/chapters, and bullet lists to tell Molly’s story--this format will appeal to many readers and gives the book a modern feel.

Molly is terribly bothered by the fact the many students (mostly female) are openly embarrassed and disciplined in the hallway of their middle school by their principal and dean, “Fingertips.” She is named “Fingertips” because most of her time is spent in the hallways questioning the length of the shorts worn--her actual name is not disclosed until the very end. Molly interviews students that have suffered because they are “dress coded” to publicly explain the situation and the emotional turmoil that results. She posts the interviews online as podcasts and documents dress code infractions on Instagram. Her podcasts and Instagrams gain followers and encourage others to speak up.

This book is progressive with some controversial topics intertwined including: same-sex crushes, tampons, bullying by students and school administrators, racism, vaping, addiction, etc. Although these themes are mature, they are handled expertly and are not explored graphically. This book will definitely appeal to many of my fifth graders who are starting to develop their own cultural and societal views and are looking for inspiration and encouragement in how to express them.

I liked this one! I liked how it was set up to be like Molly was telling a story or keeping a journal. I liked how the characters weren't worried too much about themselves (knowing the that dress code changes would come too late for them), but they didn't want the next students to have to go through what they did. This book shows that positive changes can come from peaceful ways.

Molly Frost is your typical 8th grader. She struggles with self-esteem and body issues, she works hard to do well in school, she's finding her place between new and old friends as kids grow, mature, and change. Unlike other 8th graders, though, Molly's family is falling apart. Her 17 year old brother, Danny, won't stop vaping and is starting to sell vaping pods to other kids, including kids at Molly's school. Molly is constantly stressed and feels like her family is falling apart. When she sees her friend get yelled at and humiliated by two male teachers at school for wearing a shirt that shows her shoulders, she's finally had enough. Molly starts <i>Dress Coded: the Podcast</i>.

Activism is new to Molly, but she doesn't let that stop her. Somehow she manages to become a safe place for other girls to talk about their experiences getting "dresscoded" and the effects of the podcast snowball into more concrete protests. While the main theme of the story is the dress code and the efforts Molly spearheads to change it, there are secondary stories about vaping, family dynamics, bullying, body image, misogyny, romance, and kids exploring their sexuality. While this might seem like a lot of issues for one middle grade novel to tackle (it is!), somehow as a reader I never lost sight of the plot or point of the story. It all felt real to me. Yes, Molly was overwhelmed, but I remember being completely overwhelmed in middle school, too. Yes, there's a ton of crazy issues in the book, but none of them felt forced or thrown in just for kicks.

This book was an easy, quick read, but the themes are so timely and the author handled them seamlessly and I never felt lost or distracted. It was beautifully done and I highly recommend this book to any reader from 6th grade and up.

Disclaimer: I received a free electronic copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This is a timely novel about the plight of the middle school student and in particular, the female population. The students call upon the power of social networking to fight their school’s oppressive dress code.

The saga begins with some furious students. The school officials have cancelled the class campout because one student, Olivia, has violated the dress code. This is obviously wrong, wrong on the part of the school leaders.

Molly persuades Olivia to tell the embarrassing story of the reason behind why she “showed her shoulders” at school on her new podcast. Going public at first worsens her humiliation and both girls become targets of the school bullies. As Molly’s podcast begins to receive fame, others post photos of Incidents of other dress-code shaming on Instagram. The posts begin to reveal the harm caused by policing girls’ appearances while ignoring social, cultural, and economic realities that govern their lives and clothing choices.

The bodies of middle schoolers vary vastly and girls with curvier bodies are repeatedly addressed. When district administrators ignore their petition to end dress coding, students begin to empower themselves.

The characters are completely believable for this reader as I have experience as a middle school teacher.
Molly, is average and has the gift of empathy. Her brother is addicted to vaping causing stress for her white middle-class family financially and emotionally. Diverse secondary characters include several with disabilities. Beyond code inequities, everyday issues like family stress and active-shooter lockdowns complicate the lives of the very real characters.

The book was not a favorite read for me, but I think it will have great appeal to older middle school girls. They will relate to the very up to date issues facing students in the complicated world of middle school.