It was good but it was kind of hard to get into. I feel like this will be good for someone else but I am not the target audience. I will tell my friends about this though.

This book has quite literally changed my life.
After reading this book, I truthfully feel seen in a way that I never have before. It felt like Drew was speaking right to me. Her words have a way of taking an experience, a feeling, an emotion, and turning it into a brilliant read that has helped me fill some of the gaps in my own understanding of what it is to be a female-identifying person.
Like she says, she makes the space and validates the feelings of women and femmes and anyone who has been treated wrong, whether passively or directly, at some points in their lives. She has a way of taking her experiences and the things she learned and speaking to readers like they're best friends. I truthfully cannot even begin to express how thankful I am for having the opportunity to read this book, no less a few months in advance to its release date. This is one that's going to always stay with me.

I enjoy Drew Afualo online and am thrilled to discover another beautiful side to her that I don't know we typically get to see. I have loved learning about her family and the foundation she comes from. I think she'll inspire young women everywhere to expect more, strive for better, and be willing to be Loud.

I liked it, but I didn't think it was much more than her usual content. It was still really good though for someone who may not be familiar with her usual content. Good self-help book overall

It’s like I was watching a TikTok as I read, I had a great time. Drew is inspiring and honest and her voice comes across so well. I really enjoyed this.

Great book to fuel my feminist rage!
I loved this book, but as a married 32 year old woman I knew a lot of things in this book already. BUT! if I had this book in my single years in my early 20s it would’ve saved me a lot of therapy and heartache.

I would definitely but this book as a must read for every woman or femme in their 20s or later or earlier. Because let’s be real it’s never too early or too late to learn that some men are just trash!

I absolutely love Drew on TikTok so I knew I had to read this book. Drew is unapologetic, brilliant, and funny as hell. I choose to believe that every time someone picks up this book, a terrible man with a microphone dies a little bit.

I’ve been loving memoirs of millennial women reclaiming their personal narratives while re-examining misogynist culture. It makes me wonder how different life would be if we had someone like Drew 25 years ago. I feel hopeful for younger people, and a little jealous too.

Drew can singularly take down a bigoted man but she always does it while making a broader point about being intersectional, hyping up women/femmes, rooting out internalized biases, and de-centering male validation.

My favorite parts of LOUD were Drew’s backstory and family life. If I had one criticism, it’s that this book is mostly focused on the reader making personal mindset changes. I would love to hear Drew’s thoughts on systemic and policy change too.

Thank you so much to NetGalley for providing me an advanced copy of this book. I bet the audiobook version will be *chef's kiss* excellent when it comes out too.

The power that Drew Afualo holds is honestly unmatched because before I read this I don’t think anyone could have convinced me to read a “Self-Help” book. I am usually allergic to looking within. I do not like to be perceived.

However!! Drew delivers a funny and empowering book. I found myself both in stitches and tears while reading this.

Also, for someone who never takes advantage of the highlighting feature on my Kindle, I wore it OUT with this book. It’s so insanely quotable and I can’t wait to read it again when it releases.

I will be shoving this book into the hands of all the women in my life.

*Thank you SO MUCH to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the e-ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC of this book!
My inner feminist loved every minute of this book. While so many know Drew from social media as a woman calling out the problematic behavior of men, this book dives so much deeper into her insights. I honestly felt this was uplifting while calling out he patriarchy and the box we have been put in. The insight she has on work, life, society, relationships, and much more are words of wisdom that are great reminders or learning points. I recommend this to all women, and even men. Such an amazing read! Thank you Drew!

I won't lie - I was a huge fan of Drew's Tiktok account prior to reading this book. I was hesitant to pick up up this book because I didn't want to risk being disappointed by it. Spoiler alert: NOT A CRUMB OF DISAPPOINTMENT TO BE FOUND.
Drew tackles many societal issues that women and femme presenting people face head on and balances a "take no nonsense", unapologetic approach while still leaving room for empathy and growth.
It was easy to hear Drew's in her words. She makes difficult topics easy to digest and I found her narrative to be clear, concise, and profound.
She puts an emphasis on empowerment vs victimhood, which was something I really enjoyed.
I will be recommending this book to many people in my life, and will definitely revisit it when the audiobook is available.
A huge thank you to both the Publisher and NetGalley.

i love drew i think she’s so funny and once i knew she was releasing a book, i just had to read it! usually im not a fan of memoirs unless its someone im familiar with, this book deals with a little bit of self help and modern feminism, i enjoyed this book!

I love Drew. This was a very well structured and pieced together book.

She made me literally laugh out loud several times. I mean how could you not, she’s talking about breaking down misogynistic ideas and then will say things like “drag sexiest men by their half-court hairlines”… that’s iconic.

I think everyone who reads this will get something meaningful from it! And I appreciate the honesty and personal things she shared in this novel.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers.

I enjoyed this even more than I thought I would! The writing came across as sincere and serious despite Drew’s funny online persona. I appreciated learning more about her childhood and upbringing and hearing her thoughts on social dynamics that women struggle with.

I received this book as an advanced reader copy provided by NetGalley.

Reading this book as a 42 year old married woman I constantly said to myself, where was Drew when I was a teenager or young adult?! The amount of insights and sound advice that Drew provides in this book will set up any young woman for success.

This book isn’t about dating, it isn’t about misogyny but it’s about knowing and finding your self worth. Buy this book for your daughter/child getting near the age of leaving the nest.

My sincerest thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for sending me an ARC of Loud by Drew Afualo. If I could give this glorious read 10 stars, I would. It is thoughtful, powerful and extremely important. I knew that Drew would write a valuable book but I never expected to have learned so much from reading it, especially being in my 40s. I’m absolutely blown away by her insights and wish that I could have had this when I was younger and searching for answers. Reading this made me feel seen and heard in the most supportive way. It is empowerment and accountability at its finest. If you have the opportunity to read this, please don’t waste it; I’ve preorder copies for all the women in my life because it is one of the best books I’ve ever read. I highly HIGHLY recommend!!!!

I think this will be an impactful read for younger women-- that 16-25 age range-- and comes across a little as Feminism 101. None of the ideas presented in this text are new or groundbreaking, but Afualo presents them in a way that keeps the reader engaged and thinking.

I hope her points come across to those who need them, and there were some lovely bits I highlighted for my own reminders of self-worth. I especially loved her line "I often think that people don't realize how important the words that they say to themselves in their own heads really are. Ask yourself, 'What are the positive things I say to myself when I look in the mirror every day?'"

Some of her repetitive asides (like referring to her attraction to men as "unfortunate" every single time) were distracting, but overall, it was a four-star read for me. I think I'm just more established in my self-love journey than the intended audience.

Drew has an amazing way of discussing the difficulty of being a woman or femme in western society in a relatable and humorous way. She covers things like body neutrality, being a former “pick me” and embracing the possibility of dying alone instead of settling for less than you deserve. While none of this is new ground, I think it’s great that Drew is using her platform to help younger women escape some of the traps we all fall into. Even though I’m older than Drew, it was still a great reminder about how embedded we all are in the patriarchy and how it can be easy to build your life for the male gaze if you’re not careful. A great read to remind women and femmes (especially of color) to stand in their own power.

I’ve been following Drew online for a few years now so when she announced that she was publishing a book I was ecstatic; even more so when I got the opportunity to read it ahead of publication thanks to NetGalley & Farrar, Straus, and Giroux.

Drew has been crusading against bigotry, misogyny, and the patriarchy for years while trying to get others to build confidence and stand up for themselves. This book is the perfect culmination of her; it builds the reader up while simultaneously pointing out internal biases and misogyny. It is part self help, part memoir, and part manifesto, all laced with her sense of humor and wit.

The book starts with an introduction and first chapter focused primarily on her upbringing and how having such an emotionally intelligent family helped her be able to find and understand herself. I think a lot of parents and/or soon to be parents should take a look at this book. Even if you don’t agree with Drew’s approach online it is clear that she has a sense of self and self worth that many young people lack. Reading this may give insight into a way to raise a child to have these as well.

As the book progresses it moves onto topics that female presenting people know all too well like being a “pick me” and having to be soft to appeal to society. The pick me chapter is something I think many women & girls would greatly benefit from reading. Without giving much away, she talks about how aligning yourself with men will ultimately not keep you from being the punchline or victim, and when you inevitably are the punchline, you won’t have a support system of women around to pick you back up.

This book does a great job of reminding us to be who we are and to advocate for ourselves even if that means being perceived as mean.

My favorite quote from this book, “A bad bitch is still a bad bitch, regardless of how many times she doubts herself.”
This being the first memoir I’ve ever read I was a little scared but I was pleasantly surprised at the outcome, if I thought I was confident and secure about myself before I read this book, I sure as hell am now.
This book gives you an insight to Drew’s upbringing, how she gained the confidence and self love we all know and see on Tiktok and how we can all achieve it as well. The Drew you see on Tiktok is definitely a different Drew than the one you have access to through this book. She is definitely vulnerable in writing this and I LOVED every second.
The goal of this memoir was for Drew to remind Women to Love and Empower themselves and their feelings. An empowered Woman, Empowering Woman.
I do believe this is a very important read for teenage girls, it’s perfect to read as you’re becoming comfortable with yourself, your body, and your feelings.

Thank you NetGalley and Drew for an ARC of this wonderful upcoming book.

Part memoir, part self-help, Loud lives up to it's title and describes Drew's growing into her values and her platform. It's a light but reflective read about the patriarchal society and the way we can best cope with it - by standing up for ourselves and realising our worth.

Personally, I can't say I gained much from the self-help aspect of the book, since I have considered myself a feminist (and a misandrist) for a while now, but Drew is truly one of the funniest and wonderful people with a platform. Her tiktoks and podcast makes me so glad to be a part of this colorful, queer world, despite all the hate and violence. I loved her book for giving me a few more pieces of her life, her story, her family. The memoir parts truly felt like talking to an old friend and an inspiration.

I feel so honoured to have had the opportunity to read and review Loud before it's released. It needs to be a part of all the libraries around the world. I believe it's going to change quite a few lives.