I would probably rate this book even higher, if I had read it at a different time in my life. I think I was expecting a little more memoir than self help/advice, so some of it didn’t resonate as it might have when I was younger and less self assured. This is going to be a fantastic read for a lot of women, and Drew is an amazing voice in this generation.
3.5 ⭐️

I’ll preface this by saying I normally don’t read non-fiction books, and if I do they’re usually audiobooks. However, I got the arc for the ebook, and this book didn’t bore me to sleep like others do!
I have followed Drew for a while on TikTok, and absolutely love her content. She’s so funny, and I wanted to learn more about her. Hearing her life story so far was really fun. I love how close she is to her siblings and parents. I love her love for Pili, and hope I can find my person one day too. Her stories and attitude made me realize how similar we are!
I especially loved chapter 9. I feel like it’s so rare to hear someone with a big platform say they don’t want children. I feel the same way as she does, and I’m so glad she opened up to share her feelings. It’s really nice to know I’m not alone in my feelings about such a tough topic.

I LOVE Drew Afualo. I think her work as a women's right activist is stellar and hysterical. She's popped up on my FYP more than once since 2021, and I've been an avid follower of hers since then. But this isn't a review of Drew Afualo. It's a review of her book.

Turns out: I also really enjoyed this book. I was very curious to see what she had to say in a memoir, since she's about my age and that's not really the average memoir-writing age. But I loved her little anecdotes, the way she unpacked a lot of feminist theories and I vibed with it. I especially loved chapter 9 'There's No One Way to Be a Woman But Only One Way to Be Yourself'. I related to that chapter so hard.

The only point of criticism I have is that it was a bit repetitive. Drew has a lot to say, but she also repeated some phrases and topics multiple times in a slightly different way. I think that it needed some slight editing for that reason in particular. However, that again is something that would work when reading these chapters as different kind of essays. But it's a bit annoying when reading the book from cover to cover.

But besides that small issue, I think this is a great book. I think it's great source material for teenage and young twenty-something women and femmes. Drew is, I think, just a great role model. It’s really inspiring to read about a woman who asserts herself and is not afraid to be loud and completely herself. Contrary to popular believe - and her own words - Drew is not mean. She's just advocating for herself in ways most people are not used to. And oops! This turned into a gushing review of Drew herself again. I'm just excited to see what Drew's going to do next. I'm sure she has a lot more wisdom to share in the future.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC I received in exchange for an honest review.

Drew is going to change lives with this book.

The assuredness, intelligence, and experience with which she speaks on the topics in this book are all notable and exceptional.

She writes about the reasons and ways men should be decentered and provides detailed ways that mission can be accomplished. Her observations and opinions will stick with you after reading this book. Drew’s stories about her relationships with her family, friends, and partner are so beautiful, I cried *SO* many times.

I highlighted so many passages in this book to come back to. One of my favorites is: “When you look in the mirror, that is the person you are stuck with, day in, day out, for the rest of your life. And that is the most important relationship in your life, no matter what.”

Drew has SUCH a strong narrative voice. I haven’t listened to the audiobook yet (pre-ordered, so excited for it!) but I heard her voice in my head as I was reading the e-book.

I’m so happy that this book is going to be out in the world and help so many expand upon and defend the thoughts & feelings that come with living in this patriarchal hellscape.

Thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for the chance to read this early through an ARC!

Although I thought it was a little repetitive, I really enjoyed Drew’s writing style and the story she has to tell. I went in as a fan already and left enjoying her even more. If you are a fan of hers I highly recommend giving it a shot!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me this arc! As a longtime Drew Afualo fan, reading this was everything! At such a young age, drew has left such an AMAZING impact on the world and hearing/reading her talk about her life and where she is now is so inspiring. Loved it!

4 ⭐️

Reading this book felt like having a conversation with a big sister or best friend, where you come out on the other side feeling like a new person, more confident about yourself than you ever have before. One thing I have always admired about Drew is the way she is so unapologetically loud and confident in herself, and her personality shines on paper just as much as it does on social media. My two favourite chapters are "I'd Rather Die Alone" and "It's Okay To Be Mean".

In the former, Drew discusses the fear that's so commonly taught to women and femmes - that you should be scared to die alone and should make every effort to find a man asap. I love Drew's counter to this; "It made no sense chasing after a subpar man out of loneliness, when there is actually nothing more lonely than living life in an emotionally unbalanced relationship." That line resonated so much with me, because I've gone through relationships where I stuck around just to not be lonely, and it turns out that actually made me feel worse than I ever have while being single.

In the latter, Drew challenges the stereotypes and expectations that women and femmes should be quiet and nice, and that there's no sense in fighting bigotry with mean remarks. She says "Women deserve the freedom to speak bluntly and directly, especially when they're being openly disrespected. Being mean is an effective tool for asserting the dominance that exists within all of us, but especially when it comes to protecting and standing up for ourselves." Women and femmes do not have to be nice and remain palatable to men - they do not exist for men's approval and I love the way Drew asserts that in this chapter.

Drew has also done a great amount of reflection in this book, specifically in regards to the way she handled her sister's coming out to her. Drew shows growth and one of the things I really appreciated in this book was the very conscious effort to use inclusive language - women and femmes - especially as a nonbinary femme person!

The only critique I have is that there was a bit of repetitiveness within the book about what was discussed, or even particular phrases were used repeatedly. I think that could have used a bit more of an edit but overall this is an incredibly important book. Thank you Drew for always being in the corner of marginalized people and for inspiring so many young women and femmes!

Thank you to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for the eARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

Drew is such a gem!! I discovered her on Tik Tok a year and a half ago and was so excited to hear she was writing a book. Reading this felt like I had her sitting right next to me reading it out loud, I could hear everything in her voice. Her story is so empowering and I’d highly recommend taking the time to read.

I love Drew. I watch all of her Tiktoks and listen to her podcast. I think she is incredibly smart and hilarious. However, I didn't quite understand why she was writing a book. I felt like she was reaching plenty of people online. But after reading this, it truly feels like her feminist ideology spelled out. Like a feminist bible, in the most un-culty way possible.


I found this half memoir, half "How To" to be incredibly important for girls of all ages to read. It's light and funny but also has some seriously important messages surrounding the patriarchy and how it's taken over women and femme's lives. I really enjoyed finding out ways I have been feeding the patriarchy without even realizing.

Very eye-opening and funny!

This was such a fast and fun read! You get the humor you expect from Drew balanced with real conversations about misogyny, the patriarchy, racism, relationships and more. I loved Drew’s narration and her honesty and learning more about her. Would highly recommend!

If you’re like me, you found Drew during the pandemic. With her unabashed, unrelenting, honest views and knock-downs of patriarchal sad males (lmfao); and let’s be honest that unforgettable cackle you can’t help but love her. Drew is a total girls’ girl - rooting for all us. I wish I had this book as an adolescent; hell even a few years ago. As someone who is also LOUD - this book just really resonated with me, and if you know me you non-fiction is not my jam. I loved listening to her narrate (should’ve thrown that laugh in girl!!). Such a good book, I’ll definitely be recommending.

I love Drew on TikTok so I was excited to read her book! Overall I thought it was a solid read. I wasn’t expecting it to feel like a self-help book per se (which aren’t my favs) but those were the vibes I was getting at times throughout. Nonetheless, I love a good feminist read + I felt like I was reading it in Drew’s voice — this book would probably be best enjoyed on audiobook read by the author IMO

Thank you Net Galley for the ARC!

This read as words of encouragement and wisdom from an older sister.

I’m a big fan of Drew’s content and was excited to read her book. Drew is highly relatable while offering insight into her life and morals. She addresses numerous “taboo” topics and deconstructs what lies women and femmes have been taught about them. Thinking about young women (and boys!) reading this makes me hopeful society can further divest from the patriarchy.

𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐀𝐟𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐨 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰, 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰—𝐈 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠), 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐎𝐖. 𝐒𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐨𝐥𝐝, 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐮𝐭! 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐬; 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭-𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐢𝐫. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞—𝐚𝐧𝐝, 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞—𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 (𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬) 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬, 𝐫𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐱 𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐈 𝐇𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐋𝐘 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐞𝐰 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐟 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐯𝐮𝐥𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭.

𝑳𝒐𝒖𝒅: 𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒆𝒑𝒕 𝑵𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑳𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝑫𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒆 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐡, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝!

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝒟𝓇𝑒𝓌 𝒜𝒻𝓊𝒶𝓁𝑜, 𝑀𝒶𝒸𝓂𝒾𝓁𝓁𝒶𝓃 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜, 𝒜𝒰𝒲𝒜, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Loved everything about this book. Perfect for people who don’t follow TikTok and know her there. She shares personal stories that she weaves well with her pro- feminist inspirations.

thank you to netgalley, the publisher, and drew afualo herself for the advanced reader copy of "loud".

i have been following drew afualo for a couple of years now, and have always admired her for her outspoken, brazen nature toward misogyny and disrespect. i will never forget the time she said this sexist man looked like a lollipop someone dropped on a carpet. when she first announced on her profile that she would be releasing her memoir in august, best believe i scrambled to netgalley to see if arc copies were being offered. given afualo's humorous content, i was expecting primarily a comedic approach to her life story, but it had so much more substance than that. afualo is so well-spoken and intelligent, and somehow she still made it feel like you were having a conversation with a good friend. not only does this book approach drew's life and upbringing, but she also presents some much needed conversations on misogyny, where it stems from, and how women and femmes should confront this behavior. "loud" has made me gain even more respect for drew afualo, and i cannot wait to see the world's reaction to her book.

some quotes i really enjoyed:
* "If comparing these dudes' teeth to the doors of a haunted house could bring at the very least a snap of joy into someone's day, while possibly helping a few others question why these men have any say in how they feel about themselves, then I would gladly crack jokes all day long."
* "Some people may say I'm being contrarian, but I say better to be contrarian than die a thousand little deaths of disrespect."
* "Don't dim your light so inferior men won't have to cover their eyes in your presence."
* "We expect women to be everything and take on more and more of the burden, while our expectations for men stay exactly where they are. Tell me, where's the equality in that?"
* "It's not our fault if we are born ignorant, but it is our fault if we die that way."
* "I committed to the idea that they were right about one thing: I wasn't like the other girls--I was going to be much, much worse."
* "You should never have to outsource the foundation of self-love. It was always meant to come from within."

3.5 stars rounded up for Loud; my thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the eARC.

I love Drew. I love her content and I love her impact on our cultural society.

But a book is not a tiktok video. It should have more depth. There was nothing groundbreaking in her feminist theory. She has a lot to say about a lot of topics, but the information was scattered. She'd be talking about her family and her parents relationship but then a paragraph later she'd have a rant about how the women in her life are the top dog in relationships. It made sense if you squint, but the path to the two points was a winding one.

I loved learning about her life and her family, though. You can feel the closeness to her sister and the bond they share is stronger than the opinion of a mediocre man.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Drew Afualo for providing me with a complimentary digital ARC for Loud coming out July 30, 2024. The honest opinions expressed in this review are my own.

I was excited to receive this book! I’m mixed race Samoan and white. There aren’t a ton of books about growing up Pacific Islander. So I was definitely interested in reading about Drew’s background and life experience. I’ve watched some of her videos on TikTok and I appreciate her honesty in her personality. She has some funny and also strong content in that she doesn’t take anything from haters. I think a lot of her personality came out in the book. There were some honest stories about her past and some hard things she went through. I loved that her family is supportive and wants her to be happy in life. I think a lot of Polynesians are generally happy and love to be funny and laugh. I think Polynesian families can be very loving and it’s really a unique experience. Some of her experiences reminded me of growing up with my Samoan grandparents. There were also things in her book that were very different than my experience, but it was interesting to see her perspective. It was short, but overall, I really enjoyed it

I'm a big fan of Drew online and on her podcast, so naturally I wanted to read her book. I think she does a good job of weaving in personal stories with the message she's trying to send, and her voice is so strong in the best way possible. However, I think if you follow Drew online, or if you've been a feminist for any length of time, you've heard most of this already. There were a few things about her family/life experience I wouldn't have known if I hadn't read it, and I applaud her for being so open. But I don't think I"m necessarily the intended audience for this book. She spends a loooot of time explaining all the reasons that you shouldn't be a pick me, which, while I agree with, was just a lot for someone who came to this conclusion 15+ years ago. That being said, I hope the people who need to hear this message find this book.

I’ve been following Drew Afualo’s TikTok for a few years now and I love seeing her pop up on my for you page! When I saw that she wrote a book, I immediately requested to review it on NetGalley because I could not wait to get my hands on it!

Drew is so well spoken, so wise and someone I truly look up to. I loved learning a bit about where she comes from, how she became who she is and all the advice she has throughout this book. I aspire to have the confidence she has in herself!