Rebel Beauty was a quick read. It’s really important for young people to learn to accept their bodies and themselves, however I think the author needs to work on her book and use of language before she can be considered inclusive, she was definitely stuck in a gender stereotype and didn’t include the ideas of many young people being non-binary or trans etc. I also thought on the whole it was body positive, but didn’t seem well thought out on the issue, they tell you to be body positive but then tell you what to eat, making generalisations and demonising food is not body positivity. I did like the attempts and aims of the book to help young people understand their inner beauty , but I think it needs some work before it can be a fully inclusive and positive read for young people.

Some good ideas and worksheets throughout the book that can help with confidence and finding one's inner and outer beauty...but unfortunately the book was disappointing with some of the language used and examples given. It is very much rooted in a gender binary and equating females bodies with menstruation and starting to bleed as a sign of becoming a woman - I feel that the language used could have been a lot more inclusive, especially considering the amount of young people today who exist outside of the gender binary. Even disregarding that, a lot of the language was cringey and out of date 10/15 years ago when it was used to refer to periods and I imagine teens today find it even moreso.

Another problem I had was how the author discussed bodies...most of the time it was positive and there was no direct fat shaming but there was a point about not eating processed or sugary foods 1) this book is suitable for younger teens, they have no say in what foods they eat 2) it is not great to demonise a food group or make generalisations that those who eat processed foods are overweight or will get overweight? The author suggests to unfollow social media accounts of those with "ideal bodies" and follow those who promote body confidence and "healthy lifestyles" (i.e. fitsbo accounts...) while failing to address the unattainable lifestyle of many of these accounts and how it is these bodies that many young people fantasise about having - a choice between looking like Kate Moss in the 90s or Rhianna and people will chose Rhianna ... but that's still not attainable. The author really should be addressing real vs fake and how even those "healthy" lifestyle accounts and body confidence accounts also lie because social media is a lie. The author says to change what accounts you look at rather than cut down on social media....just a very weird take is all.

Maybe a book that the worksheets would be useful in a social/health class situation where discussion can be made about the points, but it does fall flat by itself and lacks in some parts - I wouldn't feel comfortable giving this to young teens in my life.

Rebel Beauty was a quick fun yet important read. This book focused on helping young people understand their inner beauty and how to stop striving for ideal beauty. This book really focused on how to amplify your beauty by things such as healthy diet, confidence, body language, etc. This would be really helpful and informative. A must read for teens!
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the E-arc!

This book was superb!!!! I know I'm not the books target audience, but as a secondary school teacher I'm always on the look out for inspiring books for my students. This book is excellent!!!
Not only is the book colourful and informative, but the exercises in this book are straightforward, imaginative and beneficial! I could create a whole scheme of work for the students I teach using this book as a reference point.

It's not patronising, and encourages young people to take ownership of who they are! I absolutely adore this book, and will be ordering the physical copy! (was lucky enough to be sent electronic copy proof copy in exchange for an honest review) Thoroughly recommend!!!
This would be suitable for young people, teachers, parents and anyone who works with/interacts young people!! Just because you are not the 'teen' from the title, doesn't mean this book will not be beneficial to you!!