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A timely and thought-provoking novel about one girl’s fight against gender inequality at her middle school and the lessons about her own privilege she learns along the way. Margie Kelly’s perfect skirt was dress coded on her very first day of middle school. Upset and embarrassed, Margie spends the whole day wearing oversized gym shorts. So much for starting sixth grade with confidence! But when Margie realizes that the dress code is only applied to the female students and not the boys, Margie gets mad. Really mad. The dress code is keeping girls stuck in detention all day and away from learning. The boys act like they own the school. And the teachers turn a blind eye to the hypocrisies taking place in the halls, classrooms, and clubs. Something has to change! And Margie knows just how to do it. She’ll plan a school-wide protest with her best friend, Daniela, and fellow classmates Jamiya and Gloria. But as Margie moves forward with her plans, she comes to realize some hard truths about herself. Will Margie recognize her own privilege and make meaningful change for all students?
About the Author:
Bridget Farr is an author, actor, and educator. She’s been an elementary and middle school teacher her entire career, most recently a vice principal at an urban public school. She has a masters from the University of Texas at Austin. Bridget is also an actor and producer and has starred in award-winning plays, produced a popular theater series, and written a short film. Pavi Sharma’s Guide to Going Home is her debut novel. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her partner, Shiva, and the neighborhood cat, Sherman.
Bridget Farr on Using Your Voice and Margie Kelly Breaks the Dress Code – Author Essay
In fifth grade, my favorite shirt read, “Jack and Jill ran up the hill. Jill won. Girls dominate.” Girl power ruled the day just as we girls planned to dominate our own lives. My favorite book series, Dear America, featured girls during important moments of history; their lives personalizing events normally told from the perspectives of old white men. Inspired and hopeful that my own diary would be worthy of publication, I began referring to my “dearest grandfather” and “darling mummy,” certain a British accent would lend me the necessary clout. Apparently, I didn’t realize that the voice I should want people to listen to was my own.
Girl power shirts aside, I also had women in my life who reminded me my voice was important. After moving to a new town too late to test into the advanced reading program, my sixth grade teacher, Mrs. Schrader, made an entire curriculum just for me. Having now taught myself, I’m awed at the extra hours she put in to make sure I got what I needed. Likewise, Mrs. Hessen, my third grade teacher, encouraged me to move from the sidelines of the basketball court to state champion in the free throw shooting competition. And my mom was my biggest supporter, reading all of my notebook stories and covering my first book about mermaids in leftover seashell wallpaper.
Margie Kelly Breaks the Dress Code by Bridget Farr Reviews:
“Margie is bright, earnest, and appealing, and the issues of dress codes and friendship conflicts will be relatable for many middle school readers. A thoughtful treatment of sexism and white privilege for tweens.”—School Library Journal
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