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Watch Us Rise by Renee Watson and Ellen Hagan

**SPOILERS BE HERE**

I didn't hate this book; it was actually quite compelling and I finished it in two days. But I hated Chelsea and most of this review will be about that. First, I'll talk about the positives. Jasmine's story was very interesting, and she was extremely likable. Her romance with Isaac was so cute. I liked the...relationship seems like too strong of a word but I'm struggling to find a better one. I liked the relationship progression between her and Meg, and how Meg seemed like she was starting to change her way of thinking. And that's about it for the good stuff.

I'm getting it out of the way—I've never enjoyed poetry and still don't, so I was pretty tempted to skim all of that. I didn't, but I caught myself trying to a few times.

The characters' actions seemed a bit extreme. Meg and her crew dressing up as princesses and racist stereotypes for Halloween to prove a point....I just couldn't see it happening in real life. Particularly the stereotype costumes, especially considering their school. The main characters actually plastering and throwing around fliers all over the school and staging a walkout and probably doing other things I've already managed to forget....I don't know. I can see how they thought that was a good idea because they felt like they weren't being heard, but they could have gone about it in better ways. Oh, accusing a teacher (not by name, but not hiding who it was) of being racist on a school blog? I'm surprised their blog wasn't taken down immediately; Jasmine had every right to tell that story, but not necessarily on school property. 

Speaking of the blog, how did that even work? From the likes and comments, it seemed like it was supposed to be on tumblr or something similar, but if they logged onto the school website to post it....color me confused. I may just not be hip with the times. And how did it become so popular? If they were making all these waves, how come no one else joined? 

And now for Chelsea. She, in particular, was a lot extreme. Passion is great. Fighting for equality and against racism and sexism is amazing. Her actions were not. She was so judgmental! Who cares if your teacher is going home to cook? Who cares if your mom is cooking? If she hasn't complained about it and doesn't mind, it's not sexist. Feminists can like wearing makeup and caring about how they look. And the "womyn" thing was so cringey. And why did she keep trying to pick fights with her mom for no reason? This book should have just been from Jasmine's POV. We didn't even get to really hear about her dad's death! It was completely swept under a rug, except for a brief mention of the funeral and her randomly crying while doing laundry one day. Really? What was the point of having him die if it wasn't going to contribute to the plot? Oh, and Chelsea not ordering Jasmine a shirt that will fit her or noticing that she's maybe uncomfortable when they go shopping and never buys clothes? Ouch.

Anyway, I'll stop my ranting. I actually did enjoy the book, but it just had too many implausibilities and kind of read like a 14-year-old's guide to feminism after watching one extreme YouTube video on the patriarchy. Which is maybe the point since they're young and impressionable and haven't really formed nuanced, educated opinions yet (Chelsea).  

Completed: 7 December 2020
Rating: 2/5 (I talked the rating down with all my ranting)
Recommend: ...honestly, I don't know. It's an easy read, just be prepared for Chelsea

10 December 2020 Update

I just remembered what really bothered me! They stage a protest while their school is getting an award for its social justice programs. Ok, I get it, you feel wronged because your club was shut down and you don't think your voices are being heard. This is not the time nor place to bring it up. The school probably does a lot more than most when it comes to social justice, and probably really deserves the award, so to completely ruin the moment is very juvenile.

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