DECEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Sisi Aisha Johnson has a sassy, confident voice. She’s a great choice to present model and writer Leah Vernon's memoir of body positivity. Listeners will chuckle as they hear about being a young Muslim trying to find fashionable, modest wear in a plus size. Johnson's lively style carries us through many of Vernon's uncomfortable moments. We are encouraged to laugh as she confronts her increasing weight and her parents' reactions, and begins her long journey to self-acceptance. Johnson tells these stories as if they happened to her. M.R. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
Vernon’s determined advocacy for body positivity as a feminist and mental health issue, and her painful journey to self-acceptance, are moving and powerful, forcing readers to examine their own preconceptions about beauty standards and health.”
—Booklist
“Anyone feeling like an outsider, outcast, or underdog will relate to Vernon's honest rendition of her childhood and teenage years.”
—Buzzfeed
“This candid memoir will be of interest for those who have experienced emotional, physical, or sexual violence, and who are seeking forceful encouragement toward self-empowerment and self-expression.”
—Library Journal
“Vernon’s narration reads like an intimate heart-to-heart chat with a friend . . . Irreverent, vulnerable, and unapologetic in every sense.”
—Kirkus Reviews
“Readers will head straight to her Instagram if they aren’t established fans. Tough topics like mental illness, domestic violence, and abortion are covered unflinchingly, with a frankness that will appeal to older teens.”
—School Library Journal
“Deeply powerful in its vulnerability, Unashamed invites us into the pain, beauty, and redemption that have shaped Leah Vernon. We are transformed through the act of witnessing . . . . One of the most generous memoirs I’ve ever read.”
—Virgie Tovar, author of You Have the Right to Remain Fat
“I love the fierce, unflinching honesty and integrity in Unashamed . . . . I laughed and cried and read this book in awe of Leah Vernon’s brave, bold, and beautiful voice.”
—Randa Abdel-Fattah, author of The Lines We Cross and Does My Head Look Big in This?
“Unashamed is everything Leah Vernon embodies on a daily basis: authenticity, resiliency, and, most of all . . . unquestionable courage . . . . I’m so thankful for Leah: the fantastically powerful force behind this literary triumph.”
—Jes Baker, author of Things No One Will Tell Fat Girls and Landwhale
School Library Journal
09/20/2019
Gr 9 Up-Vernon, a plus-size model, blogger, and activist who focuses on intersectionality and self-acceptance, documents the struggles and triumphs she faced as she grew into loving herself. With her sharp, staccato writing style and no-holds-barred attitude, Vernon chronicles the ways she's been made to feel unacceptable and then rips those standards to shreds with intelligent humor and positivity. She guides readers through her love/hate relationship with her religion and her body; and while her insistence on her own self-worth and individuality throughout the narrative is inspiring, she doesn't rely on platitudes or easy answers. It's clear that Vernon's secret to success is fighting hard and working harder. The book's overall tone is uplifting and ends on a high note. The true joy Vernon finds in fashion, styling, and modeling is made clear in the final chapters, and readers will head straight to her Instagram if they aren't established fans. Tough topics like mental illness, domestic violence, and abortion are covered unflinchingly, with a frankness that will appeal to older teens. Mature themes and language might make this a hard sell for parents but will only add to the appeal for high schoolers. VERDICT Recommended for high school and public libraries. While the book may be a better fit for adults due to the focus on Vernon's marriage, divorce, and her career, it would certainly appeal to high school readers. -Heather Waddell, Abbot Public Library, Marblehead, MA
DECEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
Narrator Sisi Aisha Johnson has a sassy, confident voice. She’s a great choice to present model and writer Leah Vernon's memoir of body positivity. Listeners will chuckle as they hear about being a young Muslim trying to find fashionable, modest wear in a plus size. Johnson's lively style carries us through many of Vernon's uncomfortable moments. We are encouraged to laugh as she confronts her increasing weight and her parents' reactions, and begins her long journey to self-acceptance. Johnson tells these stories as if they happened to her. M.R. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2019-08-26
Detroit-based model, blogger, and activist Vernon describes life caught between the societal boxes of white and Islamic cultures.
Narrating the story of her life, the author takes aim at the societal vitriol directed at those living in fat, black, and Muslim bodies. "Deciding, really deciding, to unapologetically wear my hijab for me has been the most freeing and rebellious and feminist thing I could possibly do," she writes. In a brash, slang-heavy text, Vernon—whose work has appeared in Elle, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and the New York Times, among other publications—speaks to experiences often concealed within her communities, including mental illness, divorce, abortion, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and body-shaming. "Self-worth was a roller coaster," she writes, "and mine was usually attached to what I could and couldn't fit into." Though these traumas have deeply impacted the trajectory of Vernon's life, she takes care to enthusiastically portray her triumphs: her escape from a dysfunctional marriage, her personal flourishing as she embarked on a plus-size modeling career, and the creation of her semiviral video, "Muslim Girl Dance." Vernon's narration reads like an intimate heart-to-heart chat with a friend; while her off-the-cuff riffing is infectious, the storytelling occasionally rambles. Readers may balk at the author's apparent disdain for incarcerated people and women who have casual sex, and not everyone will understand the hard-won wisdom behind "Angry Black Bitch," Vernon's inner persona that turned racist, sexist, and fat-phobic aggression into the courage "[t]o step out of my comfort zone and fuckin' live a little." However, those looking for an imperfect hero of her own story, "with [her] own opinions and skewed outlooks and quirks," will find this a quick, cheeky read, and her message is solid. "We are all humans with complexities," she writes. "We are equal. We are fucked up. But we are beautiful and interesting and knowledgeable."
Irreverent, vulnerable, and unapologetic in every sense.
