No Brainer

★＂ Celebrates a girl’s determination to be comfortable with her body, defy double standards, and stand up for her beliefs. Fearless and filled with jubilant moxie; a must-read.＂ -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Liv is happy in her joggers, sports T-shirts and no bra.

She doesn’t like tight jeans and doesn’t feel comfortable in a bra. But one boy in her gym class, Jerry, harasses Liv with rude comments about her breasts. When she stands up to him, Liv is the one who finds herself in trouble. Even though her clothes fit the dress code, her principal insists that Liv wear a bra to gym class. It’s unfair and Liv refuses to give in to the demand.

Gossip flies around the school as Liv stands up to Jerry and the school administration. Then a ＂free the boobs＂ campaign is started to demean Liv, andshe and her friend Mia decide to take a stand. They create a poster to encourage girls to wear what they want without shame, but Liv is sent to the principal’s office once again and is told that her poster will be taken down before the school’s open house. But Liv isn’t going to stand down. There are no school rules that dictate girls must wear bras. Why can’t girls wear what they want without being shamed?

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading-level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read.

Lea Beddia is the author of books for young adult striving readers. She is also a high school English teacher. Lea grew up in Montreal where she had a hard time learning French, but with time, practice and the right books, she can now say she is bilingual (trilingual, if you include the Italian she grew up with). She loves gelato, zombies and stories that show young people they can be powerful. She lives in Joliette, Quebec with her husband and three children.