The Blue Dress

An Iranian teen grapples with body image and disordered eating in Morrison’s dynamic debut, per an endnote a “fictionalized version of my childhood.” Thirteen-year-old Yasmin Safavi loathes being known as “the new immigrant girl” at her Virginia middle school. While she’s grateful to befriend a classmate, Yasmin still feels like an outsider, especially now that “puberty has invaded my body like an alien,” changing her appearance in ways that prompt negative attention from her diet-conscious mother. Frustrated with Maman’s scrutiny about her weight, as well as her own Iranian features, which become the target of racist bullying, Yasmin revamps her personal style and starts skipping meals, desperate to fit into a too-small dress Maman made for her. Yasmin’s new image nets her a seat at the popular kids’ table and—having lost weight—Maman’s approval. But at what cost? Honest first-person prose lucidly centers Yasmin’s anxieties as she struggles to accept the impact of her mindset on her relationships and herself. Throughout, Morrison smartly and bravely explores inherited trauma by revealing the roots of Maman’s anti-fat rhetoric, crystallizing in an uplifting, recovery-focused novel that empowers readers to be themselves. Ages 10–14. Agent: John Cusick, Folio Literary. (Mar.)