Thanks to Algonquin Books for the free advance copy of this book. 

BODY TALK is a collection of works from 37 authors, celebrities, illustrators and more exploring all the many ways to have and to live in a body. 

At first glance, BODY TALK may appear to be another book for tweens and teens talking about how their bodies are changing. And there's some of that, but wow, it is so much more. This book is a place where everyone gets to show what it's like inside their body. Fat bodies, disabled bodies, Black and brown bodies, trans bodies, hairy bodies, chronically ill bodies, and more. And they're all about how there's no right way to have a body, no dumb questions to have about your body, and about taking ownership of and joy in the complexities and oddities of being alive. 

One thing that struck me as an adult reader of this book is how many of these stories are by women who had a hard time getting medical professionals to take their pain and illness seriously, especially when it had to do with reproductive health. It might have stuck out to me since I've had similar struggles, but it is still rather shocking to have a book with such a broad array of experiences and still see so many stories with this common throughline.