Thanks to FirstSecond (via NetGalley) for the ARC!

I absolutely adored this book! The story and the illustrations were beautiful and meshed together seamlessly to tell a story that many kids will be able to relate to.

Marlene has naturally curly hair, but she has to suffer trips to the salon every week to straighten it at her mother’s behest. Marlene hates the salon and all the comments about how it would be so much easier (and cheaper) if she had “good” hair. Marlene likes her curly hair, but no one else seems to. Except her Tía Ruby, whose curls are beautiful and soft, unlike Marlene’s frizzy mess. Marlene has to decide if she’s brave enough to tell her mom she doesn’t want to go to the salon anymore and if she’s brave enough to wear her hair the way she really wants.

This book tackles so many tough subjects, but in a way that is easily accessible and understandable to middle grade readers. Throughout Marlene’s journey to accepting her hair, Ortega also addresses:
-Self-image
-White beauty standards and how damaging they can be to people who don’t fit them
-Grief and loss of a family member
-Hypocritical statements from adults (specifically that they tell Marlene what’s on the inside is important, but they put so much emphasis on her physical appearance)
-Anti-Blackness
-Generational trauma
All of these topics are things that Marlene deals with in the book, but she doesn’t have names for everything. The conversation she has with her Tía Ruby names and tackles Anti-Blackness in a way gets to the point and doesn’t gloss over the complicated history that Dominican people have with their hair. Ruby explains to Marlene why people in her family think of curly hair as “bad” and how Ruby herself had to unlearn that and come to love her own curly hair. She even explains why Marlene’s mom, her sister, has such a complicated relationship with her own hair (which touches on the generational trauma). These are topics that kids like Marlene have to deal with all the time, and to have the words to express these feelings and emotions is very powerful.

Ultimately, FRIZZY is a love letter to curly hair and the care that goes into maintaining it. It’s a book that says the difficult parts out loud and acknowledges that even adults don’t always do the right thing. But the main thing that FRIZZY tells us is that it’s never too late to unlearn harmful ideas and try to love yourself the way you were born.