danileah07's Reviews (1.05k)

TWs: 2016 Election, Misogyny, Abelism, Racism, Sexism

Perfect for: Hillary supporters, Never Trumpers, feminists, liberal activists


Nasty Women is a collection of essays that reflect the anger, fear, and confusion liberal women felt in 2016 when Hillary Clinton, perhaps the most qualified presidential candidates in history, lost the election to Donald Trump, a racist misogynist without any political experience.

The book was published in 2018, so it more intensely than I think it would have four years ago. We now know the painful significance of Trump's win now that we didn't know then -- the mishandling of the Covid19 Pandemic, the January 6th insurrection, and the overturning of Roe v Wade.

TWs: school shooting, student & teacher death, PTSD, survivors guilt, bullying of survivors 

Before reading this book, it's important to know what this book IS, and what it ISN'T. If you are looking for true crime details of the event itself, this may not be the book for you (if this is you, I'd suggest Parkland by Dave Cullen). However, if you want to learn more about the students from Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School and how the processed their trauma and grief after the February 14, 2018 shooting that killed 17, then this book is exactly for you.

We Say #NeverAgain is a collection of writings by an array of MSD journalism students that reflect on their unique perspective of reporting on the tragedy while simultaneously living and coping through it. Readers learn about their experiences with dealing with the media, law makers, and the general public as they navigate their new normal. We get to see their experiences in organizing the March For Our Lives protests, as well as the creation of #MSDStrong, a documentary that highlights the activism of the students after the mass shooting.

The book is extremely compelling and well written. At times I would forget that it was written by high schoolers, because there's a level of maturity and professionalism in their writing that is not often contributed to teenagers. It is obvious a lot of care went into the creation of this book.

I do admit that I was hoping for a little more first hand accounts of that day. Peppered in are stories of Extraordinary Acts, which highlight MSD students and teachers heroic acts on February 14th. I felt these additions were the most impactful chapters within the book. 

One thing absent from the book that I was hoping for was a spotlight memorializing each of the 17 victims lost during the shooting. Many of the pieces written mention them, often by name and with personal anecdotes, but I would have liked a section to read more about them.