Revenge of the Red Club

Riley is an eighth-grader who loves her job as an investigative reporter for their school paper, and her position as a leader of the Red Club, her school’s answer to menstrual questions. There is a locker with supplies and meetings to help members find solutions to issues that plague them all but which they were too afraid to ask. When parents complain, the administration ends the Red Club. Riley uses her investigative skills to find out who complained while mounting a campaign to get the club back. When her first efforts fail with administration, she knows she needs something more, something the adults cannot ignore.

This book is this generation’s Are you there, God? It’s me, Margaret but with a focus on awareness and fairness for half the population. It screams girl power and equality for the fairer sex. The attack on girl’s dress codes and borderline sexual harassment are eye-opening and discussion-worthy, especially when the boys join in support. With Barbara Dee’s Maybe he just likes you, girls have the beginning of an arsenal for combatting those who want to hide the fact that half the population menstruates and who believe girls should be responsible for the behavior of boys. Truly excellent.