Au poil
(Just right) Book not yet available in English
Summary:
Omé, 15 y. o., is finishing middle school and preparing to take her exams. She is studying Molière’s Les Précieuses Ridicules, a play that echoes the themes of the novel.
Her mother insists on taking her to the beautician for a first waxing appointment.
She is faced with the choice of enduring an experience which she does not want to live, or accepting her body hair in front of her classmates.
Edited by: Université Sorbonne Paris Nord
Comment:
The book is well written and encourages readers to question social norms imposed on teenage girls and women (as well as teenage boys, although this is not the main theme).
The story may sometimes seem to exaggerate certain traits (such as the parental demands) or downplay certain aspects (for example the onset of bullying at school, which is quickly hushed up), but it remains entirely credible.
It encourages reflection on the realm of intimacy and choices concerning one’s body appareance. Social norms are not absolute and can be challenged with willpower, a strong personality, but also with lightheartedness.