Unashamed

August 9, 2019

Vernon is a plus-size model, style blogger, and activist. Much of her authorial debut recounts family and relationship drama, focusing on down-and-dirty narratives of arguments, physical fights, and abuse. Vernon is more reflective and analytical in the final section, addressing plus-size modeling, modesty, and wearing (or not wearing) hijab, striving for perfection, sexism and colorism in Muslim communities, and social media trials and tribulations. Confrontational, fierce, and frequently crude, the author openly addresses the prejudices she's faced as a fat, black, Muslim woman, and her mental health struggles. However, she seems to fail to recognize that she falls into some of the same biases she condemns in others. For example, Vernon worries that men aren't attracted to her because she's fat while simultaneously saying she won't date men who are too short. VERDICT Primarily recommended for Vernon's existing fan base, this candid memoir will also be of interest for those who have experienced emotional, physical, or sexual violence, and who are seeking forceful encouragement toward self-empowerment and self-expression.--Monica Howell, Northwestern Health Sciences Univ. Lib., Bloomington, MN

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2019
Detroit-based model, blogger, and activist Vernon describes life caught between the societal boxes of white and Islamic cultures. Narrating the story of her life, the author takes aim at the societal vitriol directed at those living in fat, black, and Muslim bodies. "Deciding, really deciding, to unapologetically wear my hijab for me has been the most freeing and rebellious and feminist thing I could possibly do," she writes. In a brash, slang-heavy text, Vernon--whose work has appeared in Elle, Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and the New York Times, among other publications--speaks to experiences often concealed within her communities, including mental illness, divorce, abortion, domestic violence, child sexual abuse, and body-shaming. "Self-worth was a roller coaster," she writes, "and mine was usually attached to what I could and couldn't fit into." Though these traumas have deeply impacted the trajectory of Vernon's life, she takes care to enthusiastically portray her triumphs: her escape from a dysfunctional marriage, her personal flourishing as she embarked on a plus-size modeling career, and the creation of her semiviral video, "Muslim Girl Dance." Vernon's narration reads like an intimate heart-to-heart chat with a friend; while her off-the-cuff riffing is infectious, the storytelling occasionally rambles. Readers may balk at the author's apparent disdain for incarcerated people and women who have casual sex, and not everyone will understand the hard-won wisdom behind "Angry Black Bitch," Vernon's inner persona that turned racist, sexist, and fat-phobic aggression into the courage "[t]o step out of my comfort zone and fuckin' live a little." However, those looking for an imperfect hero of her own story, "with [her] own opinions and skewed outlooks and quirks," will find this a quick, cheeky read, and her message is solid. "We are all humans with complexities," she writes. "We are equal. We are fucked up. But we are beautiful and interesting and knowledgeable." Irreverent, vulnerable, and unapologetic in every sense.

COPYRIGHT(2019) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2019
Vernon has led an extraordinary life. The daughter of a highly dysfunctional mother and a negligent father, she has negotiated, from an early age, the conflicting expectations of being African American, fat, female, and Muslim. Refusing to let any of these factors define or limit her ambitions, Vernon has carved out a career as a fashion blogger and model, succeeding in an industry that typically defines beauty as thin and white. With disarming (and occasionally disturbing) candor, Vernon recounts her struggles with sexism, Islamophobia, and racism in the U.S., the fashion world, and the Muslim community, reserving much of her frustration for the fat-shaming culture which permeates all three. Vernon's determined advocacy for body positivity as a feminist and mental health issue, and her painful journey to self-acceptance, are moving and powerful, forcing readers to examine their own preconceptions about beauty standards and health.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)