The Feminist Agenda of Jemima Kincaid

December 15, 2019
A determined high school senior takes on her elite prep school's patriarchal traditions. In Hattemer's (Here Comes Trouble, 2018, etc.) spirited coming-of-age story, senior Jemima Kincaid is ready to be through with high school. Just seven weeks from graduation, the self-assured narrator has had it with the decades' old sexist conventions of Chawton, her Northern Virginia private school, whose history is steeped in "Old White Dudes running shit." As one of the class leaders, Jemima is expected not only to partake in Chawton's historic end-of-year celebrations like prom and Powderpuff--the all-female flag football contest--but help plan and perpetuate them. Nerdy, sassy, and passionate in her beliefs, Jemima is also conscious about being (like many of her peers) straight, white, and wealthy. A catalyst for Jemima's growth is her best friend, working-class scholarship student Jiyoon Kim; her honesty heightens Jemima's awareness around race, privilege, and internalized misogyny. Jemima also learns from her gay older brother, who describes his journey in overcoming internalized homophobia. When Jemima's best-laid plans to rock Chawton's patriarchal boat get hilariously shipwrecked, she's forced to reckon in a thoughtful, incredibly compelling way with the consequences of acting on one's convictions. Unfortunately, Jiyoon, who is described generically as Asian American, is a two-dimensional prop for Jemima's character arc; references to her Asian identity lack emotional resonance and cultural texture.Introspective in its exploration of budding sexuality and ethics; marred only by missteps in representations of diversity. (Fiction. 14-18)

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December 23, 2019
Jemima Kincaid—“white. And straight. And wealthy”—sees the world through a feminist lens: prom at Chawton, her fancy private high school, is a heteronormativity fest, and she finds the annual Powderpuff football game problematic. Jemima’s a member of the Senior Triumvirate, the three students who run school government, and she has a great idea: turn the senior prom into a “Last Chance Dance,” where people submit their choices for a date and are matched when the picks overlap. What could go wrong? Plenty, of course, given all the other factors in play. Jemima has a crush on the Triumvirate Chair, “golden-haired and broad-backed” big man on campus Andy; elections are coming up, and the only candidates for Chair are Andy’s lunkhead brother and last-minute candidate Jiyoon, Jemima’s best friend. “Asian American” Jiyoon comes from a working-class background, and she’s mad that Jemina is blind to the idea that someone like her could have that much power at Chawton. Hattemer (Here Comes Trouble) hits timely notes: Jemima is a loud-and-proud feminist, but what does her white privilege blind her to? When she judges the way other girls dress, is she noting unfair body and dress standards, or is she slut shaming? And where does sex and attraction fit in? Jemima finds out that nothing—relationships, feminism, school power arrangements, not even the tried-and-true binary of virginity—is as simple as she thought, and readers will find her journey into ambiguity enjoyable and thought-provoking. Ages 14–up.

January 1, 2020

Gr 9 Up-Jemima Kincaid has been a feminist since before it was cool. As the academic third of her ritzy private school's Senior Triumvirate-along with golden boy and student-elected Chairman, Andy, and perfectly blonde it-girl and Social Committee President, Gennifer-she has some progressive ideas to update her once-male-only school's patriarchal traditions to ones befitting this millennium, starting with prom. In order to take the heteronormative male-dominance of Promposals out of the equation, she suggests a Last Chance Dance and having all juniors and seniors enter their desired dates into an online program that would alert all mutual matches. When the site is hacked and all students' picks go public, save the Triumvirates', not only does Jemima stand accused of the leak, but it's also up to her to find and expose the true culprit in order to help her best friend Jinyoo Kim in her bid for next year's Chairman position, lead her powder puff team to victory, fight the good fight while working out the kinks in her own feminism, and figure out if the hidden romance between her and Andy is more than skin deep. Filled with all the drama, depth, confusion, and comedy expected of high school, Hattemer's novel is a graduate in every sense. Through the self-aware privilege of an elite student experience, readers will find something to cheer about and learn from. VERDICT Much like feminism in practice, this book isn't perfect, but it's filled with determination and hope that will find a place on most shelves for older teen readers.-Brittany Drehobl, Morton Grove Public Library, IL

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2020
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Jemima Kincaid supports women ferociously?so what if there aren't that many actual girls that she can stand? Chawton, her private school, coeducational now but historically all-male, is filled with traditions that, for Jemima, range from annoying to downright outrageous. But as a member of the elite Senior Triumvirate (she's the "nerd" pick), she's involved in them whether she wants to be or not. Alongside Gennifer (popular, perfectly groomed, gets things done) and Andy (popular, athletic, universally adored even when he's being annoying), Jemima's responsible for putting together events like the powderpuff football game (sexist) and, worse, prom. Not content to host a traditional event where girls wait around to be asked, Jemima pitches a Last Chance Dance: everyone submits a list of their crushes, and they're matched up with potential partners. Jemima, so focused on the big picture, still often loses herself among details. As her best friend, Jiyoon, a year younger and deeply concerned about the Triumvirate selections for the next year, loses patience with Jemima's not-especially-inclusive brand of feminism, Jemima becomes distracted by a hookup with a guy she's both attracted to and disgusted by. Through her fast-paced narrative and lively dialogue, Hattemer (The Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy, 2014) conveys Jemima's growing understanding of (and sometimes resistance to) the nuances, exploring white feminism and internalized misogyny. A clever, insightful, and sharply funny story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2020
Jemima serves with the Senior Triumvirate at her tradition-steeped prep school, and though she's invested in her role, she's also eager to shake up some of the school's more outdated customs. Promposals create a power imbalance, so she devises a dating-app-like system to replace them. A well-connected student is running unopposed for next year's school chairperson position, so she tries to rustle up an opponent. But her failure to notice a perfect (non-white, non-male) candidate, and then a major mishap with the prom date-matching system, lead the self-professed "feminist before it was trendy" Jemima to see some of her own failings. The witty first-person narration's frankness extends from Jemima's thoughts on the people around her ("Everyone qualified as Old and White and Dude") to honest description of sexual encounters ("I hate it when movies fade out...They make you think you'll feel different during the whatevering, like the light will get soft and your sensations will too, but you're still a body, you know?"). Via its flawed protagonist's growth, this entertaining, thoughtful, smash-the-patriarchy comedy sheds light on some of the ways feminism, and feminists, can be complicated.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2020
Jemima serves with the Senior Triumvirate at her tradition-steeped prep school, and though she's invested in her role, she's also eager to shake up some of the school's more outdated customs. Promposals create a power imbalance, so she devises a dating app-like system to replace them. A well-connected student is running unopposed for next year's school chairperson position, so she tries to rustle up an opponent. But her failure to notice a perfect (non-white, non-male) candidate, and then a major mishap with the prom date-matching system, lead the self-professed "feminist before it was trendy" Jemima to see some of her own failings. The witty first-person narration's frankness extends from Jemima's thoughts on the people around her ("Everyone qualified as Old and White and Dude") to honest description of sexual encounters ("I hate it when movies fade out...They make you think you'll feel different during the whatevering, like the light will get soft and your sensations will too, but you're still a body, you know?"). Via its flawed protagonist's growth, this entertaining, thoughtful, smash-the-patriarchy comedy sheds light on some of the ways feminism, and feminists, can be complicated. Shoshana Flax

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)