Let Down Your Hair

A first introduction into the YA fiction realm and Bryony is throwing off the deep end, not starting with something more straightforward, but trying to tackle social media and alopecia through a beloved fairy tale. Worst of all, however, she is writing about a teenager! I know, the horror is unimaginable.

Repunzel is leant into as when we view Barb she tells us how she hasn't been to school or seen her friends in months. And instead of moving the 'captured up in a castle' into a more emotional journey, rather than the physical o ne that happened in the fairy tale, we are told that she is trapped in a modern tower and it is still for her hair that is the cause of them wanting her. Although it is more the marketing side, and the social media side that they want her for, rather than the more recent adaptation where it had healing powers or the original where her father offered her in exchange for forgiveness over stealing (the adaptation really was Disneyfied compared to the original).

From the descriptions, I can tell how much she is being affected by not being able to live her normal life. When I first read the blurb from this book I assumed her being lonely would be a bit exaggerated. But judging by the fact that it seems like she is actually just reduced to a content-making machine, and can do nothing else, I don't feel that way at all anymore. Barb is living with her aunt, who is the one who wants her to continue her content creation, comes up with all the ideas, videos and posts, she has to create for the day and has invested a lot in her. It adds another element as now it isn't some stranger who is basically forcing her to continue posting content, it is someone who is supposed to care about her who can't even see that she is wallowing in misery because she is being forced to create this content. Anyone who is forced to do something they don't really want to do would hate it, but when applied to a situation like this where she hasn't had that normal teenage experience, and she hasn't been able to explore herself (because she hasn't really seen what the norm for people is a lot, and she doesn't know if she wants to fall in and make up the majority or go against the majority). This isolation is especially prevalent because her friends don't know about her struggles but do know that she doesn't hang out with them anymore so they, correctly based on the knowledge they have, assume she is stuck up. If they knew what was actually happening then they wouldn't be saying that but they don't so I don't blame them for assuming the worst. This is especially important as most people will assume that content creation online is a dream job that everyone wants, and while it is true that a large majority would love to have it, you cannot always assume that another person wants what you do, and would be happy when you would be.

Judging by the tone of the story there is going to be some kind of reconciliation between them later on in the book when she is allowed to finally explain herself, which is going to be satisfying and nice especially since Jess is a friend from her childhood.

When she actually starts recording a video and then notices the bald stop that we all knew she was going to find (unless you didn't read the back of the book for some reason, in which case you're brave) it doesn't feel like how a normal teenager would react to something like that. It is like she instantly knows, even if she doesn't know it consciously, that this is going to be a way for her to break from her aunt's control and regain her life. It is the key to unchain yourself and escape the kidnapper, the gun to apprehend the burglar, it is the main action we are going to have to focus on in the book because I think most of the interesting parts are going to be based on the growth of Barb on her journey to rid herself of the constant pressure to post on social media.

We are then sent 6 months back and can then get more context over how things became like this. Things like her leaving school after doing her GCSEs and how she wanted to and assumed it was going to be a better life than the one at school. One of the reasons for that is that her relationship with Jess soured before she left school. We aren't really given much insight into why this happened but there are some things to pick up on, namely that Barb acts kind of arrogantly. I had thought that they had both been assuming, wrongly, that she was stuck up, but after listening to some of her inner thoughts (or the actions that have come from those inner thoughts moreso) it is easy to see why they would think that. Inside she is nervous but on the outside, she tries to protect herself from those feelings by projecting a NGAF attitude, and thinking that the grass is greener on the other side, when we know it isn't now.

I had predicted their reunion, Barb and Jess, but after seeing the kind of treatment she was receiving from her and Serena I'm unsure if I actually want them to have a relationship anymore. It seems like the hatred runs deep for some reason, and that she actually holds a lot of disdain towards Barb. An additional internal conflict is brought forth by the fact that Barb's aunt said that the doctors and nurses got distracted by her hair when she was born and didn't notice her mother dying until it was too late.

Sorcha is pretty obviously vicariously living through Barb. She is getting her to do things that only appeal to her and that Barb has no clue about such as getting her an appointment with a woman called Anna G who Sorcha seems to look up to. What is more, is that Sorcha also doesn't really know what she is doing and is a complete novice at everything brand-management based. This is accentuated by them going to visit a brand that Sorcha set up an appointment with, but knowing nothing about what their building looked like, or what their values were, which led to a bit of embarrassment.

Barb is also experiencing that overwhelmed anxiety as she is thrown into the world of fame, celebrities and fakeness without being told that the fame comes with a lot of hate, celebrities come with a lot of things being made up for the cameras, and the fakeness with people not sticking to what they said in public once they're in private. She even asked her aunt, who had the nerve to complain about Anna G only caring about Barb's hair, to come along with her to help with her anxiety but she refused. Barb goes through joining a creator house once one of the members gets kicked out over cocaine use, only to be kicked out herself once that member escapes the rehab facility and she then has to move in with her aunt.

Through this, she does have one friend, named Zel who is blind and has been the only celebrity she has met so far that is kind to her and thought of their interactions as more than just a business relationship, or something to move them further in their career. It is nice that Bryony isn't one of those people who just says, 'Social Media Bad' and then leaves it at that as there is nuance to it and not everything you see on social media is fake. (I think I did finally find out why I was instantly drawn to Jess and wanted her to make up with Barb. It is because she is a Chelsea fan. A woman after my own heart. Still hate her though).

The reason for her calm ability to deal with the fact that she is losing hair is that she thinks it is something she deserves. She believes she killed her mother, ruined her aunt's life and betrayed Jess. She believes it all to be true (it definitely isn't) and so once her hair starts falling it is as if she is finally receiving all the bad things that she thought should have happened to her earlier. She calls the doctor, who does think it is alopecia but specifically mentions stress as one of the main causes. When her aunt finds out instead of comforting her she asks Barb, 'why are you ruining my life?!' as if it was a choice, and that she, 'Isn't going to get away with it' whatever that means. I can't imagine how horrible it would be to have so many things going on at the same time, so many horrible things you blame yourself for and having all the adults, and people your age blame and bully you for everything, as if you aren't already doing that to yourself. They're only perpetuating her thoughts and making them worse, which is the exact opposite of what they should be doing, especially at her age.

It was a bit cliche having all the people who were helpful towards her being different from the norm. Zel being blind, and Amy (someone who deals with hair and ends up telling her how it actually is by planting the seed that maybe the people around her focusing on her hair so much is what has made her put too much value into that as her only identity and that she isn't the cause of all the misfortune that happens to the people around her like she thinks she is) who had a lot of plastic surgery done. But it worked at breaking down the final barrier that she had put up which is why I don't really mind it.

We then finally, finally get the reveal of what caused Jess and Barb to stop being friends. They were going to create a YouTube channel together but because of their ages, they needed permission from their guardians. Jess's dad had allowed her to, but when Barb asked Sorcha she basically ranted about how Jess is nothing and that the channel she was going to create was going to be done without Jess and managed by Sorcha. But what was hidden behind this, and had been hinted at in a previous scene where after the month-long break she only had one person message her and it is someone who had the same picture up on their account as the one of her mother which is when we learn that her mother isn't dead but gave her up because of drugs. It was obviously something that hit close to home with Jess so the only thing she could think is that Barb was lying to her to get close to her or gain sympathy points or something like that, which even her father wasn't suspecting but she was hurt. Doesn't excuse her actions though.

I thought the reunion between Jess and Barb was a bit rushed, and it felt like there could have been more apologising Jess's side and reluctance to accept from Barb's side. It felt like she got off relatively easy for the things she did, no matter the motive. The Serena thing being left unfinished is fine as she really only was there to show how much Barb grew throughout the book. The rest being left unfinished is completely fine as we know the most important parts. That being Barb and Jess have made up, her mother supports her (shown by her smiling as she finishes her story and goes to cut the rest of her hair off), Zel is still as kind as ever and the most important thing is that Barb's mindset is completely different and we know that she isn't going to fall into the same traps that she did before.

There were a few problems I had with this book, such as inconsistent dialogue with Barb saying things that sounded completely out of character based on everything that we know about her and then reverting right back to that previous self right after. There was also the part which I mentioned literally just before about how Jess and Barb resolved their relationship too quickly. It just feels like a recipe for disaster and something that is going to ruin their relationship at a later date because they never fully resolved the grievances between them but other than that I thought that it was solid and although there were definitely some cliches, the overall message was lovely and the actual execution of putting that message into a story without it feeling like it was forced. It felt like the story was written and then the message was lovingly woven into the already good on its own storyline.

8.3/10