Lawless Spaces
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-04-19 08:51:49
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Corey Ann Haydu
- ISBN：1534437061
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
This coming-of-age novel in verse follows a teen girl who connects with the women of her maternal line through their journals and comes to better understand her fraught relationship with her mother。
Mimi’s relationship with her mother has always been difficult。 But lately， her mother has been acting more withdrawn than usual， leaving Mimi to navigate the tricky world of turning sixteen alone。 What she doesn’t expect is her mother’s advice to start journaling—just like all the woman in her family before her。 It’s a tradition， she says。 Expected。
But Mimi takes to poetry and with it， a way to write down the realities of growing into a woman， the pains of online bullying， and the new experiences of having a boyfriend。 And all in the shadows of a sexual assault case that is everywhere on the news—a case that seems to specifically rattle her mother。
Trying to understand her place in the world， Mimi dives into the uncovered journals of her grandmother， great-grandmother， and beyond。 She immerses herself in each of their lives， learns of their painful stories and their beautiful sprits。 And as Mimi grows closer to each of these women， she starts to forge her own path。 But it isn’t until her mother’s story comes to light that Mimi learns about the unyielding bonds of family and the relentless spirit of womanhood。
Mimi’s relationship with her mother has always been difficult。 But lately， her mother has been acting more withdrawn than usual， leaving Mimi to navigate the tricky world of turning sixteen alone。 What she doesn’t expect is her mother’s advice to start journaling—just like all the woman in her family before her。 It’s a tradition， she says。 Expected。
But Mimi takes to poetry and with it， a way to write down the realities of growing into a woman， the pains of online bullying， and the new experiences of having a boyfriend。 And all in the shadows of a sexual assault case that is everywhere on the news—a case that seems to specifically rattle her mother。
Trying to understand her place in the world， Mimi dives into the uncovered journals of her grandmother， great-grandmother， and beyond。 She immerses herself in each of their lives， learns of their painful stories and their beautiful sprits。 And as Mimi grows closer to each of these women， she starts to forge her own path。 But it isn’t until her mother’s story comes to light that Mimi learns about the unyielding bonds of family and the relentless spirit of womanhood。
Reviews
Mary
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3。75
Nicole Johnson
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What a powerful book。
Zoe Elizabeth （Booksatlunch）
，
This is a beautiful novel in verse about generational trauma in women。 It deftly showcases how sexual violence against women has looked throughout the last century。 It feels rooted in the me too movement， but not so much that you can't appreciate the story on its own。 The poems are part of the framing of the story。 They carry the story forward while still being poetic and taking creative license。 This is a beautiful novel in verse about generational trauma in women。 It deftly showcases how sexual violence against women has looked throughout the last century。 It feels rooted in the me too movement， but not so much that you can't appreciate the story on its own。 The poems are part of the framing of the story。 They carry the story forward while still being poetic and taking creative license。 。。。more
Lisa Watson
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Beautiful and tragic novel in verse。 I found it hugely relatable and think it's well worth a read for everyone of an age to appreciate the topics featured within （sexual violence， social media， women coming of age） Beautiful and tragic novel in verse。 I found it hugely relatable and think it's well worth a read for everyone of an age to appreciate the topics featured within （sexual violence， social media， women coming of age） 。。。more
Hoover Public Library Kids and Teens
，
This novel in verse follows a teen girl who connects with the women of her maternal line through the journals they kept their 16th year 。 。 。 even her mother。
Kelsey
，
My goodness！ I loved this story， though things about it were difficult to read。 It deals with generations of women in a particular family who have the sort of look that gets attention - attention the women didn't ask for in bodies they didn't choose。 Haydu traces the experiences of the women from teenaged Mimi in 2022， who had pictures of herself posted online without her permission， all the way back to the exploitation of a silent film star （though her story is brief）。 Are women more than their My goodness！ I loved this story， though things about it were difficult to read。 It deals with generations of women in a particular family who have the sort of look that gets attention - attention the women didn't ask for in bodies they didn't choose。 Haydu traces the experiences of the women from teenaged Mimi in 2022， who had pictures of herself posted online without her permission， all the way back to the exploitation of a silent film star （though her story is brief）。 Are women more than their bodies？ Of course， but perhaps we don't do a good enough job of teaching them that。 This is a novel in verse and the writing is sparse and powerful。 I can't adequately express how moving I found this story and how glad I am it is in the world。 As a side note， I'm glad that authors/publishers have been putting content warnings in the beginnings of books lately （perhaps longer， but I've noticed it recently）。 It's not， at all， for censorship purposes， but to say to readers， "Taking care of yourself is the most important thing and it's okay to put this book down if reading it is doing more harm than good。" AND I'm glad that they include resources for getting help。 Lawless Spaces deals with sexual trauma， sexual assault， sexual harassment， and generational trauma。 。。。more
HaileyAnne
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Content warning: sexual assaultIt's a tradition that the women in Mimi's family start writing in diaries when they turn sixteen。 But when Mimi turns sixteen， she begins reading her ancestor's diaries and uncovers the history of sexual assault the women in her family have faced。 This was not an easy read， but it was so beautiful and powerful。 Content warning: sexual assaultIt's a tradition that the women in Mimi's family start writing in diaries when they turn sixteen。 But when Mimi turns sixteen， she begins reading her ancestor's diaries and uncovers the history of sexual assault the women in her family have faced。 This was not an easy read， but it was so beautiful and powerful。 。。。more
LS Johnson
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Tragic， eye-opening， vital， powerful and necessary。
Steph
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 If your soul needed:❣️Fighting Words by @kimbbbradley❣️How to Be a Girl in the World by @CaelaCarter❣️Maybe He Just Likes You by @Barbaradee2then grab Lawless Spaces by @CoreyAnnHaydu。 It’s delicate but brave; full of resilience， hope， & strength。 A gorgeous novel in verse。- - - - -“There are maybe a thousand words under those words。”“There are sad girls everywhere， if you think about it。”“So I quiet on the outside but nothing inside me will ever be quiet again。”“Maybe we’ll know for sure what t If your soul needed:❣️Fighting Words by @kimbbbradley❣️How to Be a Girl in the World by @CaelaCarter❣️Maybe He Just Likes You by @Barbaradee2then grab Lawless Spaces by @CoreyAnnHaydu。 It’s delicate but brave; full of resilience， hope， & strength。 A gorgeous novel in verse。- - - - -“There are maybe a thousand words under those words。”“There are sad girls everywhere， if you think about it。”“So I quiet on the outside but nothing inside me will ever be quiet again。”“Maybe we’ll know for sure what this all is and means in fifty years or a hundred。 Maybe it doesn’t matter until we know what it leads to， or maybeitmattersall on its own。”“One thing I am learning right nowin this atticis that memories can be really very loud。” 。。。more
Jendimmick
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Book in verse selected by student book club。 Well crafted and moving， the verse format adds to its potency and helps counterbalance the heavy content of sexual trauma and #metoo。 Heed trigger warnings before reading。 Ms Dimmick
JanieH
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I sincerely could not put it down once I started and spent an entire Sunday reading it from cover to cover。 It is now several days later and I am still processing this book。 Generational trauma is at the core of this novel in verse and it is definitely meant for an older YA audience and， to me， is an adult crossover。 The writing is exquisite。。。 really， really wonderful （yes， I am gushing）。 Please go read the review by Alexa Blart as she says what I want to say 。。。。 https://www。goodreads。com/revi I sincerely could not put it down once I started and spent an entire Sunday reading it from cover to cover。 It is now several days later and I am still processing this book。 Generational trauma is at the core of this novel in verse and it is definitely meant for an older YA audience and， to me， is an adult crossover。 The writing is exquisite。。。 really， really wonderful （yes， I am gushing）。 Please go read the review by Alexa Blart as she says what I want to say 。。。。 https://www。goodreads。com/review/show。。。Oh， and please do take heed of the content warning as this book does touch on a lot of very difficult topics。 。。。more
Jessica Brown
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Beautiful and heartbreaking and so very real。 A must read for young women and their mothers， for men to understand what’s it like to live in this world as women， for anyone trying to understand how social media is used by young people and how it’s not really all that different from who we always have been。 A powerful story beautifully written。
Jade Gustafson
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Oh。 My。 Goodness。 I picked up this book at Barnes & Noble and couldn’t stop reading it。 So of course it came home with me and I’m so glad it did。 I am OBSESSED but also so sad and heartbroken by this book。 It was hard to read。 It was painful。 But it was also beautiful and true。 Unfortunately true， for so many women who have stories to tell…and don’t。 Please please please read this book。 It’s one of my new favorites。
Jenny Wirtz
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Written in verse， this portrays generations of women in the same family who encounter sexual trauma in different ways。 Our main character is modern day Mimi。 Mimi’s family has a tradition。 For generations at age 16 the women in her family are given a journal and told by their mother to use it to record their story。 So now Mimi at age 16 is starting her journal。 She is also in possession of all the journals of the women before her。 Feeling distant and disconnected from her mom， Mimi uses her jour Written in verse， this portrays generations of women in the same family who encounter sexual trauma in different ways。 Our main character is modern day Mimi。 Mimi’s family has a tradition。 For generations at age 16 the women in her family are given a journal and told by their mother to use it to record their story。 So now Mimi at age 16 is starting her journal。 She is also in possession of all the journals of the women before her。 Feeling distant and disconnected from her mom， Mimi uses her journal to try and understand what happened in her mom’s past。 Mimi’s mother， Tiffany， who was an actress has just accused a producer from her past of sexual misconduct。 Mimi also learns about her great grandma Betty who had to give her first child up for adoption because she was a teenage unwed mother。 Moving back and forth between the generations the topic of sexual assault and trauma is portrayed in relation to the culture at the time。 Mimi has her own experience with a picture that was posted online of her in a compromising pose。 The author gives a trigger warning at the beginning of the book。 There is no part where the abuse is descriptive or graphic。 This is a very tasteful depiction of a tough topic。 。。。more
Aly Peeler
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Content warning for sexual assault; misogyny， rape culture， and victim blaming; generational trauma; emotional abuse; forced adoption; war; Covid-19
Alexa Blart， Library Cop
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I picked this up on a whim Monday at work and read all nearly-500 pages of it in twenty-four hours。 I always tend to rip and tear my way through novels in verse like this， but oof， this was so incredibly powerful in a really deeply rattling way。 Through a series of poems—which are presented as being part of a family tradition of giving daughters journals on their sixteenth birthdays—it delves deep into the generational trauma that stems from being female in a deeply sexist world， starting with t I picked this up on a whim Monday at work and read all nearly-500 pages of it in twenty-four hours。 I always tend to rip and tear my way through novels in verse like this， but oof， this was so incredibly powerful in a really deeply rattling way。 Through a series of poems—which are presented as being part of a family tradition of giving daughters journals on their sixteenth birthdays—it delves deep into the generational trauma that stems from being female in a deeply sexist world， starting with the protagonist's great-grandmother and trickling all the way down to the present day where not only is the world still not safe for girls， but the trauma of having to live in that world has dramatically and badly affected the way mothers and daughters relate to one another。 Profoundly moving and， by the end， triumphant。 Never been so delighted with an impulse read in my life。Side note: this book is set in 2022， and let me tell you， it was a trip and a half to read a work of fiction where characters keep referring in the past tense to "the virus" and "oh remember quarantine wasn't that terrible。" I don't know why people in books making mention of the pandemic makes it more uncomfortably real than， you know， actually LIVING in it for the past two years has been， but it does。 。。。more
Elle
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This was powerful， poetic， lyrical at times， and so incredibly necessary。
Sara Zarr
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Powerful， multigenerational novel in verse for older YAs and adults。
Karen Arendt
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Beautifully written and powerful。
Kip
，
Loved this feminist， #MeToo verse novel， especially the voices of other 16-year-olds in Mimi's family going back almost a hundred years。 My 14-year-old inhaled this book。 She loved it。 Loved this feminist， #MeToo verse novel， especially the voices of other 16-year-olds in Mimi's family going back almost a hundred years。 My 14-year-old inhaled this book。 She loved it。 。。。more
Caitie
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Content Warnings: Sexual assault， slut shaming， tense mother/daughter relationships， past trauma。This is an important book for teens and adults to read because it covers important topics that women deal with today。 I think the fact that it was in verse makes it more powerful in my opinion。 We follow a girl named Mimi who gets a journal （or notebook or whatever） for her 16th birthday from her mom， who says that it's a family tradition in their family to give the women a journal on their sixteenth Content Warnings: Sexual assault， slut shaming， tense mother/daughter relationships， past trauma。This is an important book for teens and adults to read because it covers important topics that women deal with today。 I think the fact that it was in verse makes it more powerful in my opinion。 We follow a girl named Mimi who gets a journal （or notebook or whatever） for her 16th birthday from her mom， who says that it's a family tradition in their family to give the women a journal on their sixteenth birthdays。 Mimi begins her own journal with poetry， but she soon finds her mother's， grandmother's and even her great-grandmother's journals in the attic and begins to read them。 Through their eyes， Mimi learns about how trauma can get passed down through the generations。 I recommend this book。 。。。more
Tara
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A beautifully written #metoo story in verse。
Em Ann ♡︎♡︎♡︎ - theglitterybookworm_
，
why am i always in the minority :’）
Emma W
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[out of format] "Are our sixteen birthdays this way because of our mothers and their sixteenth birthdays， a sort of generational curse or tradition more powerful than the notebooks？" This poem like story covers the generational trauma the maternal side of the family experinces when it comes to SA and being a women during any time period。 It was such a powerful read that was inperfect in characters but laid a societal groundwork for the common cycle of trauma。 This book sucked me in from start to [out of format] "Are our sixteen birthdays this way because of our mothers and their sixteenth birthdays， a sort of generational curse or tradition more powerful than the notebooks？" This poem like story covers the generational trauma the maternal side of the family experinces when it comes to SA and being a women during any time period。 It was such a powerful read that was inperfect in characters but laid a societal groundwork for the common cycle of trauma。 This book sucked me in from start to finish and even though it covers heavy topics [sexual assault as the highest thing to watch out for] it is done well and in a down to earth manner。 [out of format] "What I want to know is if this body passed down through generations， means a certain fate， a wat things have to go。 Because that's kind if how it seems。 [。。。] We got a body that somehow belongs to everyone else， a body that gives permission， a body that asks to be mistreated。" 。。。more
Michaela Bennett
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I don’t have the words to describe how beautifully this was written while tackling generational trauma， myths of sexual violence， and the aftermath of sexual harassment and sexual violence。 So instead， here are two quotes that deeply resonated with me。 “We should get to be people roaming the world， making new mistakes， having new triumphs， and we should not have to be girls in photos anymore。” （P。 406）“‘What if we decide what these words mean？’” （P。 436）And in the immortal words of Taylor Swift: I don’t have the words to describe how beautifully this was written while tackling generational trauma， myths of sexual violence， and the aftermath of sexual harassment and sexual violence。 So instead， here are two quotes that deeply resonated with me。 “We should get to be people roaming the world， making new mistakes， having new triumphs， and we should not have to be girls in photos anymore。” （P。 406）“‘What if we decide what these words mean？’” （P。 436）And in the immortal words of Taylor Swift: “I’ve come too far to watch some name-dropping sleaze tell me what are my words worth。” —The Lakes 。。。more
Sarah H
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Men are trash。
Laurie
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Ambitious， heartbreaking， beautiful， and bold。 I couldn’t put this down， have never read anything like it， and will be thinking about it for a long time。
Brittany Nyhus
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This was a hard story to read。 I definitely think it's high school and up， but the messages it contained were powerful。 This was a hard story to read。 I definitely think it's high school and up， but the messages it contained were powerful。 。。。more
Andrew Eder
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Great！！ Quick read， took me less than a day。 I really enjoyed （weird way to say） the generational trauma throughout the book and how each character had the same problems and challenges。 Regardless of the time period， the problems were always dealt the same way。 The ending was good and long time coming， but felt a bit rushed of going from unresolved trauma to sudden realization。 But maybe that’s how trauma can work sometimes and you can go from 0-60 that fast！
Jack Reynolds
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Haydu did an excellent job for her first YA verse novel and continues to be one of my favorite writers。 Lawless Spaces stars an engaging protagonist who discovers the angst and separation she feels from her mom isn't just in her life。 The visceral emotion depicted here made me want to keep reading。 The parallels between Mimi， her mother Tiffany， her grandmother Wendy， and her great-great grandmother， Betty， were well-constructed。 I was even surprised by one poem that tied everything together。Lik Haydu did an excellent job for her first YA verse novel and continues to be one of my favorite writers。 Lawless Spaces stars an engaging protagonist who discovers the angst and separation she feels from her mom isn't just in her life。 The visceral emotion depicted here made me want to keep reading。 The parallels between Mimi， her mother Tiffany， her grandmother Wendy， and her great-great grandmother， Betty， were well-constructed。 I was even surprised by one poem that tied everything together。Like with Haydu's last book from Simon & Schuster， the pacing wasn't perfect， especially with the romantic subplot。 I liked how Clinton saw beyond Mimi's online persona， but it sparked quickly and then fizzled out for much of the back half until the very end。 Some of the realizations also lacked build-up （although like with Ever Cursed， seeing how subplots peaked was exciting）。 However， this doesn't ignore the fact Lawless Spaces is an important and timely novel。 I recommend it for Haydu's fanbase and YA verse and prose readers alike。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Lawless Spaces
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Lawless Spaces&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Lawless Spaces&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0