The Blue Dress

by Rebecca Morrison

For fans of Jasmine Warga and Starfish, an Iranian American girl navigates complicated relationships with her mother, her best friend, and her body image in this unflinching and ultimately uplifting middle-grade debut.

Sometimes Yasmin feels like her body isn’t hers. And it’s not just because puberty has mounted a full-on alien invasion, or that emigrating from Iran a year-and-a-half ago has meant one change after another. It’s also because her mother constantly pushes her to lose weight, like sewing Yasmin a beautiful blue dress for Persian New Year that is too tight on purpose.

At school, it doesn’t help that Yasmin’s best friend, Carmen, is petite and close to her own mother, or that popular-girl Zoe always has a mean comment to spare. Yasmin is sure her crush, Jack, won’t ever like her the way she is, either.

With the pressure to fit in closing in on all sides, Yasmin starts taking desperate measures. But if being thin is supposed to make her happier, then why does losing weight feel like losing parts of herself, too?

From debut author Rebecca Morrison comes The Blue Dress, a heart-rending, funny, and hopeful book inspired by her own life, relatable to anyone who has ever needed to break away from someone else’s vision of how they should look in order to embrace their true self.

Genres: Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction

272 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication March 24, 2026

Reviews

[bookstosoothethesoul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Damn I do not have the words to describe how good this book was. It made me cry in an airport terminal because the author's raw portrayal of disordered eating, critical mothers, and immigrant discrimination was so palpable. Puberty is already such a difficult time but being different in any way (in this case not white and not skinny) exacerbates all the natural self-consciousness that crops up during this developmental stage. Yasmin's need to please her mother was deeply relatable. Her worries that she was "too hairy" were so painful to read about as well as her struggle to reconcile her love for Iran with the reason why her family left. This book was so raw but I adored every second of it. It is going to stick with me for a while.

Thanks to the publisher for the eARC!

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you write a semi-autobiographical book, you tear your heart out and place it for the world to see, but sometimes that is the best way to get your story across. In this debut novel, the author takes a bit of her own adolescence and combines it into this fictional middle grade story of a girl trying to please her mother by losing weight.

Yasmin has gained weight since reaching puberty, and her mother, who was mocked for being too fat, and starved herself as a young woman, in Iran, doesn’t want to have this happen to her daughter. She must be thin, and beautiful, so she can have the same happy life that she has had. Yasmin doesn’t know any of this, just that her mother is happiest when she loses weight, and she wants to please her mother.

The blue dress, that this book is named for, is a dress that her mother sewed for Yasmin, but purposely made a size to small to encourage her to lose weight. It is the most beautiful dress that Yasmin has ever seen, but she simply can’t lose enough weight to fit into it, no matter how hard she tries. She skips meals. She throws up if she feels she has eaten too much. And she is miserable. On ttop of that, some white girls are making fun of her unibrow, and her curly hair.

Yasmin thinks if she can be thin and have straight hair, and wear makeup, that she can be like the cool girls, and life will be easier. And you can see this coming a mile away, that that isn't how life works. And the girls she thinks she has made friends with, the cool girls, are still mean to her, in the name of “just joking”, until the jokes hurt too much to be ignored.

This book had me in tears. There are mothers out there that think making their daughters thin will solve all their problems. They do it out of a warped sense of love.

Very down to earth, well written book. You can tell the author went through what her main character did, because it is so true to life, all the way down to hiding snacks under the bed, so that she can eat in private.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is being published the 24th of March 2026.

[Jamie Garity · Rating 5 out of 5]

When the main character moves from Iran to the United States, she faces the challenges of adolescence, cultural identity, and body image all at once. As she begins to gain weight, her mother’s constant pressure to lose it grows unbearable. Finding comfort in her best friend Carmen’s home, she feels seen and safe until her desperate attempts to fit in attracts the attention of the popular girl at school. Suddenly, she’s torn between popularity and true friendship. Along the way, cruel stereotypes about her heritage and painful family secrets force her to confront who she really wants to be.

This was such a good book. Rebecca Morrison captures disordered eating with heartbreaking honesty. The story shines a light on the impossible standards so many young girls face, especially those balancing two cultures. Hearing classmates call her dad a “terrorist” because she’s from Iran was gut-wrenching, yet sadly realistic. When the truth behind her mother’s obsession with weight is revealed, it brings empathy and healing to both characters.

Rebecca Morrison’s writing is vivid and emotionally raw. Her prose isn’t flowery, but it carries a quiet power that is honest, vulnerable, and full of sensory detail. The narrative voice feels deeply personal, as though you’re reading the character’s inner thoughts in real time. The pacing balances introspection with tension, especially during moments when disordered eating and cultural shame intersect. Morrison doesn’t shy away from the uncomfortable, but she handles it with empathy and restraint.

The portrayal of disordered eating is what will stay with me. Morrison captures the obsessive thoughts, secrecy, and exhaustion of it with heartbreaking precision. It’s written in a way that both teens and adults will recognize as truthful and important.

The Blue Dress is an honest and necessary book about growing up between cultures and learning to make peace with your body and your past. It deserves a place in every middle and high school library. The immigrant experience is central — not only through prejudice and stereotypes, but also through the quiet longing to belong without erasing yourself. The conflict between external validation (popularity) and internal peace (self-worth) will resonate with many teen readers.

Thank you to Netgalley and Farrah, Straus and Giroux, Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rebecca Morrison's heartbreaking debut brings all the pain of adolescence and the beauty of finding your support system and your voice. Yasmin is a first generation Iranian-American struggling with all the typical adversity of middle school along with a significantly unhealthy relationship with her mother that leads to a dangerous habit of self-harm and self-loathing. CW/TW for emotional abuse by a parent and graphic on-page ED. The honest depiction of intergenerational trauma and a toxically defensive parent was so upsetting to read, even though I know how common these dynamics are in families of every background. Many readers will identify with the thoughts and feelings Yasmin expresses as she deals with not just the bullies at school but the smiling bully at home telling her that she loves her and at the same time telling her that her love is dependent on Yasmin losing weight. I am so thankful for the inclusion of helpful adults that Yasmin can turn to for help, and for the compassion and love of her best friend even after the inevitable difficulties all 7th graders go through with friends. The ending is hopeful, and young readers can take away that even the worst bullies are usually people who are dealing with their own painful circumstances, and that we can't make their hurtful words into our own self talk. Finding a support system and getting help for mental and physical health concerns is prioritized and encouraged. I'll keep this book and Yasmin's story in my mind to recommend carefully to young readers. E-ARC provided by NetGalley

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 4 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Yasmin Safavi is twelve years old, and her family has moved from Iran to Ashbury Falls, Virginia. It was a difficult transition, but her father loves his engineering job with Boeing, and Yasmin has worked hard to rid herself of her Persian accent. Her mother misses her sisters, but dedicates her time to Yasmin and her younger brother Ali. As Nowruz (Persian New Year) approaches, Yasmin's mother makes her a beautiful dress to wear, but purposefully makes it too tight so that Yasmin will lose weight. She doesn't, and is very frustrated. Her mother frequently makes comments about her weight, and pressures her to eat lunches that include just carrots and a dry turkey sandwich on whole wheat. Yasmin's best friend, Carmen, has a different family dynamic, with a warm and supportive mother who offers Yasmin hugs as well as delicious meals. School is also stressful, since popular girl Zoe and her minions Olivia and Hannah constantly berate Yasmin for her curly hair and bushy eyebrows. Yasmin has a crush on the popular Jack, who seems to return her attention, perhaps because he is also the target of some of Zoe's comments, especially about his love of Dungeons and Dragons. Yasmin's mother is so overbearing that she often buys packs of Oreos at the neighborhood CVS and eats them in secret; after one such snack food binge, she makes herself throw up. She also starts skipping dinner, with her mother's approval, although her father frequently voices concerns. Seeing Zoe crying in the bathroom, Yasmin offers support, and finds out that Zoe's busy parents are always fighting. The two bond, and Yasmin realizes Zoe isn't all bad, but her relationship causes problems with Carmen. It doesn't help that Yasmin is straightening her hair, plucking her eyebrows, attempting to wear makeup, and spending ridiculous amounts of money on a Lululemon jacket. On a class trip to a museum, classmate Peyton is verbally abusive, calling Yasmin a terrorist and saying that Iranians "hate Americans". No one stands up for her. When Yasmin makes herself throw up at Carmen's house after the two reconcile, Carmen tells a teacher at school, who makes Yasmin talk to a school counselor. The counselor in turn alerts her parents, has them meet, and recommends a therapist who specializes in eating disorders. Yasmin's mother balks, because she has been pleased with Yasmin's weight loss and claims that the family can handle the issue themselves, but the father overrides her and Yasmin gets help. Unspoken details about the mother's family dynamics with her brother are revealed, and the family works to help Yasmin. At a end of year party, Jack asks Yasmin if they can play chess over the summer, and says he is glad to see her return to wearing her hair curly.
Strengths: It's been a while since I've seen a middle grade book about eating disorders; Willis's 2023 graphic novel Smaller Sister might be the most recent. This is a topic of constant concern, and one where updated information is critical. The fact that this book was able to intertwine eating disorders with cultural identity, friend drama, and even a little light romance makes it one that will appeal to many readers. Because eating disorders are usually connected to problems with family dynamics, they are especially difficult, and the mother's backstory and the father's support of Yasmin are well portrayed. The best part of the book was Carmen telling her trusted art teacher about Yasmin's problems, and the swift response from the school support system. While it might not always happen this way in real life, I do like to see best practices used in fiction!
Weaknesses: Yasmin's mother advises Carmen that she can buy patterns at Jo-Ann Fabrics. Sadly, Jo-Ann's closed down in May of 2025. I still haven't recovered. It would have been helpful to have a list of resources for getting help with eating disorders at the back of the book; perhaps the finished version will include these. My students may be a bit confused about Yasmin's wearing of dresses (and from Talbot's?) since all they seem to wear are pajama pants and hoodies, but this is most likely a function of the differences between Iranian and US cultural expectations.
What I really think: It's essential to update middle grade eating disorder books, as treatments and societal norms change. If you still have Levenkron's 1979 The Best Little Girl in the World on your shelves, please weed it. I just deaccessioned Lytton's 2009 Jane in Bloom and may need to reread Anderson's Wintergirls from the same year. Replace these aged titles with The Blue Dress, Toalsen's The Unforgettable Leta "Lightning" Laurel (2025), Dee's Everything I Know About You (2018), Petro-Roy's Good Enough (2019), and Gerber's Taking Up Space (2021).

[Micaiah Boyea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the free ARC, I’m so glad to have had a chance to read this very important book and I definitely need a copy of it in my school library. This was a really good book about very tough topics: eating disorders, body image, prejudice against immigrants and Iranians, parent child relationships, bullying from peers, even some physical abuse. But it’s done in a way that I feel was entirely appropriate for middle grade. I would probably recommend 10 years old and up if they don’t already have some introduction to some of these issues, but if you suspect a child is dealing with these issues already, and yeah it happens really young sometimes, then it would be completely appropriate for as young as 8- I don’t think younger would be able to handle something this intricate. I really appreciate that it pulled from the author’s actual life experiences, because it kind of irks me when people in this day and age write about people they aren’t instead of highlighting and elevating the authors and books that are written by the people who lived that life and can accurately portray it. This isn’t the 1950s, let immigrants and people of color and people with disabilities and mental health struggles write their own stories instead of developing your own biased narrative about it, ya know? Authenticity and accuracy is so important right now. So this book is really important, because it is authentic and accurate about multiple issues that today’s children in the USA and even in other countries, are facing. And it ultimately directs kids to solutions: talking to a trusted friend, teacher, school counselor. Not keeping things bottled up. Being authentically yourself and embracing and loving every part of yourself. It even has a few little tidbits about what healthy eating is, from a very sound modern view that is medically accurate and protective of mental health. But kids shouldn’t really notice any of that as they are reading this book, because the story will suck them in and those things are just woven in naturally throughout. Very impressed that this was a first novel. I do think that the language the girls used was a little too precise and unrealistic for current times, despite the sprinkling of “she’s such a b” about one of the characters, but also appreciate that to keep this a middle grade book they can’t have the characters speak how actual middle schoolers speak. Otherwise it would be labeled MA 🤦‍♀️🙄 Definitely recommend this to other elementary and middle school librarians, and anyone with a tween child in their house.

[Quinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thirteen-year-old Yasmin Safavi is under immense pressure to lose weight. Her mother purposely makes her Nowruz dress too small to encourage her, insisting that she’ll be more beautiful if she is thin. Yasmin dreads her weekly weigh-ins and often sneaks forbidden food like cookies, chips, and candy. She feels ashamed of herself when she eats the food her mother calls “garbage”, but she finds it hard to stop.

To make matters worse, some girls at school have started to criticize other aspects of Yasmin’s appearance, particularly her curly hair and thick brows. These comments affect Yasmin so badly that she makes a list of things she wants to change about herself, with weight loss being the most important. Her best friend Carmen is troubled by these changes, not understanding why Yasmin wants to fit in with the mean girls. While Yasmin’s mother objects to her straightening her hair and plucking her eyebrows, she’s pleased that Yasmin has started to lose weight- even though she takes drastic measures to do so.

The Blue Dress is a heartbreaking yet quietly powerful novel. As someone who has dealt with body insecurity my whole life, I understood just how uncomfortable and frustrated Yasmin felt looking in the mirror. Her mother’s toxicity is hard to read about, though she is eventually forced to confront her own insecurities and the damage she inflicted on her daughter. Once we learn about her history, it’s clear that her actions are the result of deep-seated intergenerational trauma. She and Yasmin are able to work on their relationship with the help of a good support system. Carmen is a wonderful best friend and speaks up for Yasmin when she needs it most. Adult characters like Mr. Caretti and Mr. Armstrong are also supportive and understanding.

I really appreciate the way the author drew on her own life experiences to write this book. Her prose is both vivid and vulnerable, and the story is told with unflinching honesty. She doesn’t shy away from difficult subjects, handling them with the sensitivity they deserve.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yasmin navigates life as an Iranian immigrant, daughter, friend, and mixed up thirteen year old. Every woman has been Yasmin in some way: struggling with teen relationships, uncomfortable in her own body/body dysmorphia, seeking the love of her mother, and engaging in some unhealthy habits. The Blue Dress is the story of Yasmin's journey through a single school year in which she clashes with her mother, her best friend Carmen, and her new friends.

The subject matter is difficult (as it should be) but is beautifully written and from the heart of a person who been in Yasmin's shoes and survived. Teen relationships are difficult for most kids, but add in being an immigrant, looking different from your peers, and cultural differences and you have a heart-wrenching story of self-exploration, understanding, and growth mingled in with all of the angst and tears of being a teen.

The Blue Dress is a story of hope and trust, sharing your problems with a trusting adult, and riding the wild waves of life only to come out on top of your world. All parents and their teens/preteens should be reading this book together to build better relationships and understanding.

[Anna Rollins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Blue Dress is a compelling and lucid exploration of all the ways the impossible expectations for women impact their ability to be in relationship with other women and their own bodies. In this first-person narrative, we follow Yasmin -- a young woman who has just hit puberty and who is receiving pressure, primarily from her mother, to lose weight and keep her girlish figure. By the end of the narrative, we learn that Yasmin's mom is not harsh with her daughter because of her own bad character: she is trying to access thinness (and safety) in a country where they are immigrants. She is also acting out the wounds of her own childhood where she, too, was pressured to remain thin to be marriageable. This book thoughtfully unpacks the psyche of a young girl struggling with disordered eating (the descriptions are true, but never garish). And the narrative also points the reader toward help and hope. This novel is beautifully rendered and relatable, and I highly recommend it.

[Cleanbooks4ever · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yasmin is an Iranian American girl adjusting to life in the U.S. while grappling with body image, cultural expectations, and family pressure. Since emigrating from Iran, she’s felt out of place—her friendships are shifting, her body is changing, and her mother constantly criticizes her weight. When her mom sews a beautiful blue dress for Persian New Year and makes it deliberately too small, Yasmin feels humiliated.
At school, she faces bullying and comparison, especially next to her petite best friend and the popular girls. As Yasmin struggles with self-esteem and identity, she begins to find her voice—standing up for herself, challenging her mother’s expectations, and learning to embrace who she is.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Blue Dress is a powerful story about body image, mother/daughter relationships, and bullying. It tells the story of a thirteen year old Iranian girl in the United States. She deals with the changes of puberty, classmates who tease her for being different and a mother who has not recovered from her own adolescence traumas. While most of the book tears at the reader's heart, there is a hopeful ending. It is a valuable story for any middle school aged reader.

I received a free advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

[Jenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Blue Dress is realistic and look at a complex mother-daughter relationship that has been fractured by issues surrounding body weight and self-image. Morrison's characters feel authentic and their emotional struggles are genuinely portrayed. The book's sensitive topics are handled well, while the resolution is not just happy, but believable and earned. This is a powerful, yet quick, read that offers meaningful depth. I would recommend it for middle grade girls who enjoy stories about finding self-worth and family dynamics.

[Jessica Milliner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows more about body image, relationships with a family member, friendship, and embracing that true self. Yasmin struggles with her weight. Her mother encouraged her to lose weight in order to fit in a blue dress and other things. Yasmin wants her mother to be like her best friend’s mother. She was also bullied for the way she looked. Later on in the book Yasmin wants to feel better than ever by changing the way she looks.

[Beth Icard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Counting books in my reading challenge that I copyedited or proofread, when they're available here on Goodreads for me to add in a timely manner (several I've worked on already exist and are being repackaged/rereleased by a publisher). It's only fair. It's a damn lot of reading I'm not including otherwise.

Very excellent MG book about eating disorders and family pressure to be thin. Great body positive message.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a sweet middle grade novel that covers several tough but timely topics that I think many of my students will be able to relate to and engage with, all stemming from different ways that people struggle to fit in and feel like they are somehow different or not as good as their peers, from hobbies to body image issues. This was a well written and well paced novel and I will be recommending it to my libraries when it is released.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley.

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Desperate to please her fat-phobic mother and fit the mold of American beauty ideals at her Virginia middle school, 13-year-old Iranian-born Yasmin develops disordered eating and--with support from a loyal friend and a school counselor--gradually learns to love her whole self.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley, Morrison, and Macmillan for the e-ARC of The Blue Dress.

This book tore me to pieces, especially once I learned that it's partially auto-biographical. The Blue Dress centers on Yasmin's relationships with friends, family, and her own body. Yasmin is viewing herself in the typical middle school fashion - from the outside, in. She's constantly comparing herself and her family to her best friend, Carmen, and her peers.

While struggling with her body and dealing with pressure from her mother to lose weight, Yasmin finds herself stuck. Does she starve herself, does she change who she is, and how do you fit in while dealing with that internal conflict?

I think The Blue Dress is perfect for the middle grade classroom, as it helps students see the battle of body dysmorphia, especially when the criticism comes close to home. The novel also centers around fitting in when your Persian background sets you apart from your community. Overall, I would recommend this novel to my middle grade students!

[rachel x]

"For fans of Jasmine Warga and Starfish, an Iranian American girl navigates complicated relationships with her mother, her best friend, and her body image in this unflinching and ultimately uplifting middle-grade debut."