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No Brainer
★“ Celebrates a girl’s determination to be comfortable with her body, defy double standards, and stand up for her beliefs. Fearless and filled with jubilant moxie; a must-read.” — Kirkus Reviews, starred review
Liv is happy in her joggers, sports T-shirts and no bra.
She doesn't like tight jeans and doesn't feel comfortable in a bra. But one boy in her gym class, Jerry, harasses Liv with rude comments about her breasts. When she stands up to him, Liv is the one who finds herself in trouble. Even though her clothes fit the dress code, her principal insists that Liv wear a bra to gym class. It's unfair and Liv refuses to give in to the demand.
Gossip flies around the school as Liv stands up to Jerry and the school administration. Then a "free the boobs" campaign is started to demean Liv, and she and her friend Mia decide to take a stand. They create a poster to encourage girls to wear what they want without shame, but Liv is sent to the principal’s office once again and is told that her poster will be taken down before the school’s open house. But Liv isn't going to stand down. There are no school rules that dictate girls must wear bras. Why can’t girls wear what they want without being shamed?
This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading-level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read.
Liv is happy in her joggers, sports T-shirts and no bra.
She doesn't like tight jeans and doesn't feel comfortable in a bra. But one boy in her gym class, Jerry, harasses Liv with rude comments about her breasts. When she stands up to him, Liv is the one who finds herself in trouble. Even though her clothes fit the dress code, her principal insists that Liv wear a bra to gym class. It's unfair and Liv refuses to give in to the demand.
Gossip flies around the school as Liv stands up to Jerry and the school administration. Then a "free the boobs" campaign is started to demean Liv, and she and her friend Mia decide to take a stand. They create a poster to encourage girls to wear what they want without shame, but Liv is sent to the principal’s office once again and is told that her poster will be taken down before the school’s open house. But Liv isn't going to stand down. There are no school rules that dictate girls must wear bras. Why can’t girls wear what they want without being shamed?
This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading-level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read.
- GenresYoung AdultFeminism
96 pages, Paperback
Published February 17, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 10, 2025
Sometimes support looks different to everyone.
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Liv loves wearing joggers, tshirts without a bra that constraints and binds her. All her friends want to wear tight jeans and tops, but that’s just not Liv. When a boy in Liv’s gym classes makes rude comments about her breasts distracting him, she’s sent to the principal’s office who tells her she’s out of dress code. Except she’s not because there’s nothing in the dress code that says she has to wear a bra. Liv refuses to give in and keeps fighting against the school administration, even recruiting her friend, Mia, to take a stand using art. Should the school dictate that girls wear bras or will Liv win out on her campaign for body autonomy?
🎽
This is an interesting book for me to rate. I loved how short it was and feel like in print it will have even more white space than I saw in my e-galley. It addresses a very important topic surrounding body autonomy, sexism and misogyny in a way students will relate to. I LOVED how frank the kids were in their speech and originally I thought this was a MG novel but I see the publishers have rated it YA. Honestly I believe it’s somewhere in the middle, which is great because we don’t have enough in this age group. It was a unique read that releases February 17! @youngteenlit
CW: sexual harassment, sexism, body shaming, bullying, misogyny
🎽
Liv loves wearing joggers, tshirts without a bra that constraints and binds her. All her friends want to wear tight jeans and tops, but that’s just not Liv. When a boy in Liv’s gym classes makes rude comments about her breasts distracting him, she’s sent to the principal’s office who tells her she’s out of dress code. Except she’s not because there’s nothing in the dress code that says she has to wear a bra. Liv refuses to give in and keeps fighting against the school administration, even recruiting her friend, Mia, to take a stand using art. Should the school dictate that girls wear bras or will Liv win out on her campaign for body autonomy?
🎽
This is an interesting book for me to rate. I loved how short it was and feel like in print it will have even more white space than I saw in my e-galley. It addresses a very important topic surrounding body autonomy, sexism and misogyny in a way students will relate to. I LOVED how frank the kids were in their speech and originally I thought this was a MG novel but I see the publishers have rated it YA. Honestly I believe it’s somewhere in the middle, which is great because we don’t have enough in this age group. It was a unique read that releases February 17! @youngteenlit
CW: sexual harassment, sexism, body shaming, bullying, misogyny
Read
March 4, 2026A solid hi-lo book for teens that deals with body shaming, sexist dress code, and the sexualization of teen girls. Not a ton of character development or depth to the story, but that is pretty much expected in a hi-lo book. I'm always looking for hi-lo books that teens will actually be interested in for my library, and I think this would be a solid addition!
July 9, 2026
Lea Beddia’s No Brainer is a strongly written HiLo (high interest/ low readability for striving readers) young adult novel following Liv, a confident teen who’s perfectly comfortable in her body- until classmate starts harassing her for not wearing a brain gym class. When Liv stands up to him, she’s the one who gets in trouble. Liv soon finds herself fighting both the principal and Jerry’s body shaming tactics. With the help of her best friend, Liv launches a student protest, challenging not just Jerry’s narrowminded attitudes but the school’s double standard dress code.
I loved the underlying messages in the book, and the number of disparate characters who show up for Liv and her cause. As a reader from an earlier generation, at first I found the concept of a braless protest hard to relate to for larger body types, but the book did a fantastic job of laying out the core issues: the freedom to live as you are without shame, and putting a stop to unfair school dress codes. Definitely a generational eye-opener for me, and an entertaining and thought-provoking book for current high school age readers.
I loved the underlying messages in the book, and the number of disparate characters who show up for Liv and her cause. As a reader from an earlier generation, at first I found the concept of a braless protest hard to relate to for larger body types, but the book did a fantastic job of laying out the core issues: the freedom to live as you are without shame, and putting a stop to unfair school dress codes. Definitely a generational eye-opener for me, and an entertaining and thought-provoking book for current high school age readers.
April 26, 2026
Fast, funny, serious and an absolute necessity. Loved Beddia's style, characters and creative solutions. We need more characters like Liv, the protagonist, and more books like this one.
I want to read more by this author.
I want to read more by this author.
April 6, 2026
This is a feisty, feminist, fabulous book. Students will love it! A slim volume and a powerful, engaging read.
April 20, 2026
Really good for very little pages
April 30, 2026
Really good. Liz stands up for herself when a boy at school body shames her for having big boobs and not liking wearing a bra. And when the principal sides with the boy and it almost turns into a bullying situation Liz's best friend and her turn an art project into a social outcry that gets the principal's attention again.
This is a Hi-Lo book that I read for content for work. I found it appropriate for the intended audience. Sometimes publishers say it's for certain ages and it is not.
This is a Hi-Lo book that I read for content for work. I found it appropriate for the intended audience. Sometimes publishers say it's for certain ages and it is not.
June 10, 2026
A quick read with an important message. Wish that it was longer so that we could know more about other characters!
July 3, 2026
A great quick read with an excellent message.
July 3, 2026
In this short 80 page bk Liv doesn’t want to wear a bra but starts getting harassed by a boy in PE. She’s sent to the office. What happens now? #standingup #support
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews