what a beautiful movie, visually and thematically. i can't begin to express how happy it makes me that 13 year old girls (especially asian girls) have this film to let them know that being perpetually embarrassed, angry, horny, and sad is completely normal, not something they have to suppress or be ashamed of. 13 is around the age when i started to make myself smaller in order to make others - specifically boys - more comfortable, and this film lets girls know that they can take up as much space as they want to: to be loud and smart, messy and passionate without worrying if you're "too much."

i absolutely loved the beautiful portrayal of the importance of female friendship in adolescence. middle school is an absolute nightmare, and so many girls (myself included) have toxic friendships during that time that only makes it worse. fangirling over a band with your friends is such a magical experience in girlhood, and i'm so glad this film celebrates that instead of making fun of it like society has repeatedly done for the past few decades. being a 13-year-old girl is engineered to be the worst possible experience, full of shame and humiliation, but this film asks: what if it doesn't have to be?