Dress Coded

Navya, Bea, and Ashley are Molly’s closest girlfriends and fellow eighth graders at Fisher Middle School. Navya is a passionate lacrosse player, Bea is a talented artist, and Ashley comes from a wealthy family. When Molly first calls them over and shares Olivia’s story with them, all three girls are sympathetic. When Molly begins her podcast and protest against the dress code, Navya and Bea are supportive: Molly and Navya drop off their petition at the superintendent’s office and work on a speech to present at a board of education meeting; Bea creates posters that the girls put up around school. Ashley, however, drifts apart from the group, as she finds the podcast and protest unnecessary.

Olivia, Pearl, and Liza are other girls whom Molly reconnects with through her activism. She used to be friends with Olivia and Pearl when they were younger, but they drifted apart when Olivia and Pearl got into honors classes. Molly and Liza started middle school as close friends, having gone shopping for clothes together over the summer; but as the novel opens, Liza is not a part of her social circle. Olivia’s experience with dress coding is what gets Molly fired up about the issue. Although Olivia was supposed to be on the first podcast episode, she is too embarrassed to share her story; nevertheless, Molly goes ahead with the podcast, and Pearl and Liza both make appearances on different episodes. As the protest intensifies, all four girls grow closer. Molly is supportive of Olivia when she is blamed again for “ruining” the class’s camping trip, and they and Pearl spend time together on the last day of school. Similarly, Molly and Liza promise to make new memories during the camp-in.

Although Molly, Navya, and Bea end the novel as close as ever, there is a clear rift between them and Ashley, and Molly wonders if they will remain friends in high school. A love triangle also emerges in Molly’s social circle: Her neighbor Will has a crush on Pearl, who has a crush on Bea. These changing dynamics reflect the nature of middle school, a period of growth and change. Molly retains bonds with those aligned with her values, while other bonds break.

Will is Molly’s neighbor and best friend. They have grown up together, and spent many summers playing in her treehouse. They don’t spend as much time together as Molly does with her girlfriends; however, she still finds comfort and support in their relationship. When Danny goes missing for a day, Molly spends the night at Will’s place, as her parents deal with the situation. Similarly, Molly is the person in whom Will confides about his crush on Pearl.

Although Will is not as driven about justice as Molly, he does care. When Molly begins her podcast, she requests Will to do an episode; though he refuses, he voices support and asserts boys are not “wild animals” distracted by girls’ clothing. He agrees to let Tom camp with him when Molly says that Tom was left out of the class camping trip, and later shows up with Tom and some other boys to join the camp-in on the school grounds. Besides being a supportive friend, Will is an example of how the dress code negatively impacts both boys and girls, as he expresses distaste for the sexist assumptions it makes of boys.