I read Glorious Rock Bottom and fell in love with how honest and poetic Bryony's writing was and this fit that perfectly too

I have just finished reading Let Down Your Hair and I was completely gripped by it, from start to finish. I read a lot of magical, fairytale novels and re-tellings, but this one is so unique. It's not like anything that I have ever read before and I could relate to it so much. Some years back I had Alopecia Areata, due to an undiagnosed underactive thyroid. Like Barb in the book, I covered it up fairly easily with my hip-length hair, but it was very distressing, especially as it took my local GP practice over three months to finally diagnose the thyroid condition that caused it and give me medication to heal. All my hair soon grew back, thicker than ever, but I can vouch for the authenticity of the rapid spread of the bald patches that are described in this book!

The fact that Barb is trying to make a go of being a hair Influencer when she loses her hair is just so poignant, as is the depiction of the duplicity apparent within Influencer culture. I also like that this book addresses the concept of Female Relational Aggression, which frequently begins in adolescence and which tears apart many friendships between young girls, and can last well into adulthood between friends and sisters, which seems to be the case in the relationship between Sorcha and Orla. This is an important topic that isn't discussed often enough, but its one which most young girls will experience.

While I like the overall characterization in the novel, I did find Kal to be somewhat preachy at times. He did a lot of mansplaining on social, psychological, disability and mental health issues, with no real qualifications behind him to make this plausible (with the obvious exception of his own disability making qualified to speak on that topic, at least!). Although, I think perhaps the author was trying to highlight that many Influencers try to set themselves up as pseudo-psychologists without taking the trouble to go to university and get a degree in psychology or psychotherapy, as I did. Thankfully Zal doesn't say anything that is misleading, damaging or false, but he is still a bit of a mansplainer and so I didn't really warm to him, for that reason.

Other than that, I greatly enjoyed this book and I think that the overall concept of a Rapunzel figure with Alopecia is absolutely genius! It was a great read and I am grateful to the publisher for providing me with a copy.

An interesting take on mental health, social media, friendships and loneliness. I loved the twisted retelling, from a princess trapped in a tower to an influencer living in a tower block, trapped by her fame. The pacing was a bit slow for me and I found the protagonist’s voice to be that of a younger teen rather than 16 year old.

I really enjoyed Bryony's debut YA novel! Being a twist of Rapunzel's retelling I was obsessed. I really enjoyed how it shows how people can be influenced by social media and can come between friends and shows how you can sit behind it and pretend to be someone else or change the way they are online.

I never have ended a book by screaming, "Noooo!" for many reasons.

Barb is a content creator because of her love of hair but behind the screen she is questioning her life as it is.

A brilliant "coming of age" story based on Rapunzel or Tangled, depending on which generation you are. Gordon uses her own experince of being creator herself and mental health advocate to great effect. Some reviewers have complained it is a little slow and yes in places it can be but please do not let it put you off.

I need to know what happens next!

I will never shy away from a fairytale retelling and Let Down Your Hair is a very modern take on Rapunzel, without all the fairytale stuff, but I have to say I was intrigued. It was very thought-provoking as this book considers the affects social media and filters can have on our life and perception of others.

Barb has no friends and spends the majority of her life creating content for her account on ShowReal, where she has several hundred thousand followers on her hair account. Barb has been blessed with the glossiest and most beautiful hair, so whatever she does, her followers will eat it up. But one day, when she wakes up and feels a bald patch at the back of her head, she realises her life is about to change. We then flash back to a few months prior and see her journey to finding the spot and beyond.

‘It was as if the more she lost the hair on her head, the more she gained a sense of self inside it.’

This book was all about Barb’s journey and her growth into someone she loved and could appreciate. Barb goes through a lot in this book, and at times, I found her a little insufferable, but this got better as she built friendships and learnt what truly mattered in life.

Although I found the pacing a little slow at times, I enjoyed this book and thought it made you think about the perceptions we have of “influencers” and how at the end of the day, they are just ordinary people.

I was really quick to DNF this just a couple of chapters in. I was really interested in the concept of a modern day Rapunzel retelling when I got this but the main character's voice was just a little juvenile for me and I wasn't finding anything that kept me wanting to read the story.

I’ve previously read Bryony Gordon’s non fiction books so was really interested to read Let Down Your Hair as her YA debut. This was a great read, I don’t often read YA but love to share recommendation with my friends teenage daughter as this one that I know she’ll enjoy and we can chat about.

This loosely based on rapunzel fairy tail is based in model times and takes on a different approach. It’s looks at social media influencer on young people and I think is more if a young bedroom book!

I loved this book! I think the representation for alopecia is spot on! I really felt that it captured just how people can be influenced by social media, the miscommunication that can come about between friends and how people mask their true selves to portray how they want to be seen. I didn't expect what I got when I read this and I'm really pleased with what I did get!

This a retelling of Rapunzel in the modern day. Barb having no friends in real life, but online she has thousands of followers who look to her for guidance with their hair. She leaves school before her GCSEs to focus on influencing full time, but she just wants a normal life with friends. That is until something happens with her hair. Will this change her career path? Or would that make her see more than ever this is what she wants to do?

This a sweet, coming of age contemporary novel about friends, loyalty and confidence. This book had me smiling throughout, but also left me with a lot of questions after the ending, but it's a great story if you're looking for something different.

Having only known Bryony Gordon by her journalist work, I was intrigued to pick up her YA debut. And what a read it was! This is definitely a book I would gift to a younger cousin or family member. A great modern twist on rapunzel with also a very sensitive way of discussing alopecia.
Overall a brilliant book about body image and self acceptance.

A modern day telling of Rapunzel where hair influencer Barb learns she is worth more than her lucious hair! May be a bit of an obvious tale but fun to lead and a great message for MG readers.

I may be 40 but I do love some YA fiction, throw in an author who’s adult fiction is right up my strasse and you get a winning combo. Barb, a 16 year old influencer, sorry creator, is ready to ditch school and start her incredible life using her unbelievably fortuitous hair to get her noticed on the latest social media platform ‘ShowReal’. A platform that professes to be more real than any of the others… Where the fame will also bring the friendships she sorely needs after being ditched by her long term friend. Then there is her aunt who is also her guardian and although she has incredible focus on supporting and directing her online success she does however lack in any other real support. Such as affection, parental nurturing or ability to tell the truth. When we don’t get our basic needs met and our authenticity gets lost, we all will crack at some point…

This quick, easy, YA read was enjoyable but a bit predictable for me. Examining the world of social media influencers and the pressure on young people to fit into that world where image/brand is everything the book's underlying message is that it is better to be honest and find happiness as your true self than to maintain a curated persona designed to gain followers online. I think many younger teens will really relate to this and I could see this book being used to prompt discussions in a senior primary/early secondary classroom about the reality behind the curated social media platforms they swipe through every day.
Thanks to Netgalley.co.uk and Hachette Children's Group for the free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

The premise behind this modern day retelling of Rapunzel explores the issue of social media celebrity and influencing and the fact that no one's life is ever what it seems from their social media. I think this book explores some sensitive issues quite well and would resonate with teenage girls. However I thought more weight needed to be given to the alopecia element (Barb is never actually officially diagnosed or treated) and the ending was a bit too pat for my liking. But the moral messages are strong and will likely resonate with the target demographic.

More like 3 1/2 stars

Barb lives a lonely life in her 'tower' with her aunt, making content for her hundreds of thousands of followers. She is online famous due to her luxurious hair. She is tired of this 'fake happy' existence and is ready for a new start when she discovers a bald spot. She has alopecia!

Starting with Chapter 1 and the discovery of the bald spot, we then go back 6 months where Barb is in a whole different place and mentality to see how she got to her current position. This modern-day contemporary twist on Rapunzel has a straight-to-the-point, a little ironic and plenty cynical narrative, with our protagonist philosophizing on her social media-riddled life. This is a character that you may find endearing even if she aggravates you with her naivete. You will not agree with all her decisions but you will still want to hug her. This story is brutally honest and you can't help but be engrossed in that.

There is some fun to be had with the lifestyle due to the rise of Barb's brand, but there is also cruelty in this reality. Scratching the surface to get to the 'worms', this book tackles the subject of social media and the overpowering effect it can have on your life. How you can absolutely lose yourself and not know who you are anymore. It can be a frivolous foundation that can collapse just like that. This story emphasizes that our identity is not just one thing.

The timeline does get a little whiplash as there are flashbacks within flashbacks within memories. At one point I didn't even know when we are. This confusion took away from my enjoyment of this tale which I otherwise liked.

With just a smidge of inspiration from Rapunzel, this is its own tale. A thought-provoking and emotionally tangible book that is ultimately about being your true self.

Barb lives with her aunt and until recently was happy enough with her one best friend since childhood. However, the two have fallen out and as Barb has now given up school to concentrate on ‘her brand’ and social media following she rarely sees anyone in real life, not just her former friend. Barb’s aunt leaves her messages about loading new content in order to attract the clothes, make up and other fashion accessories which flood in from companies keen for Barb to promote them with her flowing hair convincing followers that they too can possess such beautiful locks. But demonstrating doing her hair online one day Barb notices something unusual.
A new contract with a big name company sees Barb and her aunt disagree with the direction Barb is following so she moves into a luxury house with other influencers. Here she sees that life is not the wonderful dream she thought it may be and the friendliest face is that of a blind influencer who helps Barb see things more clearly.
When Barb faces up to the fact she has alopecia she also discovers a lot more about herself and finds that not everyone has been truthful with her.
Living in the real world and not all online can be cruel, but social media is more so and we need people who have our best interests at heart.

Let Down Your Hair is a modern day, YA, retelling of Rapunzel which centres on Barb, a social media influencer with spectacular hair.

This book truly captures social media culture, the toxicity and how so much emphasis is placed on looks. I feel this will resonate so much with the youth of today (making myself sound old 😂).

I really enjoyed this and would love to know what happened to Barb next!

Teenager Barb is an isolated and lonely girl who develops a big online following based around her natural and beautiful hair but she soon finds that the superficial world of influencers isn't what she needs from her life, She lives with her aunt and believes that her mother died in childbirth with her, and her aunt encourages her to leave school at 16 and pursue her social media career full time and isolates her from her former best friend. She briefly enters an 'influencer' house and strikes up a meaningful relationship with a fellow influencer who is blind and understands her isolation and reticence about the whole shallow world of social media. The story works really well as a bang up to date fairy tale/fable, the character is sympathetic and the writing style combines sharp humour & spot on observations about the social media life. An entertaining and timely read.