Dress Coded

Molly Frost is the protagonist and narrator of Dress Coded. She is an eighth grader at Fisher Middle School, and is the younger of two siblings; she has an older brother, Danny, who is in the eleventh grade, and they live with their parents and dog, Tibby. Molly perceives herself as no one special, with her starting a podcast and making a stand against the dress code at school being the first time she does something out of the ordinary.

Molly gets along with her parents, but has a strained relationship with Danny, who is addicted to vaping and often cruel. With their parents having to cut back on work to monitor him, the strain of Danny’s issues and money problems force Molly to attend therapy. For her part, she feels compelled to cover for Danny even at her own detriment, because she is worried their family will relocate and wishes for Danny’s love. Despite these stressors, she remains creative and thoughtful. The treehouse is testament to this: Before it was a podcast studio, it was a fairy house, a keep, the Gryffindor common room, and a “slime factory.”

Molly’s imaginary