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alisonjane's review
4.0
wwwhhhyyyyyyy does it take SO LONG for excellent Australian YA to be published in the US??!?!!?
mockingjayreads's review
4.0
This book really surprised me. I really don't enjoy contemporary at the moment, and the sheer length of this book put me off it for months.
I LOVED it. I can't really give this five stars because this sort of subject matter doesn't really move me, but it's done so well in this book. It's also not really something I'll read again. That doesn't mean it isn't a great read.
It's got great female friendship. There's a great adult exploration of sex and boys. I hate when you read teen books and it's just so watered down it doesn't feel real. This is wholesome, but it still has swearing, it still has frequent mentions of sex (mostly in reference to characters thinking about it, because hello - teens think about sex! It's a lot of what teens think about!)
I also loved all the girls. I had the hardest time with Clem, but I enjoyed her perspective still and didn't find it a slog to get through by any means.
There was bisexual rep in this! I loved Ady more than I thought possible. She was my favourite character by a stretch. I was excited for her chapters for the entirety of the book.
This book is pretty long, but I think it's really worth it. You get to really connect with these girls and by the end you're really attached and rooting for them. The small mystery element of finding out who runs psst also was a great one. I was curious the whole book.
Well rounded, great story. Would reccomend
I LOVED it. I can't really give this five stars because this sort of subject matter doesn't really move me, but it's done so well in this book. It's also not really something I'll read again. That doesn't mean it isn't a great read.
It's got great female friendship. There's a great adult exploration of sex and boys. I hate when you read teen books and it's just so watered down it doesn't feel real. This is wholesome, but it still has swearing, it still has frequent mentions of sex (mostly in reference to characters thinking about it, because hello - teens think about sex! It's a lot of what teens think about!)
I also loved all the girls. I had the hardest time with Clem, but I enjoyed her perspective still and didn't find it a slog to get through by any means.
There was bisexual rep in this! I loved Ady more than I thought possible. She was my favourite character by a stretch. I was excited for her chapters for the entirety of the book.
This book is pretty long, but I think it's really worth it. You get to really connect with these girls and by the end you're really attached and rooting for them. The small mystery element of finding out who runs psst also was a great one. I was curious the whole book.
Well rounded, great story. Would reccomend
ella1212's review against another edition
2.0
ew...nope. clichèd. in theory a good idea but in practice this book didn't live up to my expectations
kiercarnahan's review
3.0
This book was good, no doubt, but it was no Words in Deep Blue. If I could have given it more attention I might have loved it instead of just liking it. I do enjoy books with different points of view and this was one of those. I thought it also present a real look at high school, not some sugar coated fantasy. It was a book about love, friendship, family, and more.
melbsreads's review
4.0
Trigger warnings: misogyny, slut shaming, fat shaming, homophobia, drug/alcohol addiction, bullying, cyberbulling, creepy older dudes hitting on schoolgirls.
30/7/2020
I've been meaning to reread this book for a while now, and for whatever reason I've found it difficult to pick up in 2020. But I'm glad I did because the voices of these three characters are absolutely delightful and it was kind of hilarious seeing how many [insert my workplace here] touches were included in the story (one of the authors is an alumnus).
Kate is definitely my favourite of the three narrators, followed by Ady and then Clem. I definitely related to Kate, the studious musician, the most of the three. But I also loved her story because I loved the antagonistic and ultimately delightful relationship between Kate and Oliver. Ady's transition from Queen Bee to quirky arty kid seemed sliiiiiiightly extra considering the book takes place over the course of a term. And while Clem's story gave me a lot of feelings (Stu can go die in a fire, please and thank you), there was also something about the way she treated her sister that I just...yeah. It made me slightly uncomfortable and I can't put my finger on why... Anyway, this was fun and fast-paced and compelling and emotional and very very real, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
29/8/2017
I've been excited about this since I heard the authors reading an excerpt from it at the 2016 YA Showcase at the State Library in December of last year. So I may have squeed more than a little when I saw it for sale at the shop at the Melbourne Writers Festival over the weekend. And I read it pretty much straight away, because reasons.
This follows the story of three teenage girls at a snooty private school in Melbourne. Ady is dealing with her parents fighting constantly, with her father being out of work, and with her friends...not being particularly friendly. Clem is a former swimmer who isn't sure who she is after an injury. She's also not sure how she feels about her twin sister, Iris. And Kate is the quiet, studious country girl who wants nothing more than to make amazing cutting edge music on her cello.
The three girls are forced together by a wellness/positive education program at school, but they really start to bond over a godawful anonymous website dedicated to slut shaming and secret sharing girls at the local private schools.
As someone who spends 40 hours a week around 16 year old girls, this is pretty damned accurate. As someone who spends 40 hours a week in a place that emphasises the importance of positive education, the reaction the students have to the program (groans, mostly) is authentic.
There are friendship dramas, relationship dramas, family dramas, inappropriate relationships, and a whole host of feminism, female empowerment, and humour. I loved all three characters, although Kate's story is probably the one I related to the most of the three. I loved that it's not a conclusive, definitive ending. And I loved just how very Melbourne it is. BRB, shoving this book at teenagers.
30/7/2020
I've been meaning to reread this book for a while now, and for whatever reason I've found it difficult to pick up in 2020. But I'm glad I did because the voices of these three characters are absolutely delightful and it was kind of hilarious seeing how many [insert my workplace here] touches were included in the story (one of the authors is an alumnus).
Kate is definitely my favourite of the three narrators, followed by Ady and then Clem. I definitely related to Kate, the studious musician, the most of the three. But I also loved her story because I loved the antagonistic and ultimately delightful relationship between Kate and Oliver. Ady's transition from Queen Bee to quirky arty kid seemed sliiiiiiightly extra considering the book takes place over the course of a term. And while Clem's story gave me a lot of feelings (Stu can go die in a fire, please and thank you), there was also something about the way she treated her sister that I just...yeah. It made me slightly uncomfortable and I can't put my finger on why... Anyway, this was fun and fast-paced and compelling and emotional and very very real, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
29/8/2017
I've been excited about this since I heard the authors reading an excerpt from it at the 2016 YA Showcase at the State Library in December of last year. So I may have squeed more than a little when I saw it for sale at the shop at the Melbourne Writers Festival over the weekend. And I read it pretty much straight away, because reasons.
This follows the story of three teenage girls at a snooty private school in Melbourne. Ady is dealing with her parents fighting constantly, with her father being out of work, and with her friends...not being particularly friendly. Clem is a former swimmer who isn't sure who she is after an injury. She's also not sure how she feels about her twin sister, Iris. And Kate is the quiet, studious country girl who wants nothing more than to make amazing cutting edge music on her cello.
The three girls are forced together by a wellness/positive education program at school, but they really start to bond over a godawful anonymous website dedicated to slut shaming and secret sharing girls at the local private schools.
As someone who spends 40 hours a week around 16 year old girls, this is pretty damned accurate. As someone who spends 40 hours a week in a place that emphasises the importance of positive education, the reaction the students have to the program (groans, mostly) is authentic.
There are friendship dramas, relationship dramas, family dramas, inappropriate relationships, and a whole host of feminism, female empowerment, and humour. I loved all three characters, although Kate's story is probably the one I related to the most of the three. I loved that it's not a conclusive, definitive ending. And I loved just how very Melbourne it is. BRB, shoving this book at teenagers.
crazybooklady_'s review
4.0
Take Three Girls is bold, feminist and a lot of fun. Three girls from three different cliques are thrown together because of the length of their thumbs. What they also have in common is that they are all targeted by an online platform spreading gossip and nastiness. What follows is the girls taking things into their own hands when their Year 10 Wellness program doesn’t cut it forging an unlikely friendship as they go.
This is one of those delicious novels that proves the YA is not just for teens. That being said this is a must read for young teen girls. High school is hard and armour is required and Take Three Girls lays out the tools for young women to fashion the armour for themselves. On top of that is a great, kick-ass nostalgic read for adult women, not to mention online bullying certainly isn’t limited to teens, as adults we also can face bullying across social media.
This novel tackles the serious issues that affect our teens of today. Not only the bullying and traps of social media but pressure from parents, from friends and sadly, for young women, there is still misogyny to tackle. The characters in this novel are perfection. Unique, relatable and endearing. I love Ady and Kate in particular.
I have to admit I grinned like an idiot reading much of this and absolutely loved the ending. The pacing was impeccable and I raced through it. The three authors are to be applauded. This is an important and memorable addition to Aussie YA lit and is certainly worth the time. I urge you all as women to read it and not be constrained by the genre, we all have much to take from it.
alice_c's review
3.0
Definitely think this is an important book that teenagers should read, particularly girls. For me I found it a little juvenile and tedious at times. I loved seeing my city represented and the school community that the girls are in is very similar to what mine was. It was fun to see the author’s approaches to this and while they got some things spot on, other points were highly unrealistic. I didn’t really care for the PSST aspect of the novel although in some ways I’m glad to have more novels portraying cyber bullying and its repercussions. Found myself wanting to be done with this book from about halfway through though :/
zoey1999's review against another edition
4.0
A very strong read with excellent messages for teenagers. It authentically captures the teenage experience and you will in some way or another connect to each main character. A great #loveozya read.
bookswithneeks's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book for free from Pan Macmillan Australia in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
When I first heard about this, I was so incredibly excited to get my hands on it as not only is it written by three incredible #LoveOzYA authors, but it tackles feminism, identity, bullying and friendship!
Take Three Girls follows three girls (funnily enough) named Ady, Clem and Kate as they go through Year 10 at an all girls school in Melbourne. Ady is a day student who is part of the popular crowd, but we see her questioning popularity and her relationships. She also has a shitty home life that she keeps utmost secret. Clem is one of the boarders and a member of the school swim team, until she ends up taking time off for an injury and realises that swimming is not all of who she is as a person while getting involved with the wrong boy. Another one of the boarders, Kate, is not only incredibly intelligent, but incredibly in love with music. She plays the cello and starts to discover that your dreams can change. Ady, Clem and Kate all end up bonding after each becoming victim to vicious rumours spread by a student run gossip site and we get to see their friendship with eachother develop while learning more about each of them as people.
When I first heard about this, I was so incredibly excited to get my hands on it as not only is it written by three incredible #LoveOzYA authors, but it tackles feminism, identity, bullying and friendship!
Take Three Girls follows three girls (funnily enough) named Ady, Clem and Kate as they go through Year 10 at an all girls school in Melbourne. Ady is a day student who is part of the popular crowd, but we see her questioning popularity and her relationships. She also has a shitty home life that she keeps utmost secret. Clem is one of the boarders and a member of the school swim team, until she ends up taking time off for an injury and realises that swimming is not all of who she is as a person while getting involved with the wrong boy. Another one of the boarders, Kate, is not only incredibly intelligent, but incredibly in love with music. She plays the cello and starts to discover that your dreams can change. Ady, Clem and Kate all end up bonding after each becoming victim to vicious rumours spread by a student run gossip site and we get to see their friendship with eachother develop while learning more about each of them as people.