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chaneoosthuizen's review
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
** spoiler alert ** I loved this book, It tells a much needed story about OCD, a highly stigmatized mental disorder. The main character, Evie, is a teenage girl with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). She is about to go on a date to a house party, with a guy she met in her psychology class, but she is unpleasantly surprised when he shows up absolutely pissed. Jane, her best friend and the only person who was there for her through a time when her OCD was really bad, is so obsessed with her boyfriend, Joel, that she ultimately becomes unreliable. Evie is about ready to give up hope when she meats Amber and Lottie. They soon grow very close and all become best friends. However, Evie deciedes not to tell them about her OCD as she fears they'll judge her. Together, the three of them form the spinster club, a feminist organization that discusses all the acts of sexism in their school and society in general. That is until she gets a little too closer to this guy called... Guy (that had to have been on purpose) who creeps into her life and becomes her worst nightmare. She ends up almost having sex with him before she realizes that he was just using her. After that, she has a meltdown. She wants to cleanse her entire body and sees only one way to do that. She pours an entire bottle of bleach onto her body and ends up in the hospital. When Amber and Lottie come to visit, she finally tells them about her diagnosis, and where she expects judgment, she finds compassion and understanding instead.
This book is an excellent, easy to follow story, although it gets dark at times. It is really fast-paced, and thoughts blend into each other seamlessly. In a lot of books recently, there is this gap near the end right before the climax. Where, it just feels like there is nothing going on, just pointless words on a page. This book, however, doesn't seem to have that. Overall, it is excellently written like all Holly Bourne books are!
The main character feels well rounded, and realistic. She's not exactly likable and can come off as too much sometimes. However, I think this can be seen as a good thing as that's how real people are! No one is perfect, and I think Holly Bourne is really good at creating imperfect characters.
This honestly would've been a 5 star book if we saw more of Oli's character. He's supposed to be the main love interest, but he's in a total of 5 pages. I know this is a feminist book that's supposed to be focused on Evie and her story, outside of love, but the book does heavily imply that Evie and Olly do end up dating. The problem is, we don't know if Oli is any better than Guy.
Regardless, this is still an amazing book, and I definitely think you should read it if:
- You are a feminist
- You are interested in modern-day feminism
- You want a raw story about mental health
- You want to read a story about the importance of female friendships
- You like "I knew you were trouble" by Taylor Swift
!!CHEACK TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING!!
This book is an excellent, easy to follow story, although it gets dark at times. It is really fast-paced, and thoughts blend into each other seamlessly. In a lot of books recently, there is this gap near the end right before the climax. Where, it just feels like there is nothing going on, just pointless words on a page. This book, however, doesn't seem to have that. Overall, it is excellently written like all Holly Bourne books are!
The main character feels well rounded, and realistic. She's not exactly likable and can come off as too much sometimes. However, I think this can be seen as a good thing as that's how real people are! No one is perfect, and I think Holly Bourne is really good at creating imperfect characters.
This honestly would've been a 5 star book if we saw more of Oli's character. He's supposed to be the main love interest, but he's in a total of 5 pages. I know this is a feminist book that's supposed to be focused on Evie and her story, outside of love, but the book does heavily imply that Evie and Olly do end up dating. The problem is, we don't know if Oli is any better than Guy.
Regardless, this is still an amazing book, and I definitely think you should read it if:
- You are a feminist
- You are interested in modern-day feminism
- You want a raw story about mental health
- You want to read a story about the importance of female friendships
- You like "I knew you were trouble" by Taylor Swift
!!CHEACK TRIGGER WARNINGS BEFORE READING!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexism, and Ableism
Minor: Alcoholism
atlasisreading's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Sexism, and Self harm
kayleejanes's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Vomit, Alcohol, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Blood
jesse_5's review
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Self harm
Moderate: Bullying, Sexism, and Vomit
theunfinishedbookshelf's review
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Vomit
blckbird's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Self harm
lefthandedlooney's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Slow going, felt like I was dragging the story through mud behind me at some parts
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Body shaming, and Drug use
deldc's review
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, and Mental illness
baydashark's review
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Self harm
Minor: Sexual content
perksofbeingvie's review
i felt like this book hit way too close to home, honestly was not ready to read a book about ocd, but i think it could be quite a good read in the future!!! hoping to try and read this again soon.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts