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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Amelia Bright is an intelligent and ambitious young girl who seems to have it all going for her … except that for some reason everyone in school dislikes her and she has somehow attained the nickname ‘Maggot’. After the publication of The List on social media which places Amelia at the bottom of all the girls in her year, she is determined to make people like her, no matter the cost.
This story follows Amelia in her attempt to gain popularity - sadly falling into the trap of thinking that she is the one who isn’t good enough. She tries to improve her popularity online by posting TikTok’s and she is excited to see her ‘like’ count slowly rising but it doesn’t seem to change anything. Until Evan comes along. A boy who seems to like her for who she is, the boy she shares her first kiss with and the boy she hopes will elevate her from the bottom of the list. Until she shares a private image of herself and things escalate beyond her control.
I both loved and loathed this story. I love it for the simple fact it is bringing such a poignant issue to the forefront. As a high school teacher I know how frequently young people are finding themselves in Amelia’s position. I loathed it because it made me feel desperately sad for Amelia. That she had such a low opinion of herself and seeing how it all panned out.
Both Amelia and Evan’s characters reflect how truly complex it is to be a teenager in our current social climate. The pressure from peers both in person and even more so online is astronomical and leads so many young people to make disastrous choices without understanding both the immediate and long term consequences.
I loved Amelia as a character and the dynamic with her older sister Hannah. Whilst Hannah is everything Amelia wishes to be, I thought they had a really lovely relationship. It is also refreshing to see a book with divorced parents who are able to coparent effectively with their children at the forefront of their decision making.
I would highly recommend reading the Letter from the Author at the end of the novel which is a reminder to all readers that whilst this story is fiction, it is sadly the reality for many teenagers today.
Thank you to Usborne, Tamsin Winter and NetGalley for my early review copy in exchange of a fair and honest review.
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book isn’t bad, however I felt that the book was for a younger Audience so it felt a tad underwhelming.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
As poignantly heartfelt as it is uplifting, Tamsin Winter’s newest novel skilfully delves into the all too real and heartbreaking realities of peer pressure and social media on teens.
It follows thirteen year old Amelia Bright, a book loving music prodigy who, in a effort to become popular (and amid a ton of peer pressure) shares a photograph she shouldn’t with a boy she trusts. A photo that leads to disastrous consequences when it goes viral, thus causing model student Amelia to be branded a “Bad Influence”. But she’s not ready to let this is one mistake define her and will stop at nothing to share her side of the story.
This was such an emotional story that does explore some pretty relevant issues that, though uncomfortable, definitely need to be discussed more.
As someone who hit my teen years during the start of social media (with MySpace, Facebook and Twitter) where viral video trends such as happy slapping saw teens humiliated in even more devastating ways online than ever before. So I understand how bad peer pressure can get. I can’t imagine how much worse it must be now, with soo much more of our lives revolving around social media and being online.
Which is probably why Amelia, our optimistic, cinnamon roll of a protagonist inspired such a strong emotional response. I can definitely see a lot of younger teen readers identifying with Amelia and the challenges she has had to endure.
Like her previous book Girl In Real Life, I really enjoyed the nuanced and realistic portrayal of Amelia’s parents and the dynamics they face in co-parenting children whilst divorced. It was also great to see a compassionate and caring portrayal of Selina (Amelia’s dad’s girlfriend) that didn’t once branch into the (overused and stereotypical) evil stepmother trope.
This is only the second book of Tamsin Winter’s that I’ve read but her ability to delve into contemporary teen experiences, getting to the heart of relevant issues— in both a convincing and easily accessible manner is why she’s quickly become one of my favourites in the YA/ Children’s fiction genre. If you love Coming of age stories with a powerful message, then you definitely need to read this !
Also, a huge thank you to Netgalley and Usborne for the e-arc.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated