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4.12 AVERAGE
4.12 AVERAGE
Pretty good story, and, though I feel a bit too old for it, I definitely see my younger self in Evie. If only I’d read this 12 years ago.
3,5 stars.
3,5 stars.
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
** 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: Ableism, Sexism, Toxic relationship
Minor: Alcoholism
i really liked this it had this very readable british YA feel about it similar to [b:A Good Girl's Guide to Murder|40916679|A Good Girl's Guide to Murder (A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, #1)|Holly Jackson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1545494980l/40916679._SY75_.jpg|63791847] and [b:Noughts & Crosses|714902|Noughts & Crosses (Noughts & Crosses, #1)|Malorie Blackman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1443903273l/714902._SY75_.jpg|853421] but this evie bitch is so annoying swear to god shes 16 and in college and making a club? I WOULD NEVER!
This book hit way too close to home. In fact, it was like a giant sledgehammer hitting me on the forehead with the realization that I have been battling an anxiety disorder my whole life. But personal realizations aside, it was well-written and funny and possible one of the most relatable books I've ever read. It got a bit preachy at times, but the messages about mental illnesses and feminism were important and delivered with skill. Also the characterizations were A+.
3/5
3/5
CW:anxiety, panic attacks, anxiety attacks, OCD
I liked the story, I understand why it had such high ratings, it portrays very well what it means to live with an anxiety disorder and how people react to it, but the writing style wasn't for me. I think it was because it's a YA that's more oriented towards a younger audience, but it all felt kind of childish. Perhaps, if I had read this book when I was 15/16 I probably wouldn't have even noticed it and just focused on the story, but as I'm way older than that now, I can't really overlook it when rating the book.
I think this book deals very well with themes that are almost always glossed over in YAs, but also in books in general. Teenagers are often represented living the perfect lives where their only worry is which college they will be going to. However, other than that, the rest of the story wasn't really memorable.
It also tried to talk about feminism, but some parts were very redundant. Like, I can appreciate when authors put feminism talks in their books, like mentioning it in a dialogue or stating that something another character is doing is mysogenist and make them reflect on it. But here, we got endless paragraphs about what feminism is, and the history of it, and blah blah blah and I found it quite boring.
And on that note, for people who consider themselves the emblem of feminism, I don't even think they actually understand what being a woman and identifying as a woman means. When they were talking about what makes them women and they go "Having a vagina is what makes us women" I just cringed so badly (like, nails on a board kind of cringe) because, no, nope, that's not it and you can ask every person ever who identifies as female.
3/5
CW:anxiety, panic attacks, anxiety attacks, OCD
I liked the story, I understand why it had such high ratings, it portrays very well what it means to live with an anxiety disorder and how people react to it, but the writing style wasn't for me. I think it was because it's a YA that's more oriented towards a younger audience, but it all felt kind of childish. Perhaps, if I had read this book when I was 15/16 I probably wouldn't have even noticed it and just focused on the story, but as I'm way older than that now, I can't really overlook it when rating the book.
I think this book deals very well with themes that are almost always glossed over in YAs, but also in books in general. Teenagers are often represented living the perfect lives where their only worry is which college they will be going to. However, other than that, the rest of the story wasn't really memorable.
It also tried to talk about feminism, but some parts were very redundant. Like, I can appreciate when authors put feminism talks in their books, like mentioning it in a dialogue or stating that something another character is doing is mysogenist and make them reflect on it. But here, we got endless paragraphs about what feminism is, and the history of it, and blah blah blah and I found it quite boring.
And on that note, for people who consider themselves the emblem of feminism, I don't even think they actually understand what being a woman and identifying as a woman means. When they were talking about what makes them women and they go "Having a vagina is what makes us women" I just cringed so badly (like, nails on a board kind of cringe) because, no, nope, that's not it and you can ask every person ever who identifies as female.
emotional
lighthearted
fast-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
I was hooked to this book, like literally I was late for work on two ocassions because I didn't want to put it down. It has opened my eyes to feminism, I always classed myself as a feminist but didn't realise the extent of it! Since reading this book I've grown and learnt so much!
Thank you Holly Bourne!!!!
Thank you Holly Bourne!!!!
emotional
funny
reflective
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:
Yes