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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Could have been a four star book, but...
This book is pure cotton candy. It's fluff. It's dumb. And it's cute. And every ones in a while that is exactly what I need.
But this book is, at least imo, problematic. It was the same problem I had with the first book, only times 10. And that problem is called Toby. The fact that this kid is allowed to stalk and creep around Harriet and everyone is just okay with it... no. He needs help. And don't even get me started on that scene where he forced himself on Harriet and she had to use force to get him off of her and again everyone just laughed about it. AND THEN HE GOES ON ABOUT HER GIVING HIM SIGNALS AND THAN A FEW PAGES LATER EVEN SAYS THAT SHE KISSED HIM? Just NO. These are not cute and funny actions that you should laugh about. That's obsessive behaviour and victim-blaming. And it makes me sick.
This book is pure cotton candy. It's fluff. It's dumb. And it's cute. And every ones in a while that is exactly what I need.
But this book is, at least imo, problematic. It was the same problem I had with the first book, only times 10. And that problem is called Toby. The fact that this kid is allowed to stalk and creep around Harriet and everyone is just okay with it... no. He needs help.
Throughout the first 45 chapters, I thought Harriet was an idiot and a stupid character. She does so many things that piss me of, it's outrageous. Every time I predict something it's correct, so this book is predictable, and that's a mix of bad and good. I always liked Nick and what happens with him, I didn't predict, and it was a smart twist for the end. The last ten chapters deserve an applause. They were really good. Also since I read it as an audio-book I would like to applaud the reader for making the book feel so real. Overall I liked it but Harriet pissed me off a lot in the beginning and that was a huge bummer. She did redeem herself a little in the last 20 chapters, but it wasn't totally worth it.
Full review also posted here on TotalTeenFiction.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This review may contain spoilers from the first Geek Girl book!
So I loved Geek Girl and couldn't wait to start this one! Model Misfit picks up Harriet as she works to balance her new jet set lifestyle with the slightly more down to earth teenage problem of GCSE exams.
This was one of those books that I sneakily started even though I was reading something else, because once I'd downloaded it to my Kindle and read the first few pages I just couldn't stop. The opening few scenes with Harriet on a modelling shoot were just hilarious. She's just as brilliantly geeky and funny as ever!
Model Misfit throws Harriet a whole bunch of new challenges she has to face. She's still getting stick at school, Nat is going away for the summer, exams are upon them and Toby is still hanging around. Then there's dreamy Nick and all the boy drama he brings with him. I thought some of the moments where things get on top of Harriet were so brilliantly done, because she throws these hilarious strops where she knows full well she's being overdramatic, but it reminds me how much of a big deal things are when you're that age and how you wish the world would swallow you up! Her internal monologue is just freaking funny.
One of my favourite parts of Model Misfit was the general presence of Toby, Harriet's friendly geeky stalker. I thought he had great potential in Geek Girl and you get to see even more of his funny side in this book. I would find myself giggling away at the things he comes out with, especially when he's hanging around with Nat and Harriet and trying to be sensitive to girls and their issues. Harriet's dad really steals the show in this book as well, just as he did in book one for me. I thought the introduction of Annabel's mum Bunty was fantastic as well. Holly Smale writes absolutely fantastic characters. Like I could spend all day in a room with each of them and I'd either end up having a really interesting discussion, or come out with my sides in stitches from laughing.
Another real highlight were the parts of the book set in Japan, where Harriet jets off to for a modelling shoot. I love books that can sweep me away somewhere exciting, and reading about Tokyo through Harriet's eyes felt like a real adventure! Plus we get extra doses of Japanese Harriet facts so what's not to love about that?! I thought Rin, a Japanese model Harriet ends up staying with, was a hilarious addition to the characters as well. Her little quirks and observations had me giggling throughout those scenes.
Now getting slightly more serious, I loved seeing Harriet become a little more independent and starting to stand up for herself. There were moments where I was almost standing up and cheering her on as she starts to fight back and take control of things. I think my favourite scene was Harriet's comeback in an argument that involves correcting someone's grammar. I literally wanted to reach into the book and high-five her because that's totally what I would do. I love that Harriet goes on all these ups and downs throughout the book and you get swept along with her in all of those situations. But there were some really uplifting moments, especially towards the end of the book, where my heart felt all warm and fuzzy.
I've mentioned (a lot) how much I love the characters, but the plot in Model Misfit was all so brilliantly pieced together. There's bits of information planted throughout that you don't see as being relevant until the end of the story. I just loved how everything is built up and seamlessly worked into the story. The writing is so clever.
So yes, I loved it. I absolutely loved it. If you loved the first book then you won't be disappointed. I can't wait for book three because I'm missing these characters already. I think this series is going to be my go to comfort read in the future because rarely do books make me giggle so much. I can't wait to re-read them already!
Find more books like this at TotalTeenFiction!
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This review may contain spoilers from the first Geek Girl book!
So I loved Geek Girl and couldn't wait to start this one! Model Misfit picks up Harriet as she works to balance her new jet set lifestyle with the slightly more down to earth teenage problem of GCSE exams.
This was one of those books that I sneakily started even though I was reading something else, because once I'd downloaded it to my Kindle and read the first few pages I just couldn't stop. The opening few scenes with Harriet on a modelling shoot were just hilarious. She's just as brilliantly geeky and funny as ever!
Model Misfit throws Harriet a whole bunch of new challenges she has to face. She's still getting stick at school, Nat is going away for the summer, exams are upon them and Toby is still hanging around. Then there's dreamy Nick and all the boy drama he brings with him. I thought some of the moments where things get on top of Harriet were so brilliantly done, because she throws these hilarious strops where she knows full well she's being overdramatic, but it reminds me how much of a big deal things are when you're that age and how you wish the world would swallow you up! Her internal monologue is just freaking funny.
One of my favourite parts of Model Misfit was the general presence of Toby, Harriet's friendly geeky stalker. I thought he had great potential in Geek Girl and you get to see even more of his funny side in this book. I would find myself giggling away at the things he comes out with, especially when he's hanging around with Nat and Harriet and trying to be sensitive to girls and their issues. Harriet's dad really steals the show in this book as well, just as he did in book one for me. I thought the introduction of Annabel's mum Bunty was fantastic as well. Holly Smale writes absolutely fantastic characters. Like I could spend all day in a room with each of them and I'd either end up having a really interesting discussion, or come out with my sides in stitches from laughing.
Another real highlight were the parts of the book set in Japan, where Harriet jets off to for a modelling shoot. I love books that can sweep me away somewhere exciting, and reading about Tokyo through Harriet's eyes felt like a real adventure! Plus we get extra doses of Japanese Harriet facts so what's not to love about that?! I thought Rin, a Japanese model Harriet ends up staying with, was a hilarious addition to the characters as well. Her little quirks and observations had me giggling throughout those scenes.
Now getting slightly more serious, I loved seeing Harriet become a little more independent and starting to stand up for herself. There were moments where I was almost standing up and cheering her on as she starts to fight back and take control of things. I think my favourite scene was Harriet's comeback in an argument that involves correcting someone's grammar. I literally wanted to reach into the book and high-five her because that's totally what I would do. I love that Harriet goes on all these ups and downs throughout the book and you get swept along with her in all of those situations. But there were some really uplifting moments, especially towards the end of the book, where my heart felt all warm and fuzzy.
I've mentioned (a lot) how much I love the characters, but the plot in Model Misfit was all so brilliantly pieced together. There's bits of information planted throughout that you don't see as being relevant until the end of the story. I just loved how everything is built up and seamlessly worked into the story. The writing is so clever.
So yes, I loved it. I absolutely loved it. If you loved the first book then you won't be disappointed. I can't wait for book three because I'm missing these characters already. I think this series is going to be my go to comfort read in the future because rarely do books make me giggle so much. I can't wait to re-read them already!
Find more books like this at TotalTeenFiction!
Weer een heerlijk boek! Ik vloog erdoorheen en ik ben benieuwd naar de volgende avonturen!
The beginning of this book had me fooled. Harriet sounded so sure of herself and so professional. She sounded like someone who had really gotten the hang of the modeling world in a really short period of time. I was asking myself how many modeling jobs Harriet had actually done to get to this spot.
Turns out, Harriet hasn't changed one bit and she still doesn't know how to handle the modeling world. I was so happy that version of Harriet came back. That's the version of Harriet that I love, the clumsy, awkward, full-of-facts Harriet.
Harriet gets flown to Japan for the summer and it sounds all dandy until her grandmother just ditches her in a land that she doesn't know. I'll admit, I was worried about Harriet, I thought she might accidentally end up lost or unintentionally insult someone what with her track record and things. Thankfully she found her way to the right place at the right time.
As soon as I met Harriet's roommates, I knew one of them was going to back stab her, I just knew it. She had the job that every single model wanted, one of them was going to stab her in the back and I just knew it. I was right too, it ended up being that girl who I think had blonde hair but I forget her name.
I have to admit, as silly as Harriet's parents and entourage can be, those guys bring out the guns when someone messes with their Harriet Manners. They don't take no shit when it comes to Harriet.
You really feel bad for Harriet in this novel because just when she thinks that everything is going okay, she messes up in a major way and her employer ends up getting mad at her (for the life of me I can't remember her name Sweet Jesus). Not to mention that she thought her parents didn't want her around anymore and were using the trip to Japan as a reason to get Harriet out of the house. I expected her to get fired at any moment but Harriet made it to the end of the book before she got fired for good. This is where we find out that one of Harriet's flat mates was sabotaging her the entire time. It wasn't the Japanese girl, she's sweet as pie.
At that point I was just about jumping around yelling that I had known it all along. Really, who couldn't see that coming? The parts that definitely got the most emotion out of me were the parts with Nick involved. I just felt like raging about him every time that he showed up because I thought that he had left Harriet.
In the end it just turned out that it was a misunderstanding and he had never dumped her at all, Harriet had just assumed that Nick had. And of course, Toby was there as well, he helped to save the day. I am seriously in awe at the lengths that this boy will go to to stalk Harriet. But hey, at least everyone in the novel acknowledges the fact that Toby is a stalker instead of trying to cover it up.
Turns out, Harriet hasn't changed one bit and she still doesn't know how to handle the modeling world. I was so happy that version of Harriet came back. That's the version of Harriet that I love, the clumsy, awkward, full-of-facts Harriet.
Harriet gets flown to Japan for the summer and it sounds all dandy until her grandmother just ditches her in a land that she doesn't know. I'll admit, I was worried about Harriet, I thought she might accidentally end up lost or unintentionally insult someone what with her track record and things. Thankfully she found her way to the right place at the right time.
As soon as I met Harriet's roommates, I knew one of them was going to back stab her, I just knew it. She had the job that every single model wanted, one of them was going to stab her in the back and I just knew it. I was right too, it ended up being that girl who I think had blonde hair but I forget her name.
I have to admit, as silly as Harriet's parents and entourage can be, those guys bring out the guns when someone messes with their Harriet Manners. They don't take no shit when it comes to Harriet.
You really feel bad for Harriet in this novel because just when she thinks that everything is going okay, she messes up in a major way and her employer ends up getting mad at her (for the life of me I can't remember her name Sweet Jesus). Not to mention that she thought her parents didn't want her around anymore and were using the trip to Japan as a reason to get Harriet out of the house. I expected her to get fired at any moment but Harriet made it to the end of the book before she got fired for good. This is where we find out that one of Harriet's flat mates was sabotaging her the entire time. It wasn't the Japanese girl, she's sweet as pie.
At that point I was just about jumping around yelling that I had known it all along. Really, who couldn't see that coming? The parts that definitely got the most emotion out of me were the parts with Nick involved. I just felt like raging about him every time that he showed up because I thought that he had left Harriet.
In the end it just turned out that it was a misunderstanding and he had never dumped her at all, Harriet had just assumed that Nick had. And of course, Toby was there as well, he helped to save the day. I am seriously in awe at the lengths that this boy will go to to stalk Harriet. But hey, at least everyone in the novel acknowledges the fact that Toby is a stalker instead of trying to cover it up.
Awesomingly funny! Had me in giggles and I just want to smoosh Harriet!
If Meg Cabot and Sophie Kinsella had literary babies together, I think they'd be Holly Smale's "Geek Girl" books. And yet Harriet Manners is a heroine all her own: intelligent, funny, awkward but charming, a tad clumsy (okay... UNDERSTATEMENT), and equipped with an intriguing factoid or witty pop culture reference for any imaginable scenario. I thoroughly enjoyed following Harriet's exploits this time around, from the ordinary (navigating end-of-grade tests and the inevitable weirdness that comes from a new baby sibling on the way) to the bizarre (being stranded in Tokyo by your pink-haired grandmother, or figuring out how to model with a live octopus as your "prop"). This is the kind of "fluffy" reading that has real substance behind it, the "Wizard of Oz" trifecta of brains, courage, and heart.
Gosh. Why do I continue reading these? I guess I find them funny, but that's because they're just so absurd. Read it just to laugh at these books. They're that hilarious (and there are good jokes in the books too)
I liked it but I didn't LOVE it, you know. I think it's really different from other teenage and ya books and movies because she doesn't change herself just because she's a model.