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booklover143's review
3.0
Not that kind of girl by Siobhan Vivian was a very fast book to read took no time at all. The only problem was that I didnt enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Yes it had all the good lovey feelings ,the dram, the friendships but I don't know it wasn't anything extraordinary. I would read again if there was nothing better to read but it would not be my very first choice.
literarykate616's review
5.0
I loved this book! It was real and I could totally relate to Natalie even though I was far from being student council president in high school. I was a band geek in school and didn’t hang out with the popular crowd, but I did take AP English and worked hard to get good grades. I hated studying for tests, especially the ACT, but like Natalie I was focused on getting into a good college.
I would have never considered sneaking out of my house and I never got home after curfew because I didn’t have one due to my lack of a social life. I had my few close friends and I was friendly with the rest of my class. We didn’t have huge deviations in social groups at my school and I don’t think that we ever had any big rumors going around. I never knew about any of the parties that were going on since my dad was one of the counselors. I honestly didn’t mind being left out of that loop though, because the people that went to those parties weren’t my friends.
I understand the pressure that Natalie felt from her parents, teachers and peers. It’s hard to focus when people expect you to do well all the time and not screw up anything. I liked how Connor challenged Natalie and made her realize that she couldn’t control everything in her life, and especially couldn’t run from her feelings for him.
The scene with the food drive reminded me of my years in National Honor Society when we put together all the baskets for needy families for White Christmas. We had a huge assembly and then delivered the food afterwards and were allowed to miss classes during that time. Senior year I got to drive around with my friends and then we all went out for lunch. That didn’t even compare to what Student Council did all year round so I can’t imagine being as busy as Natalie with all those committees and projects.
Spencer really bothered me in the beginning with all her drama and smuttiness, but by the end of the book I could see her as the next student council president. I don’t agree with any of the things she did, but she did work hard on the committees once she got her act together. Ms. Bee was annoying because to me it seemed like she was a bitter divorced woman who expected Natalie to be independent and ignore her hormones. A high school senior should be able to date and I’m glad that Natalie realized Ms. Bee just needed to shut up and mind her own business.
Can I just swoon over all the amazing sexy scenes in this book? I will never look at sheds the same way again. Connor and Natalie had real passion and I loved watching their relationship grow. I now want to read everything else by Siobhan Vivian. Please feel free to start sending me recommendations.
I would have never considered sneaking out of my house and I never got home after curfew because I didn’t have one due to my lack of a social life. I had my few close friends and I was friendly with the rest of my class. We didn’t have huge deviations in social groups at my school and I don’t think that we ever had any big rumors going around. I never knew about any of the parties that were going on since my dad was one of the counselors. I honestly didn’t mind being left out of that loop though, because the people that went to those parties weren’t my friends.
I understand the pressure that Natalie felt from her parents, teachers and peers. It’s hard to focus when people expect you to do well all the time and not screw up anything. I liked how Connor challenged Natalie and made her realize that she couldn’t control everything in her life, and especially couldn’t run from her feelings for him.
The scene with the food drive reminded me of my years in National Honor Society when we put together all the baskets for needy families for White Christmas. We had a huge assembly and then delivered the food afterwards and were allowed to miss classes during that time. Senior year I got to drive around with my friends and then we all went out for lunch. That didn’t even compare to what Student Council did all year round so I can’t imagine being as busy as Natalie with all those committees and projects.
Spencer really bothered me in the beginning with all her drama and smuttiness, but by the end of the book I could see her as the next student council president. I don’t agree with any of the things she did, but she did work hard on the committees once she got her act together. Ms. Bee was annoying because to me it seemed like she was a bitter divorced woman who expected Natalie to be independent and ignore her hormones. A high school senior should be able to date and I’m glad that Natalie realized Ms. Bee just needed to shut up and mind her own business.
Can I just swoon over all the amazing sexy scenes in this book? I will never look at sheds the same way again. Connor and Natalie had real passion and I loved watching their relationship grow. I now want to read everything else by Siobhan Vivian. Please feel free to start sending me recommendations.
smithers815's review against another edition
4.0
High school is one of those times where you are trying to figure out who you are and are faced with pressure like never before (and that you never again face). Natalie Sterling is experiencing all of this while being her own worst enemy. While she is desperately trying to keep it all together, she finds her life crumbling around her. I have to admit that it took me a while to warm up to Natalie. She is a very self obsessed person and manipulates those around her quite often to get what she needs. Her relationship with Connor, however, brought her into a whole new light for me. Connor saw something in Natalie that she didn’t see in herself and desperately tried to get her to open up and see it too. The more he tried, however, the more she resisted and caused more trouble for herself. At the end of the novel, Natalie had begun to make her transformation and I like that it was one where she recognized there would have to be gradual process. I get tired of those books where the lead needs to change, does, and BAM! Their life is perfect without all the drama. Real life doesn’t work like that so I appreciate Vivian’s acknowledgment of that fact.
Natalie is a very relatable character to many because she does want to fit in, have her life in order and is protective of her best friend. She does, however, take it to the extreme which some cannot relate to. As much as I didn’t get her in the end, she is probably one of my favorite characters because she is so well written and real. I really appreciate the fact that I didn’t like her and now do all because of the writing. Vivian did a great job of showing the dynamics of a variety of relationships in a teenagers life (from best friend, the one we take under our wing, the guy we like and even our parents) and how important they are to even the most controlling of us.
Natalie is a very relatable character to many because she does want to fit in, have her life in order and is protective of her best friend. She does, however, take it to the extreme which some cannot relate to. As much as I didn’t get her in the end, she is probably one of my favorite characters because she is so well written and real. I really appreciate the fact that I didn’t like her and now do all because of the writing. Vivian did a great job of showing the dynamics of a variety of relationships in a teenagers life (from best friend, the one we take under our wing, the guy we like and even our parents) and how important they are to even the most controlling of us.
anabelsbrother's review
3.0
I like the prominent characters of this book: Natalie, Autumn and Spencer.
I get how Natalie is feeling. She wants to be the girl I inspire to be too; the girl who will not let boys screw her over, the girl who knows what she wants and will do anything to get it. But sometimes I wish that she's less uptight about things. I like how Autumn finds her way to move on after that one big mistake she made in her freshman year. And I also like Spencer, who some people may regard as a slut, because she knows her stuff and she has strong opinions and views on things, although it may contradict with the "normal" ones, she's not afraid to stand by them.
A good read.
I get how Natalie is feeling. She wants to be the girl I inspire to be too; the girl who will not let boys screw her over, the girl who knows what she wants and will do anything to get it. But sometimes I wish that she's less uptight about things. I like how Autumn finds her way to move on after that one big mistake she made in her freshman year. And I also like Spencer, who some people may regard as a slut, because she knows her stuff and she has strong opinions and views on things, although it may contradict with the "normal" ones, she's not afraid to stand by them.
A good read.
magictalia's review
4.0
Amo TODO DE ESTE LIBRO. Lo he leído tantas tantas veces y simplemente me canso de leerlo. Creo que todo de este libro es tan bueno, lo más increíble es que no presenta nada nuevo, pero aún así es tan bueno.
hanyentreletras's review against another edition
1.0
Solo diré que le doy estrella solo por Connor.
Odio realmente a la protagonista.
Solo quería abofetearla durante todo el libro.
Odié a todos los personajes menos a Connor.
Odio realmente a la protagonista.
Solo quería abofetearla durante todo el libro.
Odié a todos los personajes menos a Connor.
mountie9's review
4.0
The Good Stuff
* Very realistic and true to life, so I think teens will really gravitate towards it, especially teens that are a little mature for their age like Natalie
* Author understands the whole high school experience and the drama involved
* Lots of thinly veiled moral situations that could start some great discussions about sexuality
* Made me really think about sexuality and teens and having the power to portray your sexuality without being judged for it
* Nice character development of ALL of the main characters, especially for Natalie
* Adults are also portrayed a little more realistically (less of the stereotypical adults are morons theme in many YA Books -- but again I am a Mom so I'm sensitive about that)
* It was nice reading the book and remembering the fire that burned through us when we were that young
* Great first chapter, gets you interested right away
The Not so Good Stuff
* I found Natalie really self involved and irritating a lot of the time (But lets remember I am a 40 yr old women) and she really was a crappy friend at times
* Irritated that school would think of suspending Spenser for her sexuality but not the guy
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"Probably because I was one of a rare few at Ross Academy to see guys like Mike for who they really were -- power drunk meatheads who'd do anything to get a laugh. High School was the best Mike Domski's life would ever get."
"Part of me thought Spencer was a smart girl. And the other part of me thought she was a fourteen-year-old Rosstitute who knew even less than I did."
"Time had taught her. And now she was teaching me."
What I Learned
* If you are a straight A student than you think too much -- no never mind I learned that from Billy Joel
* High school sucks (again never mind - I lived through high school already and it does suck)
Who should/shouldn't read
* Teens will love it, because they will totally understand the actions and feelings of the characters
* Not really for adults unless they are like me and never really completely grew up (and still remember what it was like to be that age)
* There is some sexual content so probably not suited for the less mature YA reader. It is tastefully done though
4 Dewey's
I received this from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review
* Very realistic and true to life, so I think teens will really gravitate towards it, especially teens that are a little mature for their age like Natalie
* Author understands the whole high school experience and the drama involved
* Lots of thinly veiled moral situations that could start some great discussions about sexuality
* Made me really think about sexuality and teens and having the power to portray your sexuality without being judged for it
* Nice character development of ALL of the main characters, especially for Natalie
* Adults are also portrayed a little more realistically (less of the stereotypical adults are morons theme in many YA Books -- but again I am a Mom so I'm sensitive about that)
* It was nice reading the book and remembering the fire that burned through us when we were that young
* Great first chapter, gets you interested right away
The Not so Good Stuff
* I found Natalie really self involved and irritating a lot of the time (But lets remember I am a 40 yr old women) and she really was a crappy friend at times
* Irritated that school would think of suspending Spenser for her sexuality but not the guy
Favorite Quotes/Passages
"Probably because I was one of a rare few at Ross Academy to see guys like Mike for who they really were -- power drunk meatheads who'd do anything to get a laugh. High School was the best Mike Domski's life would ever get."
"Part of me thought Spencer was a smart girl. And the other part of me thought she was a fourteen-year-old Rosstitute who knew even less than I did."
"Time had taught her. And now she was teaching me."
What I Learned
* If you are a straight A student than you think too much -- no never mind I learned that from Billy Joel
* High school sucks (again never mind - I lived through high school already and it does suck)
Who should/shouldn't read
* Teens will love it, because they will totally understand the actions and feelings of the characters
* Not really for adults unless they are like me and never really completely grew up (and still remember what it was like to be that age)
* There is some sexual content so probably not suited for the less mature YA reader. It is tastefully done though
4 Dewey's
I received this from Scholastic in exchange for an honest review
tjlcody's review
3.0
(DAMN IT Goodreads messed up and ate my review)
Generally, I had two problems with this book.
First: Natalie was a jerk. A preachy, self-absorbed, condescending, "my way is the only right way of thinking" jackass. Reading from her perspective was difficult, and I can honestly say that I nearly dropped the book and didn't pick it up again for how much I disliked her.
In fairness, she comes around by the end of the book, and so I think the author was intentionally making her hard to like so as to better make her transformation, but still- reading from her POV was difficult and made me want to punch something.
Second: *Rubs eyes* This is the difficult part.
In the book, the author seems to be presenting two ways of thinking and debunking them both. Those being:
Guys Are All Misogynistic Jerks and Girls Who Put Out for Them Are Stupid, Naive Sluts Who Clearly Have No Self-Worth.
vs.
Girls Are Awesome and Have So Much Sexual Power That They Can Clearly Use to Take Advantage of Men, Who Are Stupid.
From what I read, the author seems to be saying that both of these perspectives have their good and bad points- girls should exercise good judgment in who/when/why they sleep with someone to protect themselves; yes, we do have more sexual power than certain people choose to give us credit for; no, girls who have sex are not sluts; and no, boys are not all misogynistic assholes lying in wait to take advantage of every girl they meet.
Natalie and Spencer are supposed to be extreme representations of those ideas. And of course, it backfires on both of them: Natalie treats her best friend like crap, and Spencer gets in over her head because she (wrongly) thinks she knows exactly how to handle herself to get what she wants, and she doesn't- she's too immature and doesn't have the foresight to predict the consequences of her actions.
And see, I can appreciate that. I can appreciate the author saying that neither of these extremes are correct, and you have to come to a middle-ground to find the truth.
Except that I wish maybe they'd both been toned down a bit.
The thing is, I've seen a lot of Natalies in this world. I've seen a lot of self-proclaimed feminists pull the crap that she does- sex is dirty, men are evil and can't be trusted, you're objectifying yourself, you clearly have no respect for yourself, here, let me tell you how you should be conducting yourself since I am the judge of ALL women, etc. I've seen a lot of Spencers too, but generally I'm not as insulted by them as I am by the Natalies.
My problem is that I feel like they both came off as too extreme to be believable. I feel like, at a lot of points, they were more like caricatures than people with differing ideas. Which is not good, because I'd like to think that a Natalie or a Spencer might pick up this book and think "Wow, is that how I've been behaving? Do I need to reevaluate my beliefs and behaviors?"
I don't know. Generally the book was good, and I'm glad I held in to the end to see how everything played out, but it just rubbed me the wrong ways in a lot of respects.
Generally, I had two problems with this book.
First: Natalie was a jerk. A preachy, self-absorbed, condescending, "my way is the only right way of thinking" jackass. Reading from her perspective was difficult, and I can honestly say that I nearly dropped the book and didn't pick it up again for how much I disliked her.
In fairness, she comes around by the end of the book, and so I think the author was intentionally making her hard to like so as to better make her transformation, but still- reading from her POV was difficult and made me want to punch something.
Second: *Rubs eyes* This is the difficult part.
In the book, the author seems to be presenting two ways of thinking and debunking them both. Those being:
Guys Are All Misogynistic Jerks and Girls Who Put Out for Them Are Stupid, Naive Sluts Who Clearly Have No Self-Worth.
vs.
Girls Are Awesome and Have So Much Sexual Power That They Can Clearly Use to Take Advantage of Men, Who Are Stupid.
From what I read, the author seems to be saying that both of these perspectives have their good and bad points- girls should exercise good judgment in who/when/why they sleep with someone to protect themselves; yes, we do have more sexual power than certain people choose to give us credit for; no, girls who have sex are not sluts; and no, boys are not all misogynistic assholes lying in wait to take advantage of every girl they meet.
Natalie and Spencer are supposed to be extreme representations of those ideas. And of course, it backfires on both of them: Natalie treats her best friend like crap, and Spencer gets in over her head because she (wrongly) thinks she knows exactly how to handle herself to get what she wants, and she doesn't- she's too immature and doesn't have the foresight to predict the consequences of her actions.
And see, I can appreciate that. I can appreciate the author saying that neither of these extremes are correct, and you have to come to a middle-ground to find the truth.
Except that I wish maybe they'd both been toned down a bit.
The thing is, I've seen a lot of Natalies in this world. I've seen a lot of self-proclaimed feminists pull the crap that she does- sex is dirty, men are evil and can't be trusted, you're objectifying yourself, you clearly have no respect for yourself, here, let me tell you how you should be conducting yourself since I am the judge of ALL women, etc. I've seen a lot of Spencers too, but generally I'm not as insulted by them as I am by the Natalies.
My problem is that I feel like they both came off as too extreme to be believable. I feel like, at a lot of points, they were more like caricatures than people with differing ideas. Which is not good, because I'd like to think that a Natalie or a Spencer might pick up this book and think "Wow, is that how I've been behaving? Do I need to reevaluate my beliefs and behaviors?"
I don't know. Generally the book was good, and I'm glad I held in to the end to see how everything played out, but it just rubbed me the wrong ways in a lot of respects.
heykellyjensen's review
3.0
The writing is really good, and the story isn't bad. Natalie is a character who is just very well done. I thought, though, it got a little didactic at the end....but it also fit with how Natalie is, so, it kind of worked.
Full review here: http://stackedbooks.blogspot.com/2010/09/not-that-kind-of-girl-by-siobhan-vivan.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FsTpar+(Stacked)
Full review here: http://stackedbooks.blogspot.com/2010/09/not-that-kind-of-girl-by-siobhan-vivan.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FsTpar+(Stacked)
_carolcabrita's review
4.0
I listened the audiobook during a very long bus drive. So.. I enjoyed it hahaha. It has a nice message to young girls and, yes, some cliches that I like :)