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abiofpellinor 's review for:
The Exact Opposite of Okay
by Laura Steven
This book really surprised me. I’m not the biggest lover of contemporary books, or novels I used to consider “girly”, however, after hearing Laura talk about this book at the NYALitFest I had to go and pick it up at the library. I sped through this book in no time at all and absolutely adored it! 5*! So, let’s break it down a little and see what about it I loved. And don’t worry, there won’t be any spoilers in here!
To me, I feel like this book should be put into the same category as THUG (The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas), and therefore I think that if you enjoyed THUG you should pick this book up. Both tackle very difficult, but essential, topics in beautifully written and engrossing ways. The main topic of TEOOO (The Exact Opposite of Okay) is revenge porn, the legalities of it in the US and how it can have a life-changing impact on the individual. Although the author is British, revenge porn is illegal here in the UK so she wasn’t able to set her book here. Hopefully, this will soon become the same in the US, however, for now, this is not the case.
Revenge porn can have a devastating effect on the individual, as not only is their privacy violated on one of the largest scales imaginable, but also their trust in a person has been destroyed and this could impact their ability to trust others in the future. Laura tackles this beautifully and really makes the reader think about all these possibilities and how the situation would impact themselves.
There are also aspects of racism tackled within this novel, as Izzy’s best friend, Ajita, is Nepalise-American and is therefore treated differently due to her skin colour. This is clearly not the main aim of the book, but I like that Laura includes it within the narrative as it is a very real part of life for many Americans.
Truthfully, this is simply an amazing piece of literature which tackles slut-shaming, inequality, racism and more in a mature and engrossing manner. I cannot think of a single negative of this book as I couldn’t put it down and greatly enjoyed every word. If I can find more contemporary pieces like this then I definitely will be reading more from this genre! I am also ridiculously excited for A Girl Called Shameless (book 2 in the series) which is due out March ’19 and has a beautiful cover!
I don’t think that this review is doing this book justice, but if you are intrigued then please do go and pick it up! And let me know in the comments if you’ve already read it!
From my blog: autumnofpellinor.wordpress.com
To me, I feel like this book should be put into the same category as THUG (The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas), and therefore I think that if you enjoyed THUG you should pick this book up. Both tackle very difficult, but essential, topics in beautifully written and engrossing ways. The main topic of TEOOO (The Exact Opposite of Okay) is revenge porn, the legalities of it in the US and how it can have a life-changing impact on the individual. Although the author is British, revenge porn is illegal here in the UK so she wasn’t able to set her book here. Hopefully, this will soon become the same in the US, however, for now, this is not the case.
Revenge porn can have a devastating effect on the individual, as not only is their privacy violated on one of the largest scales imaginable, but also their trust in a person has been destroyed and this could impact their ability to trust others in the future. Laura tackles this beautifully and really makes the reader think about all these possibilities and how the situation would impact themselves.
There are also aspects of racism tackled within this novel, as Izzy’s best friend, Ajita, is Nepalise-American and is therefore treated differently due to her skin colour. This is clearly not the main aim of the book, but I like that Laura includes it within the narrative as it is a very real part of life for many Americans.
Truthfully, this is simply an amazing piece of literature which tackles slut-shaming, inequality, racism and more in a mature and engrossing manner. I cannot think of a single negative of this book as I couldn’t put it down and greatly enjoyed every word. If I can find more contemporary pieces like this then I definitely will be reading more from this genre! I am also ridiculously excited for A Girl Called Shameless (book 2 in the series) which is due out March ’19 and has a beautiful cover!
I don’t think that this review is doing this book justice, but if you are intrigued then please do go and pick it up! And let me know in the comments if you’ve already read it!
From my blog: autumnofpellinor.wordpress.com