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A review by caitlinobauer
I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl by Gretchen McNeil
5.0
I received a FREE ARC (advanced reader copy) from the publisher via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
Although no stranger to the YA genre, I’M NOT YOUR MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL is Gretchen McNeil’s first endeavor into the world of YA Contemporary fiction and she absolutely KILLS IT! What makes this book so brilliant is the way in which she deconstructs the teenage rom-com formula, pokes fun at it, yet still manages to completely embody everything we love about the genre. McNeil fearlessly explores a variety of issues with grace and humor: sexism, feminism, stereotypes, etc. She takes an extremely sexist trope and calls it on it’s B.S., all with a smile and a wink.
The plot isn’t anything we haven’t heard before: Girl meets boy. They start dating over the summer. Boy meets charming New Girl (yes, that’s a reference) first day back at school and dumps nerdy girl. Nerdy girl changes herself (and uses best friends) to win boy back. Best guy friend (swoon) has silently been waiting in the wings all along... etc. etc. You see where it’s going... However “predictable” this plot may be, McNeil’s delivery is fresh and exciting.
Bea (or “Trixie”) is a protagonist worth rooting for. She’s smart and strong, but she’s still relatable. No teenage girl is immune to the pitfalls of high school: wanting to fit in (be popular) or wanting to be loved (have a boyfriend). McNeil intelligently spells it out for us: Bea’s journey could have been a shallow one: only in pursuit of a boy (that’s the Manic Pixie Dream Girl). But instead she embarks on a journey of self-discovery about who she is, who she wants to be, and what the various relationships in her life (family & friends) mean to her.
Charming, romantic, and hysterically funny; I’M NOT YOUR MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL is perfectly executed—the kind of book that should be taught. Also, this book NEEDS to be made into a movie. Say hello to my favorite new favorite YA Contemporary! Unputdownable—a MUST READ!
Although no stranger to the YA genre, I’M NOT YOUR MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL is Gretchen McNeil’s first endeavor into the world of YA Contemporary fiction and she absolutely KILLS IT! What makes this book so brilliant is the way in which she deconstructs the teenage rom-com formula, pokes fun at it, yet still manages to completely embody everything we love about the genre. McNeil fearlessly explores a variety of issues with grace and humor: sexism, feminism, stereotypes, etc. She takes an extremely sexist trope and calls it on it’s B.S., all with a smile and a wink.
The plot isn’t anything we haven’t heard before: Girl meets boy. They start dating over the summer. Boy meets charming New Girl (yes, that’s a reference) first day back at school and dumps nerdy girl. Nerdy girl changes herself (and uses best friends) to win boy back. Best guy friend (swoon) has silently been waiting in the wings all along... etc. etc. You see where it’s going... However “predictable” this plot may be, McNeil’s delivery is fresh and exciting.
Bea (or “Trixie”) is a protagonist worth rooting for. She’s smart and strong, but she’s still relatable. No teenage girl is immune to the pitfalls of high school: wanting to fit in (be popular) or wanting to be loved (have a boyfriend). McNeil intelligently spells it out for us: Bea’s journey could have been a shallow one: only in pursuit of a boy (that’s the Manic Pixie Dream Girl). But instead she embarks on a journey of self-discovery about who she is, who she wants to be, and what the various relationships in her life (family & friends) mean to her.
Charming, romantic, and hysterically funny; I’M NOT YOUR MANIC PIXIE DREAM GIRL is perfectly executed—the kind of book that should be taught. Also, this book NEEDS to be made into a movie. Say hello to my favorite new favorite YA Contemporary! Unputdownable—a MUST READ!