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A review by janina_reads
Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian
3.0
Well. I just flew through Not That Kind of Girl in a couple of hours this afternoon. If you are wondering, yes, I actually would have had other, more important things to do. Such as studying, for example. But after exhausting myself pointlessly on a 6x6 matrix for about an hour, I decided to throw in the towel and reward myself with some quality book time. Which is something the main character here, Natalie, probably would not approve of.
Natalie has big goals in life. She is more intelligent than most other people at her school and she knows it. She wants to be someone. So she works hard for it and won’t let herself be distracted by anything. Especially not by boys. But with this ambition also comes a certain aloofness and a self-imposed isolation that may be viewed as pride and arrogance. Natalie most definitely is not as wise and knowing as she thinks she is, and she has to learn that in a sometimes painful way.
I can definitely see people thinking of her as an arrogant and annoying character, but I grew to like her. She is flawed, and she desperately needs to learn a lesson (or two), yet you can see that she is not being a snob on purpose. She wants to shelter the one person she truly cares for, her friend Autumn (even if she is carrying it to excess sometimes), and she wants to meet the expectations of those around her – and especially the expectations she has for herself.
I enjoyed seeing her grow throughout the novel, and see her realise that being with a guy you like does not imply that you are dependent on him. That is does not make you any less strong as a woman. That it does not necessarily mean he is only using you. And that sleeping with him does not automatically make you a slut.
I really liked to see the girls' totally different ways of dealing with their problems in this book. Natalie is the one to close up, push people away and snap at them. Autumn has retreated into the shadow of her friend. And Spencer just tries to hold her head high and live with it. Which sometimes works and other times doesn’t. Yet all three of them grow and find their own way.
Connor is definitely a swoon-worthy crush, and I appreciated how [a:Siobhan Vivian|800187|Siobhan Vivian|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg] succeeded in portraying him a bit like the stereotype footballer on the outside, but as a totally different person on the inside as you get to know him better. I would have wished for the interactions between him and Natalie to have a bit more depth, though.
So don't let yourself be fooled by the cover. Although this book clearly features the romance I expected it to, it is also a novel about friendship, about finding out who you want to be and about accepting that being any kind of girl can be totally fine – if it is what you want and what makes you happy.
Natalie has big goals in life. She is more intelligent than most other people at her school and she knows it. She wants to be someone. So she works hard for it and won’t let herself be distracted by anything. Especially not by boys. But with this ambition also comes a certain aloofness and a self-imposed isolation that may be viewed as pride and arrogance. Natalie most definitely is not as wise and knowing as she thinks she is, and she has to learn that in a sometimes painful way.
I can definitely see people thinking of her as an arrogant and annoying character, but I grew to like her. She is flawed, and she desperately needs to learn a lesson (or two), yet you can see that she is not being a snob on purpose. She wants to shelter the one person she truly cares for, her friend Autumn (even if she is carrying it to excess sometimes), and she wants to meet the expectations of those around her – and especially the expectations she has for herself.
I enjoyed seeing her grow throughout the novel, and see her realise that being with a guy you like does not imply that you are dependent on him. That is does not make you any less strong as a woman. That it does not necessarily mean he is only using you. And that sleeping with him does not automatically make you a slut.
I really liked to see the girls' totally different ways of dealing with their problems in this book. Natalie is the one to close up, push people away and snap at them. Autumn has retreated into the shadow of her friend. And Spencer just tries to hold her head high and live with it. Which sometimes works and other times doesn’t. Yet all three of them grow and find their own way.
Connor is definitely a swoon-worthy crush, and I appreciated how [a:Siobhan Vivian|800187|Siobhan Vivian|http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg] succeeded in portraying him a bit like the stereotype footballer on the outside, but as a totally different person on the inside as you get to know him better. I would have wished for the interactions between him and Natalie to have a bit more depth, though.
So don't let yourself be fooled by the cover. Although this book clearly features the romance I expected it to, it is also a novel about friendship, about finding out who you want to be and about accepting that being any kind of girl can be totally fine – if it is what you want and what makes you happy.