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romanaromana 's review for:
It's Not Me, It's You
by Stephanie Kate Strohm
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4 stars.
This was easy and fun. I got exactly what I asked for.
Avery Dennis is near enough a celebrity at her high school. A talented tennis player, head of prom committee, blonde and gorgeous...Avery has a lot going for her, including a boyfriend who happens to be San Anselmo Prep's golden boy. That is until he dumps her one week before the senior prom. Avery has had many boyfriends, but she has never been dumped. Angry and confused, Avery swears to put her dating days on a much-needed hiatus. In the meantime, she decides to interview all of her past boyfriends, with the help of her best friend Coco, and lab partner, Hutch. With such determination to find out what went wrong in her relationships, Avery is destined to realise a few truths about herself before prom arrives.
I read this to rescue what has been a relatively disappointing week of reading. I wanted something light and easy, and that's exactly what I got in It's Not Me, It's You. This novel is no literary masterpiece, but I had an enjoyable two days following Avery's introspective 'investigation', and meeting the vibrant characters in her life.
The most unique aspect of this book is its narrative format. Avery tells her story as an 'oral history', which reads somewhat like a script for a mockumentary. It was fun to read what was essentially 280 pages of dialogue, even if it did become exhausting at times, in the same way that talking to people for hours on end can be draining. I don't see this as a legitimate criticism, but rather a consequence of my binge-reading. Exhaustion aside, I think Stephanie Kate Strohm shows real writing innovation and commitment in her style. Whilst some may think that cutting out the traditional narration and description of a novel would make it easier to write, I believe that It's Not Me must have been a challenge. Maintaining the atypical tense and a cast of very distinct voices can't have been easy.
What's more, I think this format gave a great insight into Strohm's characters. I quickly took to Avery's funny and friendly character, as well as that of her close friends. Equally, whilst we rarely hear from them for more than a chapter, Avery's ex-boyfriends were excellently introduced through their own dialogue. This book is, in many ways, a masterclass on distinct voices, and it was amazing how fast I stopped relying on the names which indicated who was speaking - I could just tell from what they said.
However, whilst I enjoyed meeting all of the characters...damn, there were a lot. The range of boys, in particular, was fun to follow, but I do wish their characters contributed more to Avery's overall journey. Sure, I liked learning about how these relationships began and ended, and what these boys were like, but in the interests of the investigation, it would have been more satisfying if there was more of a pattern, or recognisable elements that created a real arc for Avery. Instead, the relationships were too random, and thus some at least are in danger of being labelled pointless additions to Avery's story.
As a final point: this book is predictable. Like, really predictable. I don't strictly dislike predictable - at the end of the day, I want the happily ever after at the end of the rom-com - but I was about five pages in when I said: 'it's him.' And, crucially, I was right. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the guy Avery ends up with, but with the sheer number of boys in this book, a couple of red herrings would have been both easy and fun. I would have loved for the investigative tone of the whole book to translate into the story itself, so I could have joined in with trying to guess where things were going.
But, I have to say it: this book is pretty much what I needed right now. I probably won't remember most of it by the end of next week, but hey, I still really liked it.
This was easy and fun. I got exactly what I asked for.
Avery Dennis is near enough a celebrity at her high school. A talented tennis player, head of prom committee, blonde and gorgeous...Avery has a lot going for her, including a boyfriend who happens to be San Anselmo Prep's golden boy. That is until he dumps her one week before the senior prom. Avery has had many boyfriends, but she has never been dumped. Angry and confused, Avery swears to put her dating days on a much-needed hiatus. In the meantime, she decides to interview all of her past boyfriends, with the help of her best friend Coco, and lab partner, Hutch. With such determination to find out what went wrong in her relationships, Avery is destined to realise a few truths about herself before prom arrives.
I read this to rescue what has been a relatively disappointing week of reading. I wanted something light and easy, and that's exactly what I got in It's Not Me, It's You. This novel is no literary masterpiece, but I had an enjoyable two days following Avery's introspective 'investigation', and meeting the vibrant characters in her life.
The most unique aspect of this book is its narrative format. Avery tells her story as an 'oral history', which reads somewhat like a script for a mockumentary. It was fun to read what was essentially 280 pages of dialogue, even if it did become exhausting at times, in the same way that talking to people for hours on end can be draining. I don't see this as a legitimate criticism, but rather a consequence of my binge-reading. Exhaustion aside, I think Stephanie Kate Strohm shows real writing innovation and commitment in her style. Whilst some may think that cutting out the traditional narration and description of a novel would make it easier to write, I believe that It's Not Me must have been a challenge. Maintaining the atypical tense and a cast of very distinct voices can't have been easy.
What's more, I think this format gave a great insight into Strohm's characters. I quickly took to Avery's funny and friendly character, as well as that of her close friends. Equally, whilst we rarely hear from them for more than a chapter, Avery's ex-boyfriends were excellently introduced through their own dialogue. This book is, in many ways, a masterclass on distinct voices, and it was amazing how fast I stopped relying on the names which indicated who was speaking - I could just tell from what they said.
However, whilst I enjoyed meeting all of the characters...damn, there were a lot. The range of boys, in particular, was fun to follow, but I do wish their characters contributed more to Avery's overall journey. Sure, I liked learning about how these relationships began and ended, and what these boys were like, but in the interests of the investigation, it would have been more satisfying if there was more of a pattern, or recognisable elements that created a real arc for Avery. Instead, the relationships were too random, and thus some at least are in danger of being labelled pointless additions to Avery's story.
As a final point: this book is predictable. Like, really predictable. I don't strictly dislike predictable - at the end of the day, I want the happily ever after at the end of the rom-com - but I was about five pages in when I said: 'it's him.' And, crucially, I was right. Don't get me wrong, I really liked the guy Avery ends up with, but with the sheer number of boys in this book, a couple of red herrings would have been both easy and fun. I would have loved for the investigative tone of the whole book to translate into the story itself, so I could have joined in with trying to guess where things were going.
But, I have to say it: this book is pretty much what I needed right now. I probably won't remember most of it by the end of next week, but hey, I still really liked it.