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A review by melbsreads
India Smythe Stands Up by Sarah Govett
3.0
Trigger warnings: allergic reaction, bullying, probably other stuff that I've forgotten because I read this a month ago and forgot to review it whoops.
I desperately wanted to love this, because it's SO difficult to find contemporary YA that's appropriate for the younger end of the YA market. And given that this has a 14 year old protagonist and was getting glowing reviews in the UK, I thought it would be perfect.
Uuuuuuuuuunfortunately, this just didn't work for me. India was a difficult character to like, although that may be partly because I work with 14 year old girls and my niece is 14, and so I just wanted to sit her down and be like "Okay, dude. Let's talk about why all of this is a terrible decision that you will regret in 12 months time, yeah?".
Ultimately, I was left with the distinct impression that this was desperately trying to be a modern version of the Georgia Nicolson books by Louise Rennison but without any of the charm... (Also, who the hell signed off on that cover???)
I desperately wanted to love this, because it's SO difficult to find contemporary YA that's appropriate for the younger end of the YA market. And given that this has a 14 year old protagonist and was getting glowing reviews in the UK, I thought it would be perfect.
Uuuuuuuuuunfortunately, this just didn't work for me. India was a difficult character to like, although that may be partly because I work with 14 year old girls and my niece is 14, and so I just wanted to sit her down and be like "Okay, dude. Let's talk about why all of this is a terrible decision that you will regret in 12 months time, yeah?".
Ultimately, I was left with the distinct impression that this was desperately trying to be a modern version of the Georgia Nicolson books by Louise Rennison but without any of the charm... (Also, who the hell signed off on that cover???)