I really struggle to write reviews for books like this. I don't want to bash the book or the author, but I want to be honest in my review.
Let's start with some positives. I did really like the premise of this book. I think the idea of having a story set around a bookseller trying to save the shop she works in is great. There were a few moments sprinkled through the book that did make me smile.
Before I get on to the negative I will say that I'm definitely not the target age for this book. Our main character, Paige Turner (nope not kidding) is 16. To be truly honest I don't even think 16 year old me would've been the right age group for this. I guess it would appeal most to those around 14. However, I think the following points will stand regardless of age.
Normally when I use tabs in review books I have about 5 in average. For Bookshop Girl I racked up a total of 14 in this 220 page book and I was being stingy...
For me this is one of the typical kind of cringey YA reads. The use of slang in this book really is over the top, cringe worthy at times and trying too hard to be trendy. Having seen some of the authors Instagram captions I feel like this might actually be her general way of speaking, but an editor really should have toned it down a little.
Let's look at some examples:
'Mum LOLs at her own joke.'
'We push through the doors, still high from our fit of LOLs and step into the foyer.'
'OMG. It's HIM.'
'Adam stands behind the till with this :-/ expression on his face.'
Yes, that last one really is published in print. These weren't the worst, but I'll spare you from more. If any of these have made you cringe or go 'really?!' then this book is not for you.
Moving on from the writing style let's go on to characters. There was a good balance in the quantity of characters, but none of them were particularly memorable. There's nothing I love or hate about any of them. They were all just standard YA characters.
One thing I found strange in this book were the random side plots. I'll try to be as vague as possible on this, but if you're anti spoilers just skip this paragraph. So, let's start with 'The Cat'. What did the killing of Blossom the cat add to the story? I really don't understand why we had that strange chapter. Personally, if I would've been editing this book I would've struck it out. Maybe they added it as the book was quite short. Who knows. I feel like the ending was quite similar in this way. It was just a bit of a shambles, a little like this paragraph. Overall, I found the ending just strange. I won't go into it as I don't want to spoil, but those who read it will know what I'm referring to.
There are more things I could highlight, like the just strange feminism running through this book. I really don't want to judge anyone's feminism, but the whole traffic light incident and the boiling menstrual blood did put me off a little.
Anyway, I shall leave the review there. This really is a book that would've done better in the early days of YA. I think that the genre has become more competitive and the quality has gone up. If you're looking for a really quick read this may be for you.
I do really like the fact that the author drew the cover illustration which is really cute. It is one of my favourite YA contemporary covers.
2/5 Stars
Let's start with some positives. I did really like the premise of this book. I think the idea of having a story set around a bookseller trying to save the shop she works in is great. There were a few moments sprinkled through the book that did make me smile.
Before I get on to the negative I will say that I'm definitely not the target age for this book. Our main character, Paige Turner (nope not kidding) is 16. To be truly honest I don't even think 16 year old me would've been the right age group for this. I guess it would appeal most to those around 14. However, I think the following points will stand regardless of age.
Normally when I use tabs in review books I have about 5 in average. For Bookshop Girl I racked up a total of 14 in this 220 page book and I was being stingy...
For me this is one of the typical kind of cringey YA reads. The use of slang in this book really is over the top, cringe worthy at times and trying too hard to be trendy. Having seen some of the authors Instagram captions I feel like this might actually be her general way of speaking, but an editor really should have toned it down a little.
Let's look at some examples:
'Mum LOLs at her own joke.'
'We push through the doors, still high from our fit of LOLs and step into the foyer.'
'OMG. It's HIM.'
'Adam stands behind the till with this :-/ expression on his face.'
Yes, that last one really is published in print. These weren't the worst, but I'll spare you from more. If any of these have made you cringe or go 'really?!' then this book is not for you.
Moving on from the writing style let's go on to characters. There was a good balance in the quantity of characters, but none of them were particularly memorable. There's nothing I love or hate about any of them. They were all just standard YA characters.
One thing I found strange in this book were the random side plots. I'll try to be as vague as possible on this, but if you're anti spoilers just skip this paragraph. So, let's start with 'The Cat'. What did the killing of Blossom the cat add to the story? I really don't understand why we had that strange chapter. Personally, if I would've been editing this book I would've struck it out. Maybe they added it as the book was quite short. Who knows. I feel like the ending was quite similar in this way. It was just a bit of a shambles, a little like this paragraph. Overall, I found the ending just strange. I won't go into it as I don't want to spoil, but those who read it will know what I'm referring to.
There are more things I could highlight, like the just strange feminism running through this book. I really don't want to judge anyone's feminism, but the whole traffic light incident and the boiling menstrual blood did put me off a little.
Anyway, I shall leave the review there. This really is a book that would've done better in the early days of YA. I think that the genre has become more competitive and the quality has gone up. If you're looking for a really quick read this may be for you.
I do really like the fact that the author drew the cover illustration which is really cute. It is one of my favourite YA contemporary covers.
2/5 Stars