I'm not sure how i feel about this one...
First off, clearly it's aimed at someone half (a third!?) of my age, so im not writing it off just yet!
Lauren clearly feels she has issues fitting in, this isn't unusual for teenagers; male, female, or other. Her mum is the head of her school, she has fallen out with her best friend in the past year, feels unsatisfied with her relationship with her boyfriend (whom she sometimes feels uses her for sex) and is confused about her sexuality.
The Enid Blyton / Mallory Towers references made me smile, although i think the girls may prefer to liken themselves to Saint Trinian's ;-)
It's interesting that the blurb refers to 'every teenage girl's worst nightmare'. Reading that as an adult and a mum, i can imagine a few nightmare scenarios; but i imagine those are different to what a teenage girl might think would be the worst thing that could happen.
To be perfectly honest, this book probably isn't for me; there seems to be an element of 'how many modern tropes can we squeeze into the opening chapters', HOWEVER, seeing it for what it is; namely YA fiction, then the author deserves some credit for writing in an open manner that feeling or being different is normal and ok.
I realize it comes across as though i don't really fancy this book, but actually i would like to read on, as i am intrigued to see where the story goes. I also think that i could be pleasantly surprised and i may well end up changing my stance on the tropes ;-)
I do like the cover, the label has so many connotations:
Gender labels
Sexuality
Cliques
Or the thinking that girls should be cared for as though they are weak or delicate.
One thing that occurred to me, there is a lot of reference to her trans acquaintances; could Lauren want to transition female to male, but is confused as to how it would affect her relationship with her boyfriend?
*Also, I work in a high school, and, YES!! The make-up brigade is REALLY scary.
First off, clearly it's aimed at someone half (a third!?) of my age, so im not writing it off just yet!
Lauren clearly feels she has issues fitting in, this isn't unusual for teenagers; male, female, or other. Her mum is the head of her school, she has fallen out with her best friend in the past year, feels unsatisfied with her relationship with her boyfriend (whom she sometimes feels uses her for sex) and is confused about her sexuality.
The Enid Blyton / Mallory Towers references made me smile, although i think the girls may prefer to liken themselves to Saint Trinian's ;-)
It's interesting that the blurb refers to 'every teenage girl's worst nightmare'. Reading that as an adult and a mum, i can imagine a few nightmare scenarios; but i imagine those are different to what a teenage girl might think would be the worst thing that could happen.
To be perfectly honest, this book probably isn't for me; there seems to be an element of 'how many modern tropes can we squeeze into the opening chapters', HOWEVER, seeing it for what it is; namely YA fiction, then the author deserves some credit for writing in an open manner that feeling or being different is normal and ok.
I realize it comes across as though i don't really fancy this book, but actually i would like to read on, as i am intrigued to see where the story goes. I also think that i could be pleasantly surprised and i may well end up changing my stance on the tropes ;-)
I do like the cover, the label has so many connotations:
Gender labels
Sexuality
Cliques
Or the thinking that girls should be cared for as though they are weak or delicate.
One thing that occurred to me, there is a lot of reference to her trans acquaintances; could Lauren want to transition female to male, but is confused as to how it would affect her relationship with her boyfriend?
*Also, I work in a high school, and, YES!! The make-up brigade is REALLY scary.