Tuesday 14 May 2013

You Don't Know Me by Sophia Bennett

It was all so good. Sasha and Rose. Best friends in a band, singing together. Right up to the finals of Killer Act when the judges tell them one of them must go Suddenly their friendship is put to the ultimate test. On TV in front of millions. Two girls. One huge mistake. Can they ever forgive each other?

This is my first Sophia Bennett book and I loved it. Her style, her characters, everything was so well done and excellently portrayed and just plain awesome! The story of Sasha and her best friends accidently being entered into an amazing music contest and having that friendship torn apart by the horrible effects of the media was incredibly real and heart-breaking. 

It was a really interesting and realistic portrayal of the effects of social media. I am painfully aware of the impact mean texts and messages can have and it was intriguing to see that in YA fiction, as it is a big deal to teenage life and should be addressed more. Plus Bennett also tackled body issues. This is already addressed in fiction but not necessarily from the perspective of someone else. The significance of Sasha not noticing nor caring about Rose's size was obvious plus her naive reaction made the breakup all the more heartfelt. 

But more than anything else, this was a story of friendship, and although Nell and Jodie were a little annoying when they left Sasha to deal with the brunt of the criticism, the fact that they all came together in the end, despite what they had all gone through, made me cry a little. And as it was told from Sasha's point of view, we realise the extent of all the criticism and really feel for her as she struggles with all of it. That made me love Sasha as a character, that she was so strong and even after thinking Rose had dumped her, still would not say a bad thing against her. 

This book had the most fantastic blend of funny and serious, mixing privacy control and death threats with songs about sunglasses and dressing up! It made me cry and laugh, sometimes both, and comes highly recommended. 

Published 6th May 2013 by Chicken House. Thank you to Chicken House for my review copy. 

3 comments:

  1. I've seen nothing but glowing reviews for this one, I think my sister would love it. May have to buy it for her. Great review!

    Cait

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  2. I'm so looking forward to this. It'll be my frst Sophia Bennett as well.

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  3. I've recently read this and I completely agree with your review, it really is a great book! So glad you enjoyed it

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