Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

Everyone in school knows about Locker 89. If you slip a letter in outlining your relationship woes, along with a fiver, an anonymous source will email you with the best advice you've ever gotten.

Darcy Phillips, a quiet, sweet junior, is safe in the knowledge no one knows she's the genius behind locker 89. Until Brougham, a senior, catches her.

The deal Brougham offers is tempting: in exchange for his silence--and a generous coach's fee to sweeten the deal--Darcy can become Brougham's personal dating coach to help him get his ex-girlfriend back.

And as for Darcy, well, she has a fairly good reason to want to keep her anonymity. Because she has another secret. Not too long ago, she abused locker 89 to sabotage the budding romance of her best friend, Brooke. Brooke, who Darcy's been in love with for a year now.

Yeah. Brooke can't find out about that. No matter what.

Known only as “Locker 89”, Darcy has been providing advice to anyone in her school who asks for it, through an anonymous dead drop and email. This has worked very well for her for more than two years, until a new student waits by the locker, hoping to pay for her services in person. Though Brougham effectively blackmails her, Darcy agrees and thus begins a strange partnership to get him back his girlfriend.

I loved the premise of this: agony aunt-style advice, relationships issues, secret loves, and bi rep. I was especially impressed with the psychological take on how Darcy gives advice; she researched and learned about different attachment styles, the needs and wants for different relationships and followed other advice gurus online. Honestly, she knew her stuff!

The story focuses on two main themes: Locker 89 and the advice service, and sexuality, especially as a teenager. The advice, both wanted and unwarranted, flowed throughout and Darcy, although she knew her stuff, did mess up when it involved her friends, especially her best friend Brooke. As for the sexuality, I was thoroughly impressed with the bi rep. I have a few friends and people I follow online that identity as bisexual and I recognised some of the issues that Darcy faced with her sexuality: feeling like she didn’t quite fit in a queer space, like she’s not “queer enough”. It was very respectively written, I think – although apart from appreciating the diversity and the issues it discussed, as a cis-woman, I don’t feel I can have a proper opinion, so I’ll just say I really liked it, both as a storyline and portrayed through Darcy’s character.

Speaking of: Darcy was all kinds of adorable. And Brougham was her opposite; closed where she was open, a little stilted where Darcy was emotional. I liked them together, though, they had very good banter and played off each other really well. By the end, I could see how they complemented and bought out the best in each other.

All in all, the kind of love/coming of age story that the genre needs and one that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mini Reviews: Cinderella Is Dead and Chasing Lucky

Cinderella Is Dead by Kalynn Bayron
It's 200 years since Cinderella found her prince, but the fairytale is over.

Sophia knows the story though, off by heart. Because every girl has to recite it daily, from when she's tiny until the night she's sent to the royal ball for choosing. And every girl knows that she has only one chance. For the lives of those not chosen by a man at the ball are forfeited.

But Sophia doesn't want to be chosen – she's in love with her best friend, Erin, and hates the idea of being traded like cattle. And when Sophia's night at the ball goes horribly wrong, she must run for her life. Alone and terrified, she finds herself hiding in Cinderella's tomb. And there she meets someone who will show her that she has the power to remake her world.

The premise of this was fascinating and well executed: women have been manipulated into believing the sugar-coated version of Cinderella’s love story and anyone who doesn’t fit the strict male-dominated values is imprisoned. Sophia is terrified of the ball, of being pawed and leered at, of being a pawn in a man’s game, so she flees. In the hidden mausoleum of Cinderella’s final resting place, she meets Constance, who is like her and wants to topple the unfair system and the lies surrounding Cinderella’s so-called “happily ever after”. 

Unfortunately, I didn’t quite believe the romance between Sophia and Constance. Between Sophia still having feelings for her best friend and the pace of overthrowing the patriarchy, the romance kind of fell by the wayside. Not to say that it was badly written or anything, I just wanted to be swept up in it. But the plot? That was incredible, especially the subtle hints to the original tale and then subverting them, making the women of this story take centre stage, as is right.

There were lots of twists and turns, it was very fast paced and full of secrets waiting to be uncovered. I even gasped a few times with surprise! All in all, a solid read for me, maybe could have benefited from a bit more world-building but the message and the story were great.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett

Budding photographer Josie Saint-Martin has spent half her life with her single mother, moving from city to city. When they return to her historical New England hometown to run the family bookstore, Josie knows it's not forever, so there's no reason to change her modus operandi—keeping to herself, dreaming of the day she can leave.

But after a disastrous summer party, a poorly executed act of revenge lands her in big-time trouble. As in, jail...alongside the last person with whom she’d want to share a mugshot: the son of the boat mechanic across the street, Lucky Karras. Outsider, rebel…and her former childhood best friend.

Josie and Lucky become the talk of their coastal small town. But during a summer of secrets, everything changes, and the easy friendship they once shared grows into something deeper and more complicated. Can Josie and Lucky swim past obstacles that come with rough waters, or will they both go down together?

Jenn Bennett is on my auto-buy list, she is a brilliant author and her stories always just wrap me up and break me a little bit, and “Chasing Lucky” was no different. Josie is a budding photographer and wants this next year to go as smoothly as possible, so she can graduate high school and intern with her estranged father, a famous photographer, in Los Angeles. Problems ensue, because of course, the main one being Lucky, her childhood best friend whom she hasn’t spoken to since she and her mum left town. Josie’s been on the run with her mother since a big fight with her grandmother five years ago. She was too young to really understand what the fight was about but for the last five years, Josie and her mum have moved from town to town, never really settling, until her grandmother asks them both to come back to man the family bookshop while she’s away. 

While this was a story about Josie getting to know her childhood best friend again, about them falling in love (which they did and it was freaking adorable), it’s also about family and secrets and communication. The reason that Josie and her mum didn’t return to Beauty for five years was because Winona didn’t know how to communicate with Josie, and because she didn’t communicate well with her own mother, Deidre. Secrets and white lies and “didn’t tell you to protect you” can’t stay hidden forever, and it is a horrible way to teach your daughter about honesty and communication between family.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Mini reviews: Only Mostly Devastated and The First Date

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales

Ollie is out. Will is not. In fact, he is beyond terrified of being outed. So when Ollie, his summer fling, transfers to his school, Will turns up the jock jokes, the mask, in an effort to deflect any possibility of their secret coming out. 

This was a super cute story of falling in love with a side story of family grief. The way the warm fuzzies of Ollie and Will are intertwined with the gut-wrenching ordeal of a family member with cancer was incredibly and carefully written.

I adored this story; the “Grease” influence was subtle and adorable, everyone’s feelings were equally valid – even when Will was a right idiot – and the friendships were spot-on. The trio of girls that Ollie befriends were all amazing in their own right, and Will’s basketball buddies weren’t just meathead jocks. I mean, there were moments but the whole toxic masculinity in sports thing was handled and then dismantled, as it turns out that men have feelings too!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

The First Date by Zara Stoneley

Rosie needs help. After a long term relationship ends, Rosie finds herself in the mysterious and dangerous world of dating but ends up being ghosted. Noah rescues her ego and she agrees to allow him to teach her the ways of men. Fun and witty, this book delves headfirst into the realms of online dating, the different expectations of men and women, and loving yourself before expecting someone else to love you too.

I expected a lot from this and unfortunately it didn’t quite deliver. Rosie and Noah were entertaining to read but I didn’t root for them, nor did I really learn anything about them. The one trait that Rosie had were some major daddy issues, which was constantly bought up, which might make her somewhat relatable but it was very annoying and when that’s the most interesting thing about you? That you’re constantly comparing men, especially Noah, to her dirt bag of a father? No thanks.

Also, Noah’s “teaching”: I found some of his advice sexist and also just non-existent; how is it helpful to push a friend to ask out a guy, without any hints of any kind? And then, to be angry with her for agreeing to a date! Sure, he likes her and is pettily jealous but don’t go all passive-aggressive on her for it!

Despite the lack of proper character development, I did enjoy this. It didn’t quite live up to the promise of the synopsis but a cutesy, fun read nonetheless.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Things A Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nichols

Through rallies and marches, in polite drawing rooms and freezing prison cells and the poverty-stricken slums of the East End, three courageous young women join the fight for the vote.

Evelyn is seventeen, and though she is rich and clever, she may never be allowed to follow her older brother to university. Enraged that she is expected to marry her childhood sweetheart rather than be educated, she joins the Suffragettes, and vows to pay the ultimate price for women's freedom.

May is fifteen, and already sworn to the cause, though she and her fellow Suffragists refuse violence. When she meets Nell, a girl who's grown up in hardship, she sees a kindred spirit. Together and in love, the two girls start to dream of a world where all kinds of women have their place.

But the fight for freedom will challenge Evelyn, May and Nell more than they ever could believe. As war looms, just how much are they willing to sacrifice?

Evelyn, May and Nell come from very different backgrounds and have different ideals, but all are impressed with the Suffrage movement, all desperate to change what it means to be a woman. As these three move about their lives, grow up and fall in love, they come to realise that their childish ideals of a perfect world require a bit more hard work. 

It was incredibly clever and informative without being too imposing - it gave a very good impression of what life was actually like in the 1910's, not knowing the significance of larger events, just going about daily life. As a bit of a history nerd, I adored reading about their lives, how each family worked and lived a slightly different way but all wanted a better life. 

I fell in love with all of them, and especially appreciated how each young woman encompassed a different value of the Suffragettes. Nell, used to wearing her brother's hand-me-downs, was hard working and tough and wanted what was best for her large family. When she meets May, their differences seem hardly important and they fall head over heels - which was not only adorable but so unique in a historical fiction, I nearly cried! It was just May and her mother, both Quakers and pacifists, who have differing opinions to the rest of the country when war is declared. Evelyn is determined to have the same opportunities as her older brother and wants to study at university, whereas her parents want her to marry. 

As I said, they might be different women on the outside but all three just wanted a world that treated them fairly. It was just fascinating to read about women with their feet on the ground, as it were, in the midst of the Suffrage movement and the first year of the Great War. Definitely a new favourite and one I will be happily recommending. 

Published 7th September 2017 by Anderson. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Change Is Gonna Come by Mary Bello, et al

Featuring top Young Adult authors alongside a host of exciting new talent, this anthology of stories and poetry from BAME writers on the theme of change is a long-overdue addition to the YA scene. Contributors include Tanya Byrne, Inua Ellams, Catherine Johnson, Patrice Lawrence, Ayisha Malik, Irfan Master, Musa Okwonga and Nikesh Shukla.

Plus introducing four fresh new voices in YA fiction: Mary Bello, Aisha Bushby, Yasmin Rahman and Phoebe Roy.

I always find it difficult to review an anthology, because there are lots of little stories in these pages and all of them were incredible. 

Not only did this introduce me to lots of great new authors, it also spanned a range of very different types of stories, from fantasy to contemporary, romance to poems and everything in between. I really enjoyed all of them, with girls learning about refugees, finding first love and acceptance, overcoming anxiety and battling friends about racism, all the stories covered change and how scary it is sometimes.

Like I said, there were lots of different topics discussed, not just race and diversity - things like OCD and anxiety, empathy, love and being true to yourself. I think this whole anthology is incredibly important to see different stories, different experiences in print, and what it means to want change, whatever scale it's in. 

Published 10th August 2017 by Stripes Publishing. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Truth or Dare by Non Pratt

How far is too far when it comes to the people you love? Claire Casey hates being the centre of attention. But if it means getting Sef Malik to notice her, it’s a risk she’s happy to take. Sef is prepared to do anything to help his recently disabled brother. But this means putting Claire’s love – and life – on the line. Because when you're willing to risk everything, what is there left to lose?

Told in two halves, between Claire and Sef, and sort of before and after, we see how both of them grow closer together but also grow as an internet sensation.

Claire has just started volunteering at the local hospital, reading to patients. Her first and main one is Kam, who had a terrible accident that left him in a coma for days. When she bumps into Sef, Kam's younger brother, they are both desperate to do something to help. Only problem is that he needs thousands of pounds to continue with his care and they only have 6 months to raise it.

Both clever and sad, Sef and Claire use the power of social media to raise awareness of their cause but get increasing drastic and dangerous as their deadline looms. I loved the use of YouTube and the under belly of the internet, as they encounter trolls, bullying and dangerous suggestions for dares. It was also lovely and diverse, as Claire's best friend is asexual and Sef's family is... argh, I can't remember but basically non-white (there was a great line about where he's from: "Britain, duh") which also opens them up to nasty comments, both in person and online.

Even though they are trying desperately to raise money for Kam's care, lots of other little issues crop up without feeling overbearing. Things like family, love and sexuality, but also racism, body confidence and disability, both Claire and Sef had to deal with as they get more out of control and reckless in their attempts to raise money. 

All in all, this was a fantastic book, an amazing story about love and sacrifice that had my heart in my throat and/or tears in my eyes. Non has once again proven she can write realistic but brilliant teenagers from all walks of life.

Published 1st June 2017 by Walker. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love-she's lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can't stomach the idea of rejection. So she's careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie's orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly's cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly's totally not dying of loneliness-except for the part where she is.

Luckily, Cassie's new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny, flirtatious, and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she'll get her first kiss and she'll get her twin back.

There's only one problem: Molly's coworker, Reid. He's an awkward Tolkien superfan, and there's absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?

I loved her first book, and this was just as funny and as diverse, and I loved it. We are dropped right into Molly's world of weirdness, with her much braver twin sister, her supportive mums, her best friends and her new job that puts her in the path of Reid. 

I saw so much of myself in Molly - maybe not so much in the ridiculous amount of crushes, but definitely the fear of putting yourself out there and being the complete opposite of confident with your body. Molly has had a total of 26 crushes, spanning the years and the types, but it's only now that she thinks maybe she could put herself out there and actually tell them she likes them. 

So the love interests. Technically we met Will first but as he was the friend of the girl Molly was pushing towards her twin Cassie, all Molly noticed was he was hipster hot. Then we met Reid, the geeky and sweet boy who works in the shop with her. I was rooting for Reid from the get-go. Molly never really seemed all that interested in Will, it was more like an acknowledgement that he was attractive. Not to mention there was plenty of mixed messages with Will, between being too drunk or too worried.

When Cassie gets together with Mina, not only is it super adorable, but it also marks the end of an era with Molly and Cassie. They have always been each other's first call but this is the sucky part of growing up, that it's not like it was when you're young; first loves and getting older changes the relationships you have, especially with siblings and parents. And it did take some adjusting but Molly's anxiety makes her see things as worse than they are, so there is some harsh and bitter fights for a time. Ah, family.

Now, I can't not mention all of the diversity! Multiple homosexual characters, pansexual love interest (for Cassie), anxious protagonist (who happened to be fat and love food - but no body shaming!), black characters, bisexual characters, Jewish characters - and then a same-sex wedding! All of this squished just effortlessly into a heartwarming coming of age story that also discusses love, sex, feminism, inequality with racism and sexism, and mental health. A great story that has just about everything, and one that has sky-rocketed to the top of my favourites. 

Published 11th April 2017 by Penguin. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Last Beginning by Lauren James

Sixteen years ago, after a scandal that rocked the world, teenagers Katherine and Matthew vanished without a trace. Now Clove Sutcliffe is determined to find her long lost relatives. But where do you start looking for a couple who seem to have been reincarnated at every key moment in history? Who were Kate and Matt? Why were they born again and again? And who is the mysterious Ella, who keeps appearing at every turn in Clove's investigation?

For Clove, there is a mystery to solve in the past and a love to find in the future. 

Both a sequel and a prequel to The Next Together, as it ties up all the loose ends, telling things from Clove's perspective as well as going back to the original story - ah, time travel makes me head hurt!

Seeing Clove all grown up after hearing about her briefly in The Next Together was very sweet; she was a particularly adorable and terribly smart teenager but was prone to acting impulsively and that made mistakes, sometimes costly ones. Her whole journey was spurred on by the natural urge to find her biological parents and protect her family. But she was only 16 and messing with the fabric of time so obviously things don't go according to plan. 

Enter Ella: now she was damn cool. Quite the opposite to Clove and that made her interesting and irritating in equal measure! But she challenged Clove and that made her better. A great friend and a huge fangirl of Clove's - again, time travel is confusing! - Ella pushed her to be better, to live up to the future's expectations of her. I totally ship these two, they are the most adorable time-travelling couple!

Very much like the first book, the story included brilliant little snippets of IM conversations, newspaper clippings and the like, that pieced together both Katherine and Matthew's original story line and Clove and Ella's future together. I kind of wish I had read these two books back to back because I'm sure quite a few references went over my head, but it was still absolutely incredible, from its pure romance to bounding-heart action. Definitely one of my favourites. 
Published 6th October 2016 by Walker. Thank you to the publisher for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

You Know Me Well by Nina LaCour and David Levithan

Who knows you well? Your best friend? Your boyfriend or girlfriend? A stranger you meet on a crazy night? No one, really?

Mark and Kate have sat next to each other for an entire year, but have never spoken. For whatever reason, their paths outside of class have never crossed.

That is until Kate spots Mark miles away from home, out in the city for a wild, unexpected night. Kate is lost, having just run away from a chance to finally meet the girl she has been in love with from afar. Mark, meanwhile, is in love with his best friend Ryan, who may or may not feel the same way.

When Kate and Mark meet up, little do they know how important they will become to each other -- and how, in a very short time, they will know each other better than any of the people who are supposed to know them more.

Some people you are just meant to be friends with, and that's definitely the case of Kate and Mark. They come into each others lives at the right moment, when they both need someone subjective to tell them to sort their life out. With Kate it's plucking up the courage to meet her crush, and Mark needs to tell his best friend how he really feels about him.


Told in alternate chapters, we really see the effects of their friendship and how being pushed out of their comfort zone does them both good. Kate needed the support to find the courage to finally meet Violet, the girl of her dreams. Quiet and worried that she won't live up to expectations, Kate runs away from their first meeting and bumps into Mark, a guy from school, dancing on the bar! Mark needed the boot up the butt to tell his best friend how he really feels but ends up getting heart broken when Ryan is crushing on someone else.


This story really is short and sweet. Spread over about a week, we follow Kate and Mark navigate first loves and suddenly realise the truths that they were avoiding. The whole thing was really cute but could have been so much more. It had an incredible diverse and LGBT-centred cast but it was so short, I wanted some more, proper character development. And yet, it ended very hopeful, and actually worked well just spreading it over Pride Week in San Fransisco. So all in all, a very enjoyable and different teen romance with an important message of finding yourself and being honest to yourself about what and who you want.


Published 2nd June 2016 by Macmillan.

Run by Kody Keplinger

Bo Dickinson is a girl with a wild reputation, a deadbeat dad, and an alcoholic mom. Everyone in town knows the Dickinsons are a bad lot, but Bo doesn't care what anyone thinks.

Agnes Atwood has never stayed out past ten p.m., never gone on a date and never broken any of her parents' overbearing rules. Rules that are meant to protect their legally-blind daughter, but Agnes isn't quite sure what they are protecting her from.

Despite everything, Bo and Agnes become best friends. And it's the sort of friendship that runs more deeply than anything else. But when Bo shows up in the middle of the night, police sirens wailing in the distance, Agnes is faced with the biggest choice she's ever had to make. Run, or stay?

I'm sure most of you know that I am a huge fan of Kody Keplinger. Her writing and and portrayal of relationships and teenage angst is brilliantly entertaining so I was all over her new book. Right from the start, it had a different feel to her other books, as we hear from both Bo and Agnes' perspectives and from different times in the storyline. 

I still really liked it, just different, with Agnes' POV in the past, we saw how their friendship developed as well as how Agnes struggles with the day to day of living with partial sight. And then from Bo, we see how she fights every day to be treted properly and the two girls on the run to find Bo's father.

As it was about two girls, I really appreciated how it focused on the friendship; it could have turned into a non-platonic relationship, especially as Bo comes out as bisexual, but there aren't enough stories out there about supportive female friendships that I'm glad it didn't. Agnes and Bo have a special bond in that no one else has bothered to understand them and I really liked how they bought out the best in each other. 

Like I said, this had a different feel to Keplinger's other books and that might have something to do with the fact that it had that personal tone with Agnes. Keplinger herself is legally blind and she's said that she drew on her own experiences to give what Agnes goes through authenticity. And it really did! Seeing, or not, through Agnes' eyes as she struggles to make out different people, feels like a burden on her family and friends, treated as a child by her parents and teachers, it made my heart hurt. That's what was so great about Bo, she saw Agnes as more than a blind person needing an arm to lean on.

I enjoyed and appreciated Keplinger's latest in a different way than the rest of her books. Most of all, I adored how it was all to do with the girls as people and their friendship, not what they meant to the boys in their lives. 

Published 14th July 2016 by Hodder. 

Read Me Like A Book by Liz Kessler

A brave and honest coming of age story about one girl's exploration of love, identity and sexuality - the first YA novel from bestselling author Liz Kessler. 

Ashleigh Walker is having a difficult year. She's struggling at school, and coming home to parents who are on the verge of divorce. She knows she should be happy spending time with her boyfriend - but, for some reason, being around him just makes her worry more. It's only in her English teacher, Miss Murray, that she feels she's found a kindred spirit. 

Miss Murray helps Ashleigh develop her writing skills and gives her newfound confidence - but what happens when boundaries begin to blur? What will the repercussions be for Ashleigh? And how will she navigate her own sexuality?

A thought-provoking coming of age story from a highly-skilled author, addressing coming out and LGBT themes. For fans of Sarah Waters and Jodie Piccoult.

Honestly, I was a little but nervous to read this, was worried it would cross uncomfortable lines. Turns out while Ashleigh does get feelings for her female teacher, that line is not crossed but it does awaken something in Ash that was always there: that she's gay.

Ashleigh's new teacher is young, fresh faced and really knows how to work a classroom. And also incredibly pretty, at least to Ashleigh. What I really liked about this, it wasn't immediately obvious that Ashleigh was physically attracted to Miss Murray, she just really liked her lessons and wanted to do well in them. 

It wasn't just her sexuality, although that was a big part of it. We also saw exam stress, bullying, funny friendships, the regular teenage troubles. And then there's the coming to terms with her new feelings, the strength needed in coming out to family and friends and finally accepting who she was. 

Throughout it all I thought Ash was really brave, it had to be really weird falling for a girl for the first time, let alone that girl being your teacher! I do think it was good for her though, especially how Kessler wrote about it. Like I said, the line was never crossed but for Ash to finally realise what was obviously part of her, something had to change and Miss Murray was a good influence. All in all, a great coming of age story that deals with complicated issues of sexuality and character; a fantastic addition to LGBT novels. 

Published 31st May 2016 by Orion.