Solitaire by Alice Oseman

In case you’re wondering, this is not a love story.

My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year – before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people – I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that’s all over now.

Now there’s Solitaire. And Michael Holden.

I don’t know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don’t care about Michael Holden.

I really don’t.

Like many other reviews for this, I think this really captured the reality of being a teen: lethargic, pessimistic and lying through your teeth about your feelings. Dark and lost in her own world of the internet and film references, Tori was surprisingly easy to relate to. The perfect voice for being a British teen, I'll admit I had my moments when I wanted to smack her but I do clearly remember my own days of being anti-social, annoying and lazy. 

The very vague synopsis left the story completely open and free from judgement; I had no idea what was going to happen and that rarely happens anymore! The secret behind this blog pulling pranks had me turning page after page, I just had to know what in God's name was going on! In amongst all this weirdness, there was pure and honest teen angst as Tori struggled to make her way through the pressures of sixth form, making and holding friendships, and attempting to understand the truth behind this strange lad Michael Holden. He was a weird one, but ironically, his shield of light hearted humour was the one thing Tori could count on. I really liked his bouncy personality and the angry layers that occasionally shone through.

Seeing the world through Tori's eyes, I realised that while her view was flawed, of course it was, we never really know another person completely. Her friends surprised her, and the way that some people came to the rescue or protected her from danger, or not as the case may be, showed that we only see what we want to see and every other teenager out there had the same dark thoughts Tori does. 

This was a refreshingly realistic view of the world, presented the way we are usually too scared to see it for how it really is: sharp edged but full of potential beauty. An amazing debut and definitely an author to watch.

Published 31st July 2014 by Harper Collins.