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young adult book reviews & more

Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian

Not That Kind Of GirlThings have always been pretty black and white for Natalie Sterling. Friends are either loyal or not. Guys are either amazing or jerks. A girl has a good reputation or is a slut. But black and white are about to become very blurred for Natalie. Even as she tries to rehabilitate a clique of hypersexualized freshman girls, she starts to get involved with a guy she never thought she even liked. Desperate to preserve the perfect image she holds of her own life, Natalie nevertheless finds herself leading another secret life, in which she is not really herself—or is she? Natalie will have to realize that maybe she doesn’t want to live at either of the opposite ends of her spectrum, and that the middle, though sometimes messy, can be the best part.

Vivian is one of my favorite young adult authors, so I may have been a little biased coming into this story. You can’t really blame me though; Vivian is a fabulous writer and proves herself thus once more in Not That Kind of Girl. Instead of focusing mainly on the complexities of relationships such as friendship as she did in A Little Friendly Advice and Same Difference, Not That Kind of Girl is more about self image. Vivian handles these subjects very well, particularly how she brings up the fine line between being a slut and being comfortable with one’s sexuality. As always, Vivian’s characters, both main and more minor, are wonderfully crafted, realistic, and easy to relate to. Not That Kind of Girl is the kind of teen story that I love to read; there is nothing cliché about the high school setting, and I love how Vivian shows that there’s more to teen life than meaningless chatter. I commend Vivian for yet another fantastic read and look forward to her next work.

Fans of Vivian’s writing in A Little Friendly Advice and Same Difference will not want to miss Not That Kind of Girl, nor will those who also enjoyed Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee, Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott, and This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen.

Rating: 4.5

Review copy from publisher Scholastic

3 munch(es) :

Simply_Megan said...

I've heard a lot of good things about this book, so now I'm adding it to my wishlist! Great review.

Marg said...

This is a new to me author, but I have one of her other books out from the library at the moment. I have high expectations for when I get to read it.

Robby said...

I LOVE THIS BOOK. I am Siobhan's biggest fan, no doubt about it. If you'd like, we can have a duel. :D

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