Wednesday 28 December 2016

Book Review: Girl Online Going Solo

Girl Online Going Solo



Author: Zoe Sugg
Genre:  YA, Coming of Age? 
Published:  Penguin Books Ltd
Pages: 352
Rating: 4.5/5
Read: December 2016


Blurb:
As Penny starts the school year she's ready to face the world - alone. Noah has gone off the radar after ending his world tour early and no one, including Penny, knows where he is. So when she accepts Megan's invitation to visit her performing arts school it seems like an opportunity to make some new friends.

Helping everyone else seems to be the right remedy - Elliot needs her friendship more than ever, and she meets Posey, who she can really help with her stage fright. But is charming Scottish boy Callum the right kind of distraction? And can Penny truly move on when Noah's shadow seems to haunt her round every corner?


SPOILERS**

Review:

Okay, so anyone who knows me well knows that I adore Zoe Sugg, and her YouTube channels.  If I wasn't a follower of her online then I don't think I would have been as crazy interested in her Novels as I have been.  Also, I haven't done a review on the first two novels in the series yet so if you would like one please let me know in the comments.

Zoe's main character Penny Porter is a sixteen year old girl with auburn hair, whose main "flaw" is her anxiety.  One thing that does bother me about this is that its not realistic.  I sort of wish she had a mole on her face or something so there would be something else that is a character flaw, even a bad habit she had to break.  I do however believe that Penny's character would help a lot of the readers who suffer with anxiety as she offers up lots of tips like thinking of yourself as a grounded tree, having a alias name which makes you feel stronger etc.

Zoe portrayed Penny as a very forgiving character, especially since in all three of her books the character Megan is repeatedly not a friend and then forgiven again.  I hoped that we would only see the back of her head by the end of the novel.  
I enjoyed how Zoe's writing made me feel included in the story.  Her use of first person ensured that I could see in my minds eye the words playing out, but also feel like I was in the room with Posey during her performance, it made me feel as though I was a part of something - which is a very rare and special gift to have as a writer.

Overall, the novel was quite cliched, and had many words to fill each page.  But those are it's only main faults.  It is a beautiful read which would have been finished quicker if it hadn't been christmas at the same time.  I adored the story, the plot and all the characters other than Callum and Megan.  Zoe and the team made this novel so interesting that I couldn't put it down unless I had to.

I'm awarding it 4.5 stars, removing the .5 due to the use of many words and the cliche's.

What did you guys think of the novel?  Have you read it read?


Laura xo

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