Girl Online by Zoe Sugg: Reviewsday Tuesday

Hello!

I've never done Reviewsday Tuesday* before but I think today is the day to start!

So I know I am behind the times and that Girl Online by Zoe Sugg (aka Zoella) was out ages ago but it was a Christmas present and I already had a lot of books on my ’to read’ list. I still do! Never enough time for all the books.

I finished Girl Online a couple of weeks ago and it made a very nice commuting companion. I know there has been some press out there saying that Zoe didn't actually write it herself which I would firstly like to say I don't hold with. And even if she did have support (which she has openly admitted) who wouldn't have support on their first ever novel!? I would be after all the support I could get! So shush up to anyone with bad things to say.

So, how to begin? First of all, let me preface this by saying I am 26. So I am not in the age range that the main character is. My highschool days are long gone but I firstly want to say it was refreshing to read a young adult, high school age novel that was from a British perspective! Not that I don't love American high school type stories but they just aren't the same as (what was my) British experience.

I really enjoyed Zoe's writing style, the story was a easy to read (there were no headaches from having to follow over engineered plot points) bit still captivating enough that I wanted to keep on reading. There was many I morning I resented my train arriving at my destination, not because it meant that I couldn't keep reading. Especially towards the end where the plot twists and dramatic outbursts are queuing up to shock you like shoppers outside a sale. One hit after another makes a sharp contrast from the beautiful romantic storyline you have just sailed through and made me physically need to know what was going to happen!

The basic premise is clumsy embarrassed girl meets super suave boy... They fit perfectly but that wouldn't be a very exciting story so of course their blossoming relationship is threatened and thrown around by people who may or may not be their friends. Who is telling the truth? How do you know who to believe?

Obviously I loved the story and I am super excited to get the next installment but the best things I got from this book were the little morals and life advice.

 

First of all, it's okay not to be 'cool'. The cool kids are the boring ones. The ones who just do what everyone else does to fit in. The sheep. Be yourself and that is the best type of cool.

You can out grow friends. Maybe this is an age perspective but I very much agree with this. It is far better to cut ties with a negative friendship than to try to maintain it because you have always been friends. I have far less friends than I used to, and while it is sometimes sad and there are people that I remember fondly, I only want to surround myself with people who I love and who love me. It sounds harsh but I literally don't have time to waste on others. Life is about being happy, do everything you can to make your life this way.

Being brave can lead to amazing things. I know this is a Zoella thing: Just Say Yes but the adventures that So and so goes on just show what could happen if you take a leap of faith. Go for it! Take that opportunity! Take a chance in something fun!

Oh and be careful about your online presence. Don't put anything out there you wouldn't want to come back at you later.

 

Love Charlotte xx

 

 

* I've never done Reviewsday Tuesday before but I think I might try and start. This is where I first heard about it if you haven't before.

 

February 2015 Review

I would like to preface this blog post by saying I had almost written the whole thing and then for some reason my blogging app decided to ERASE THE WHOLE THING! So even though it would've been late, this is why it is even later!

 

Oh dear... Well here we are, over halfway through March and no February review has been posted. Oops. Better crack on!

 

Day trip to Whitby

The first thing from February as a birthday day trip to Whitby. Not for my birthday but for two of my closest friends. Four of us piled into the car and headed off to what was possibly the windiest day of all time. We could not have picked a winder day if we had been meteorological analysists. Ordinarily I would not suggest a trip to the coast on a day where the wind is blowing you into the road but one of the group had never been before and we were setting that straight.

Despite the wind, we made the most of it by getting fish and chips, wandering around the shops and wasting our money on the 2p machines. It made a lovely change from our usual birthday meals and I hop we do something similar again soon.

 

Non-Valentine's Day.

This year was my first proper Valentine's Day. Where I actually had a person to call my Valentine. But... The whole idea of Valentine's seemed rather commercial and unnecessary so we decided against it. I didn't even see The Boy on the day. I saw him on the Sunday, when we normally have our weekend day together anyway.

Despite agreeing we weren't making a big deal I had caved a bought him a card, because it was cute and about a pound, so I figured it wasn't a 'big deal' purchase. However, what did I arrive to on Sunday? This board game!

I love QI and I love board games so even though he had clearly broken the agreement, I obviously accepted the game! More on this later!

 

Passing my driving test!

Ah! FINALLY! This was my fourth attempt at my driving test and I was so convinced that I had failed it again that I am still amazed that I don't have to have lessons anymore. I was on annual leave when I took my test and I would highly recommend this to anyone who is taking their test who works. Don't make it so you have to go into work after and face the music. And if possible, tell as few people as possible. My previous attempts involved me having to admit to lots of people that I had failed. Sometimes more than I had told becuase some people told others and soon the whole office new! Extra pressure. Not good.

Obviously after I passed I told a couple of people and when I got back I found these lovely cards waiting for me on my desk! I just have to decide if I am getting a car and if so, which to plump for! Watch out world. I can drive across you now. (I will still be getting the train to work).

 

 

Games Night!

I think I may have mentioned this before, but myself and my friends Marie and Rose (aka the Surrogate Sisters), love board games and regularly get together to play. This sounds delightful. It is competitive and often leads to shouting and sulks. But the fact that Games Day (or in this case night) is always accompanied by tasty food means that these never last that long.

This time was especially good. We had two new games to play. QI from above, which is frankly amazing and Despicable Me: Game of Life, which I bought for Marie for her birthday... Partially, I admit because I wanted to play it.

 

Both were amazingly fun and I very much hope we will be playing them again next time. Also, this was the time when Marie and I finally made gains on Rose's lead. She has been in the lead since the beginning and we have had about 19 'events'. This cannot continue. Not that we are ganging up on her. We form different alliances constantly depending on what suits us best. It really is, for once, about the taking part (but seriously, the winning is awesome too)!

 

Weekend adventure in Filey

Also that week, me and The Boy took a weekend escape to the seaside. We spent the weekend nicely balanced between having adventures going to the end of the world (Filey Brig) and vegging out on the sofa watching a How I Met Your Mother boxset. Such as good vegging out day. We also had a lot of tasty food included burger with roasted peppers and eggs baked in tomatoes. I got to have an afternoon snooze while The Boy cooked one day and I made brunch the next. But the sunshine was the best, look!

 

A Night out with Steven K Amos

Finally I went to see Mr. Amos. It was the first of my Christmas presents and it was awesome! For more information please click here. If you get chance go see him because he was hilarious. I felt broken from laughing so much. If that isn't a good review I don't know what is.

 

And with that, I feel I have rambled on enough. It's probably not as good as my first attempt but we will all have to miss out on that together.

 

Better make a start on my March review now to avoid this horrible lateness again!

 

Love Charlotte xx