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.