Tuesday, June 26, 2012

REVIEW: Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian

I really wanted to love Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian ... but mostly I was left confused about how I felt when reading the story and also confused about the messages being sent out.  I just didn't get it, I don't think.

When I started, I was thinking that Not That Kind of Girl was about feminism.  How Natalie was on one side waving her girl power without men flag.  She's a little bit judgemental towards other girls wearing revealing clothes or having sex but she has some good ideas about being known for hard-work and diligence and intelligence.  Natalie has high expectations for herself, hoping to be student council president and to not distract herself by people of the opposite sex.  But of course things don't always go to plan when she finds herself falling for the exact type of boy she was hoping to avoid. 

And then there's the younger Spencer who has different ideas.  She's all about expressing her sexuality and has no qualms about admitting she likes the attention boys give her and that she has needs too.  I really wanted to cheer at a lot of Spencer's beliefs and behaviours especially about the anti-slut shaming, but her story arc is the one that leaves me the most confused. I'd have liked to have seen things work out differently for Spencer. 

I did mostly enjoy the book. I thought Natalie's love interest, Connor, was absolutely lovely and it was nice getting to know a decent boy in this story when it's populated by mostly jerks.  And I think Siobhan Vivian had some great ideas about teen sex and changing up people's perceptions about good girls and bad girls.  But it all felt a little judgemental from Natalie's point of view and everything felt a little bit muddled, which restricted me from enjoying this book more than I did.

10 comments:

  1. Great review, I haven't heard of this one and it sounds like it's probably a book I'd find a bit frustrating.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did enjoy it, I just wish the message was a bit clearer. I guess the point is there is all kinds of types of girls..

      Delete
  2. Thanks for your brilliant review. I'm really intrigued by what you said about it and I'll definitely look out for the book.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Luisa :) Will be interesting to see what you make of it!

      Delete
  3. I've been wanting to read this one. I'm probably intrigued even more now - I'm interested to see what kind of ideas play a part in the story. Thanks for the great review!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Fab review. I read this earlier this year and I didn't love it, but mostly because, like you, I was a bit confused about the whole thing!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I haven't heard of this one, not sure if it's for me if you found it confusing though :/

    ReplyDelete

HI! Thank you for leaving a comment, you've just become my new best friend :)