Review: It's Not Me, It's You by Stephanie Kate Strohm

Title: It's Not Me, It's You

Author: Stephanie Kate Strohm

Publisher: Point

Publishing Date: October 25th, 2016 

Pages: 288
Audio Length: 6 Hours and 39 Minutes

Genre: YA Contemporary
TW: N/A

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

One high school girl's comedic examination of her dating past as told by the friends, family, and boys who were involved!

Avery Dennis is a high school senior and one of the most popular girls in her class. But a majorly public breakup with the guy she's been dating causes some disastrous waves. It is right before prom and Avery no longer has the perfect date. She runs the prom committee, how could she not show up with somebody?
Post-breakup, Avery gets to thinking about all of the guys that she has ever dated. How come none of those relationships ever worked out? Could it be her fault? Avery decides to investigate. In history class she's learning about this method of record-keeping called "oral history" and she has a report due. So Avery decides to go directly to the source. Avery tracks down all of the guys she's ever dated, and uses that information, along with thoughts from her friends, family, and teachers, to compile a total account of her dating history.
Avery discovers some surprises about herself and the guys she's spent time with -- just in time for prom night!

What made me pick this book up: 

I had previously read her other book That's Not What I Heard (See review here)

And I really enjoyed it, so I checked out her other books and this one caught my eye.

What did I like about the cover: 

The cover is just kind of meh to me. I like the colors and the concept matches the book. But I don't know I just don't care for it much.

What made me read this book: 

Like I said, I read and loved her other one. And this one sounded just as interesting, so I thought why not? I feel like she's going to be one of those authors that I want to read all of her books.

What did I like the most: 

First of all the story is a cute one. This teen girl writes a paper about all of the boys she's dated since like pre-k. It was super cute, except the fact she's a serial dater. I'll get to that below.

The idea was kind of cute, I like how she went through and interviewed the guys she dated and why they broke up.

The characters themselves were all actually pretty good, from what I could tell even with being confused. They were all unique and had a voice.

Which brings me to my next thing I loved. This audio book had a full cast. Which is always fun. I think with books like these you almost need a full cast to keep it interesting, or else all the characters kind of blend together... More than they already do. 

I do like how this one ends though, because basically it ends up saying that the reason she dates so much is because she wants to see the best in everyone and she cares about people so much. Not that she's a slut, or just needs the attention. It's more that she likes to give the attention.

What didn't I like:

I found this book to be really confusing. There was SO many characters, I couldn't keep track of who was who. 

Otherwise that, I felt like the whole thing in general was hard to keep track of, because of the fact it kept going back and then coming back to now. The interviews were about the past but they were speaking now, does that make sense? 

I also didn't like how it kind of showed that it was okay to just date around, and just keep having boyfriend after boyfriend. I felt like, even with the underlying of her wanting to show how good people were, that it almost showed that she put too much of her self worth into guys and dating. It became who she was. 

This book was just kind of meh to me. I played sims the entire time listening to this, which isn't usually a problem, but I felt myself paying more attention to sims than to the book.

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
I feel like this author is one of those I need to read all of her books. Even if this one was meh, it was still fun. So yes, I'll be reading more.

This book wasn't as good as I was hoping, after reading That's Not What I Heard.

“Is it weird that I am an expert on all of Avery's boyfriends? I feel like it's weird.” 
― Stephanie Kate Strohm, It's Not Me, It's You

Stephanie Kate Strohm is the author of The Taming of the Drew, Pilgrims Don't Wear Pink, Confederates Don't Wear Couture, and the upcoming It's Not Me, It's You and Prince in Disguise. She grew up in Connecticut and attended Middlebury College in Vermont, where she was voted Winter Carnival Queen. Currently she lives in Chicago with her fiance and a little white dog named Lorelei Lee.

Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Publishing Date: September 10th, 2013

Pages: 483 
Audio Length: 12 Hours and 49 Minutes

Genre: YA Contemporary
TW: Underage drinking

Series: Standalone

Source: Audio

 

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park. A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.
Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan..
But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving. Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.
Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.
For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?
And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

What made me pick this book up: 

I see this book literally everywhere, it's hard not to notice it. I've read many reviews and have had many people tell me I need to read it.

What did I like about the cover: 

The cover is okay. I like how it shows the characters drawn. But it's kind of boring to me. 

What made me read this book: 

Like I said, everyone tells me to read it. And I love what it's about. I used to write Harry Potter fan fiction *eye roll* so I can kinda relate. Plus I have anxiety, she has anxiety, she's awkward I'm awkward, she's geeky, I'm geeky. Etc.

What did I like the most: 

I think I really liked how much I could relate to this book. To the characters. 

Like I said up there, I have anxiety, really bad. So when she would freak out about things, I totally understood. 

I love reading books about people with mental health issues. Anxiety, depression, etc. I have my own issues and I feel like this being put into a book is making it seem like the issues are not only real, but that we're not crazy. 

I also understood the geeky portion of this. I used to write Harry Potter fanfiction, and I loved reading it. So I totally understood why she wanted to write it, and the excitement of it. 

I love that this book really promotes her getting out of her comfort zone. She makes friends, she goes out. It isn't easy, but she does it. And that's really great.

I also love how she grows up. She used to rely on her twin sister and her fan fiction, but then she realizes there's more to life than that.

I also really love Levi. I fell in love with him the first time we meet him. He's goofy and sweet and caring. 

I think the parts where her twin is drinking is also really important. Again it shows that underage drinking is a very real problem. I love books that bring light to it.

The writing is really great, and relatable. It was an easy read, even if it was a bit slow.

What didn't I like: 

It was a little slow, it took me a bit to get into it. I felt myself thinking I didn't understand the hype.

I also didn't care for the sections of her fanfic, I just didn't care for it. I want to read Carry On, but I'm really hesitant to. 

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
I think so! I'm especially excited for

Overall I'm really glad I finally read this book, and it's definitely really good.

“To really be a nerd, she'd decided, you had to prefer fictional worlds to the real one.” 
― Rainbow Rowell, Fangirl

Rainbow Rowell writes books. Sometimes she writes about adults (ATTACHMENTS and LANDLINE). Sometimes she writes about teenagers (ELEANOR & PARK and FANGIRL). But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they're screwing up. And people who fall in love.
When she's not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don't really matter in the big scheme of things.
She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.

More at rainbowrowell.com.