Book Review #33: Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

 

Hey Guys!

 

This is my first post of 2015! And I'm kicking off 2015 with a book review. And what book is better to review than the last one that I have read?

 

To be honest, I have been quite a big fan of Zoe Sugg over the last few months. I'm not as big a fan of her now as when I began watching YouTubers, but I am still a fan, and I was really excited to get her book for Christmas!

 

The book is about a girl called Penny. In real life, she is shy, clumsy and generally awkward. Online however, is a different story. Penny runs an anonymous blog called 'Girl Online'. She uses this to blog about her embarrassing moments, friends and everything in between without her real friends (bar her best friend Elliot) ever finding out. A year later, thousands of followers and leading a (sort of) double life is treating Penny quite well. Apart from the panic attacks. Penny secretly suffers from panic attacks, and no matter what she does, she can't get rid of them. But when something (something so mortifying that you will openly cringe just by reading the words) happens, Penny can no longer keep her panic attacks a secret. And sooner than later, her parents and whisking her and Elliot to New York. A chance to get away from the real world and have some time to herself. And she would have had time to herself, if she didn't manage to bump into Noah. 'Brooklyn Boy' is romantic, sweet, and anything that a girl could want in a prospective love interest. But Noah is keeping something from Penny. Something that could ruin her blog anonymity, and her friendship with Elliot, forever!

 

In this book, there is a lot of good and bad, which is weird for me, because with books that I read, I either love them and have to find something bad, or I'm not really into them and have to find a few good things to write about them.

 

Well, first of all, I really enjoyed reading this book. Because I am a blogger, this book was really close to my heart. While reading it, I was always thinking 'this could be a book about me'. Not that I have a really successful anonymous blog, but just because I am quite quiet and awkward in real life, but I am much more confident in writing, and with my closest friends, which I think a lot of people are, so the character of Penny really resonated with me. As well as this, the character of Penny's best friend Elliot was my favourite character of the whole book! I don't know what it is, but I always metaphorically fall in love with the 'gay best friend' character in a book, and Elliot is one of the best that I have read about!

 

However, there were a few things about the book that I didn't like. For a start, you know how everyone says that 'Fifty Shades Of Grey' was badly written and unsophisticated, but was popular because of the subject matter? Well this book was a bit like that, except the book is popular because the author is Zoe Sugg. I'm not saying this is all true, as I only bought it because it was about blogging and romance, and I think that it's good that people are willing to support their favourite YouTubers. And I'm not saying the book was completely badly written, I just think that it could have been written by any one of us bloggers. Which is not a problem as Zoe is not a professional author. However, if the rumours are true (that she used a ghostwriter) then I did expect it to be a bit more sophisticated.

One other thing that annoyed me was that, the only problem Penny had was that she kept embarrassing herself. I read a review that said that the book dealt with so many issues, homophobia being one of them. But to be honest, her panic attacks and Noah's secret were the only real things that the book dealt with.

 

However, I do have to say that this book really gripped me. I read it in like 4 days and couldn't put it down! As I said, I feel like Penny is like a long lost twin sister. When she says things, I honestly feel like I would have done the same exact thing!

 

What was good?

It feels like I've already filled out this section, but there are still things that I haven't said! I love the romance in this book! Romance books are my favourite and I love the relationship between Noah and Penny. I love seeing the relationship develop as Penny writes the details on her blog. I also love being inside Penny's head! Seeing how she deals with certain situations is really enjoyable and reading the book really gave me an insight into how someone deals with panic attacks and what triggers them, which I personally find really interesting.

 

What was bad?

One thing that I found myself wishing, was that Penny was not the typical gorgeous girl. But from her description, she kind of was. Beautiful long red hair, her 'thin waist', it seemed like she had no insecurities to do with her appearance. Which is great if it's true, I just think it's a bit unrealistic. I mean, yes she talks about hating her red hair and freckles, but she ends up loving them. From people that I have spoken to, there will always be at least one insecurity that you will always be insecure about.

 

Overall

I really do recommend this book if you're a fan or Zoe, a blogger, just looking for a good read or all aforementioned. Despite my criticisms, I do really love this book. To be honest, I think I could criticise it because it is still so fresh in my mind and because I had been anticipating it for so long! Usually when I read a book, I buy it because I see it in a shop and like the sound of it, but with this book, from the time it was mentioned, I really wanted to read it. And having to wait so long for it to be released, and waiting a month to actually receive it, left a lot open for my interpretation. So I have a lot of opinions on it!

 

Just to say, all opinions are my own personal ones and have nothing to do with my feelings for the author.

 

Thank you for reading this (maybe slightly controversial) book review!

 

Comment below if you have bought this book, and what you thought of it!

Keep Smiling - Lou xx