10 Reasons to Read What's A Girl Gotta Do?

I've been overexcited since Usbourne posted this publicity poster online. And that was a LONG TIME AGO.

I won an ARC of What's A Girl Gotta Do? by Holly Bourne from Maximum Pop Books (thanks for the giveaway, you guys!) and frankly it's a good job. Having absolutely adored both Am I Normal Yet? and How Hard Can Love Be?, the first two books of this series, I'm pretty sure I would have looted Usbourne headquarters to get my hands on this beauty. And I wouldn't have been able to make you guys read it and help their sales from prison.

And it was a blast, let me tell you. YOU NEED TO GET YOUR HANDS ON IT THE MOMENT IT COMES OUT, OKAY? August 1st. I'll be at the bookshop. You'd better be too.

Now, because it would be pointless to traditionally review a book displaying such off-the-chart awesomeness - the entire post would just be ranting and incoherent capitals - I am instead going to write a list of all the reasons I am right and you need to get your hands on this book immediately. Voila:

1. Feminism. Huzzah! You have no idea how excited I've been to find a series like Normal, a series so realistically feminist - but I guess your excitement must have at least come close.

Right?

If not: don't think because you're a guy you can't read this. Don't think that because you don't campaign for equality as strongly as Lottie, you're not a feminist. One of the things (there are many) that I love most about this book is that, while it doesn't shy away from calling out guys on misogyny, girls get challenged too. And that's an important part of equality.

2. It's absolutely flipping hilarious. Someone once said that "humour is the gateway drug to feminism", and, well . . . I laughed out loud in public more than once. Lots of staring ensued, but nothing I couldn't bear in the name of such a glorious book.

3. The Spinster Club - Lottie, Evie and Amber - are so amazing you will want to be their friend. You will want to dive between the pages and sit on Lottie's bed and eat the cheesiest snacks you can find. You'll want to be them, I guess. And that's a good thing.

4. Lots of CAPITAL LETTERS and - admittedly - a smattering of swearing. If you're absolutely dead set against expletives, then maybe this book isn't for you, but for me? The F-words fitted in really well. They felt necessary, really helping to enhance Bourne's writing style, which is a magic spell of teenage realism and uniqueness.

5. The main character actually does some schoolwork! (This literally never happens in most YA . . . I was beginning to wonder if homework and fiction existed in seperate parallel universes.) #finallyit'srelateable

6. People get hit with cream pies. Hysterically. They deserved it, after all.

7. I (yes, me, the slowest reader in the universe) got through the whole four hundred pages in a day. Surely, this must be a testament to the gripping-ness of the story? And how easy it is to read? And basically its all-round awesomeness?

I think yes. And it also tells you that however outfacing What's A Girl Gotta Do looks in its lengthiness, it really isn't.

8. Have you seen THE COVER? Look at it just up there! I mean, the draft one on my ARC copy was good enough, but look at it. Just . . . it represents the edgy kick-ass-ness of Lottie's campaign, the way she isn't afraid to speak up, and of course the lipstick from the first scene. Argh - the brilliance of that scene. I'm a sucker for books with covers that show their true natures, especially in a deeper way once you've actually read and understood it.

9. If you're anything like me - and by that I mean human - Lottie's bravery has to mean something to you. It's seriously inspiring. It'll make you want to . . . um . . . go to Cainbridge, like she did. Or go out and take on the patriarchy. Or . . . get off the sofa?

10. The last reason you should read this book (and it's really the most important one of all, to be honest) is because I say so. You read this blog, right? I guess that means we must have something in common when it comes to bookish opinions, and you have no idea how much this blew my mind.

So I end this post where I began. READ WHAT'S A GIRL GOTTA DO? WHEN IT COMES OUT. DO IT.

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In the comments: Are you excited about this book too? What part are you most anticipating? And what did you think of the rest of the series?

Labels: Reviews