A must read for all modern feminists, young & old! I laughed, I hugged the book, and I felt Izzy's rage as I cheered her on through every turn of the page. I truly hope this ends up on the curriculum as it handles delicate topics deftly and does so with humour, which always makes awkward conversations easier. I have a feeling I'll be seeing this on many best of 2018 lists!

The Exact Opposite of Okay
by Laura Stevens
3.75-4 out of 5

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

So I would consider this to be my first completed book of the year, and it was an amazing one at that.

The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Stevens is a novel (to be honest I don’t know what genre to put it in- contemporary/ coming of age?) about a girl called Izzy, who is an aspiring comedian and screenwriter who life begins to fall apart when nude photos of her are leaked on the internet.
Izzy feels her life crumble away, making her lose almost everything which is important to her.

At the start of the novel, I wasn’t a fan- I found Izzy to be a try hard and a lot of her humour just fell flat. The jokes were cringey and borderline offensive sometimes. It wasn’t enough to make me put down the novel, but it was definitely I turn off. I think that the humour was intended to balance out with the serious nature of the book, but it wasn’t necessary, if that was the case. Sometimes it also felt misplaced when juxtaposed with elements of the novel which were very serious.

Characters that I loved from the start were Betty and Ajita. They were funny in the right places and overall very lovely. I found myself incredibly invested in them, I think more so than in Izzy. It was very relatable that Betty worked so hard and her relationship with Izzy. It was nice that Stevens included an alternative mother figure in Betty, and the relationship dynamic I got to see between the two. I think that everyone wants a friend like Ajita too, although her taste in gifts is a little suspect.

Danny...well, I never liked him. He was somewhat predictable and annoying and whiny and overall quite detestable.

The plotline felt kind of slow at parts, but I loved the premise of the novel. Sexting and revenge porn and cyberbullying are really important problems which are addressed well in the book, as well as the implications and responses to such things happening. It’s an important book to read, so I would definitely recommend it, although it might be slightly triggering to some people.

However, there were other important topics discussed in the book, eg, feminism and others which may spoil the plot line so will not be mentioned- which I think were done poorly. I disliked the way Izzy addressed some things and just cringed and felt a little frustrated when reading.

Izzy wasn’t the most relatable character, because she made some poor decisions in the duration of the book, but she dealt with her situation well, and I found that admirable. By the end of the novel, I was rooting for her and the ending, although not what I was expecting, was satisfactory.

In short, this book wasn’t the best book in the world, but I would consider it an important read as it deals with a serious global problem quite well. I would recommend it, but please keep in mind that it deals with quite serious topics.

I was excited for this book the moment I heard about it on twitter, and after missing out on an arc at YALC, I was over the moon to receive a copy through netgalley. This book has an array of tough subjects including slut-shaming, revenge porn, and the different standards placed upon men and women in terms of sexual behaviour. 
Izzy is a wonderful, funny protagonist who tells her story through a series of blog posts, meaning that you really get to understand her way of thinking and processing events as they occur. Her reputation takes a complete nosedive and the events in the book are nothing short of tragic, but the ways she deals with said events are so inspiring and brave. She makes you laugh hysterically and she makes you want to wrap her up in a warm blanket and tell her that everything is going to be okay. I loved the messages of sex positivity and feminism in this book and overall just really loved this book.

I loved this book! I flew through it recently when I had to travel for work, it’s just so readable. Izzy is an interesting character, both unapologetic in her behaviour but like every teenage girl alive, acutely aware of what people think about her.

This book deals with a lot of complex topics in 350 pages: slut shaming, white privilege, poverty, LGBT issues, feminism,  revenge porn, male privilege, societies fascination with viral news and I have to say it deals with them all in a very sensitive and mature manner. This is the kind of book that should be recommended reading for teenagers.

Izzy’s relationship with Ajita, her best friend, was the perfect example of a true female friendship. She’s Izzy’s ride or die throughout, sticking up for her and she’s ready to call out bullshit as soon as she sees it. When Ajita, who’s dealing with her own life issues, gets caught in the media crossfire I was devastated for both her and Izzy and a few tears were shed, not going to lie.

Can we take a little moment to talk about Danny, Izzy and Ajita’s other best friend. Danny was (spoiler alert) the worst person in the world but I challenge you to find any woman out there who doesn’t know a Danny. His depiction was so accurate and reminiscent of the many Danny’s I’ve known in my life. I think his inclusion was super important for a contemporary YA novel and I applaud Steven’s for that. At the risk of sounding alarmist, teenage girls need to know that even their closest male friends could be the one’s who hurt them the most.
RATING – 5 stars!

I will say it again, this book is fantastic and deserves to have more hype around it. If you’re a fan of YA contemporary, please do yourself a favour and check this out.

Thanks to NetGalley, Egmont Publishing and Electric Monkey for the ARC copy of this title.

Really did not enjoy the narrative style of this book; it was far too colloquial and chatty for my taste. It felt badly written but on purpose?

That said, the subject matter was really thoughtful and handled well. I really felt for Izzy. She kept me reading, even if I didn’t like how she told her story. And oh BOY did I feel some burning rage at certain points for *certain* characters. WOWW. Some people are genuinely awful human beings. Loved how the Nice Guy trope played out in this, I think it added a really cool extra dimension.

*High 5 for female sexuality*

I was given an e-copy of this book in exchange or an honest review by the publisher via netgalley.
Unfortunately I had to DNF at 40%, (I spoke to a friend who liked it so tried to push through, but they did mention that two other friends disliked it so I think it is perhaps one that divides opinions.) 

I was surprised I felt this way as I have enjoyed previous YA novels that tackle feminism and/or slut shaming novels such Moxie, The Spinster Series, the Truth About Alice, and Asking For It. And I am all for a humorous main character (the MC is an aspiring screen writer/comic) but I found her voice didn't ring true and genuine to me, (didn't feel like an accurate representation of the teens I work with) and I found it grated on me too much. Sorry! 

I may try again with this one in the future, and perhaps it was simply caused by me coming from a more sombre adult novel to this, which was a sudden tone change that didn't agree with me? I do understand why a lot of people like it and will still be getting it for our school library for the older teens :)

Izzy O’Neill is your typical high school senior. She has a lot of friends, she has a very busy life, she has started her plans for the future and she has sex. Nothing out of the ordinary. Izzy has her nudes and sexual “escapades” leaked online via the website “world-class-whore.” After one of her “conquests” is found out to be the republican senator’s son, Izzy finds herself at the centre of a national scandal.

Everyone needs to go an pick up this book and give it a read immediately. You are certain to angrily scream at the way Izzy is being treated. Izzy is hilarious and a very true to real life teenage girl. She is a such a strong woman and handles everything that is thrown at her so well. None of the trouble she gets into is because of her! Grandma Betty and her best friend Ajita help her through all of her troubles and offer support when it is needed. I love the journey that Izzy goes on throughout this book. She learns a lot about privacy, equality, male entitlement, feminism, privileged and the importance of people you love and who love you back. Izzy’s character was so likeable and absolutely hilarious. I wish I had the comedic genius that Izzy has. I would also like an Ajita spin-off if that would be possible. I loved her character and want a lot more of her story.

This book taught me a lot about feminism and equality. I would like to read more books that tackle feminism. Thanks to this book I really want to learn a lot more about feminism. I had also never realised how much of an issue the friend-zone is. Men can feel as though they are so entitled to a woman if they treat her and spend a lot of money on her when in all honestly they really aren’t and should stop thinking this is a thing that works.

Laura Steven’s writing is beautiful and made reading this book so easy. I love that she is raising awareness of all the problems that women are currently facing in society. I will certainly be picking up any other book that Lauren Steven writes in the future.

I have to mention this quote as I relate to it so much! I left university after my first year because I was not enjoying it and didn’t feel like it was beneficial to me. I then went on to try and find a job, this took a number of months, so I found this quote hilarious!

“Have you tried to find a job?”
“Good God, that’s brilliant!” I gasp, faux-astounded. “I had not previously considered this course of action!” 

Overall, I would highly recommend this book to everyone out there! If you are trying to learn a little more about feminism and the problems women face in society today then this book is definitely for you. It is a heart-warming book and packed full of information. I will certainly recommending this book to everyone that I know.

Thank you to Egmont Publishing, Electric Monkey, Laura Steven and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is a very funny book, with that wry sarcasm that allows the author to write around some sensitive topics without earnest preaching. Izzy is an 18 year old high-school student in small town USA, poor, bright, raised by her grandmother and now in the limelight of publicity due to an explicit photo making it onto national media...

I really liked Izzy's distinctive voice in The Exact Opposite of Okay, and I loved the way there were a lot of scenes and moments that rang so true to life that I could feel myself cringing as I read. 

The author doesn't shy away from exploring the darker side of attraction and the line between stalking and the grand romantic gesture: this is a book that many young people, particularly female, will find opens their eyes to the behaviour that seems harmless but is anything but.

In many ways this is a book about Izzy as a normal teenager: going to school, hanging out with friends, worrying about what she will do when she leaves school. But undoubtedly the main focus of the book is on Izzy's sex life and how she should behave as a girl. Quite simply, I adore Izzy O'Neill.  She says what she thinks and is unashamedly living her life the way she wants.  In a society where boys who are sexually active (and vocal about it) are lauded as 'lads', but girls who do it are 'slags', this book is necessary if we are to challenge inequality in every area.

Izzy is witty and smart and loving.  She's likeable and clever and, well, ordinary.  And this combines to make her a great protagonist.  She is strong but she is also vulnerable and I think this combination helps make her great role model for teenage girls.

Whilst the plot focuses on Izzy's social media sex scandal fame, it provides a realistic portrayal of teenage life and how aware teens need to be of the dangers of social media and taking photos of themselves and sharing those photos.

'The Exact Opposite of Okay' has received so much praise and all deservedly so.  This is truly a fantastic YA novel that I will (and already have been) recommending to everyone!

In short: I love this book. This is now right up there with my all-time favourite books. It' so real, raw and emotional and really does give a look into how high school girls and boys are perceived when it comes to the topics within this book. I adored the writing, it was injected with a humour that was perfectly placed. It wasn't there to try and take the focus off of a horrible situation, it allowed us to see a character use her own personality and funny nature to express how she's dealing with everything that is going on. The characters were spot on and I think that every single person included in this story is relevant and their behaviour and mannerisms were wide-spread when it came to opinions on the main character. I can not stop telling people about this book, it's honestly incredible. Laura Steven should be incredibly proud of this book. I can't wait to read more from her!

OMG this book! So current, so important, so so needed! I was just constantly going "Yes! This!" throughout. I have never read a book that hits the mark so completely and it was just brilliant and incredible!

I loved the characters, Izzy is fantastically written, as is Ajita. I even liked Danny - at the start - Laura's characterisation is that good! Carson was sweet, Grandma Betty was awesome and I would have loved to have seen more of Meg, she seemed lovely. I loved the flow of the story and the way everything develops, it all felt so real!

This book seriously needs to be a must read in schools, the discussions around consent, slut-shaming, the friend-zone, double standards, revenge porn and race (mainly regarding Ajita) are so important to have.

5/5 stars

This book deserves all the stars I can give it! 

What a fantastic read. I’ve heard so much positive praise for this book that when I was approved for a copy by NetGalley and the publisher, Electric Monkey, I was thrilled to be able to read it. 

Reading the synopsis it was clear that the book deals with a variety of current, complex and controversial subjects but it’s only when I read the book that I realised exactly how many topics it covers: grief, slut-shaming, victim-blaming, sexism, feminism, white privilege, bullying, religion and revenge porn. 
Now with all of these heavy subject matters, I expected a very serious book. Although all of these topics are serious issues and are sensitively handled and well written, the book is full of raucous and racy humour and made me laugh throughout. 
Written in the form of first person blog posts, Izzy’s storytelling and sense of humour is sassy, sarcastic and self-deprecating. 
As well as humour, Izzy’s story made me angry. Not at Izzy, but at the treatment she receives from people who should know better. Let’s be honest, as much as we might wish it were different, we know teenagers can be (to quote the fabulous Betty) “cretinous goblins” to each other but what you don’t expect is for your supposed ‘best friend’ to behave this way. Danny is the perfect example of this. What a despicable boy he is! His behaviour throughout the story is inexcusable and the most unforgivable in my opinion. Having said that, the behaviour of some of the adults in this story is abhorrent. Mr Wong, Miss Castillo and Principal Schumer for example. These are adults in positions of authority and are supposed to safe guard student welfare. Instead they are just as bad as the teenagers they teach, indulging in the same bullying behaviour they should be protecting Izzy from. It boiled my blood!! 😡🤬😡

Izzy’s response to the whole situation made me so proud of her. Although she knows she hasn’t always made the best decisions she owns them and her right to make them. She fully embraces her sexuality in such an open and honest way that is refreshing. I loved that instead of hiding away and letting the bullies win she faces them all with her head held high. A fantastic role model and heroine to all young girls!

I adored the relationships in this book. They were so authentic and heartwarming, offering some light in the otherwise darkness displayed by most of humanity during the telling of Izzy’s story. 
The friendship between Izzy and Ajita is fantastically written. Loyal, funny and supportive, Ajita is the best friend everyone wants and should have in their lives. She’s awesome!
The love between Izzy and her grandmother, Betty, is beautiful. Since Izzy’s parents died, Betty has been both mother and father to Izzy. This has been tough, resulting in very little money and Betty having to work well passed her retirement age but despite this their bond is strong and the love is unconditional. Betty never judges Izzy for any of the things that happen and that kind of support is worth all the money in the world.

This book is so well written that despite the humour Izzy’s brings to most situations, you cannot escape the serious messages being portrayed. 
In a time where women are standing up for themselves through the “Me Too” and “Time’s Up” movements, The Exact Opposite of Okay is a welcome addition to the fight against inequality in modern day society.

A huge 5 stars and a recommendation to read this book ASAP!

Thank you to the NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy. All opinions are my own and provided willingly.

I totally loved the book and would definitely like to Thank Netgalley for giving me a opportunity for reading the book. Seriously I think the book is getting published at a perfect time as Women are standing up for their rights with Time’s Up Movement and Me Too Movement supporting them.

WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THE BOOK?

There are many things I loved about the book and one of them was the witty and humorous narration of the story. Literally I was laughing loud at the witty jokes . I would seriously love to place the book in the  realistic YA genre altogether as the book deals with some serious shit. This book has everything to offer to readers and it will also broaden the horizon of the reader’s.

Well, there is nothing like tackling an issue head on, and Laura Steven does just that. It's a very powerful book, and given the media spotlight on how young women and girls are abused and bullied on the internet, it is extremely apropos. What Laura does, is take the reader on a rollercoaster of emotions; laughing and crying, happy and despairing. How do you deal with the fact that one day you are with your friends, happy and loving life, the next the internet is awash with very explicit photographs of you?
The social judgement, revenge porn, slut-shaming, victim blaming, male entitlement and more is  terrifying. Yet no matter how low and despairing it gets, you come away feeling emboldened and encouraged.  Woven throughout No matter how low and despairing it gets, you feel emboldened and encouraged; if you aren't sure about feminism, this book will give you some really good feminist aders who do not know much about feminism or maybe are unsure what it means, this book will give some the reader some illumination. 
Full review on blog Mon 12th MArch

When I just finished reading this book, my first reaction was “this book is going to change the world” and I still stand by that statement. There have been a lot of books with feminist themes and about feminist topics but none of them have been like this. None of which have had the potential to be this influential (at least not to the extent that I’ve read). This book is so powerful and inspirational, but also so necessary in this time. Slut-shaming is the norm in this society: girls who have a lot of sex is looked down upon, but at the same time girls who haven’t had sex are “prudes”. AND WHY?

"I obsess over who might be looking at these pictures of me – bare, exposed, eighteen – and judging me for them. Judging my body; my choices; my life. I know this will blow over eventually. But until then, it’s going to be hell."

Laura Steven’s writing style is refreshing, new, shameless. Izzy, the character she created unlike any other character I’ve read before. I am struggling to form the right words to describe Izzy’s character. She is incredibly funny, unafraid to make fun of herself, she is bold, fierce and honest. She is shameless when it comes to sex and her sex-positive ways come under sudden scrutiny when pictures of her end up on the internet. Beside Izzy, there are some amazing side-characters: her best friend Ajita, who I adore to pieces, her other best friend Danny, and her grandmother Betty. I love how all the relationships are complex and imperfect. There are a lot of pretty sides but not all of them are pretty.

"It could be worse, I suppose. It could always be worse. I’m not quite sure how exactly, but Betty often sas I am so optimistic it borders on the sociopathic, and now is as good a time as any to look on the bright side. I’ve been through the death of both parents on the same day. I won’t let the words of a pathetic bully leave a scar."

When I started to read this book, I was in a horrible mood. I was in one of the worst moods I had probably ever been in. And this book dragged me out of it. It was so good, that it made me forget about everything that was going on in my life. Though the story is about a lot of ugly things in this society, it also let me escape from my own ugly stuff. And I couldn’t be more grateful for that. I honestly could go on and on about how much I loved this book and how much you should all read it, but I think you should just experience it yourself.

"Slut-shaming is not really about women’s sexuality. It is grounded in the belief that men have the right to assert themselves, and women do not."

I am giving this books 5 stars because I honestly couldn’t think of a single thing I didn’t like about this book. I couldn’t recommend it more and will not rest until I’ve made everyone I know read this book. It’s an instant-favourite and YOU SHOULD ORDER THIS BOOK NOW. RIGHT NOW, I’m telling you. GO.

Izzy O'Neill is a witty, confident and outspoken teenager who is embroiled in a sex scandal when nudes of her are leaked online. Sounds like  simple tagline for one of the most important books of the year.
This debut novel deals with so much more than feminism and the effects of peer pressure and bullying. It touches on gender-bias, grief, bereavement, institutional sexism and cultural standards of femininity.
Some reviewers have said that they find Izzy too sarcastic and not at all realistic but I think her vulnerability is clear under the outwardly jovial posts.
She makes mistakes but she owns up to those mistakes with maturity. I couldn't help but adore her as the voice of the story.
I don't want to spoil the story but I think it is important that this is read by both boys and girls of any age who want equality and aren't afraid to think about things differently.
Keywords for this novel? Important, riveting, challenging, humorous, touching, heart-breaking, essential and affirming.
Please read this book.

*This review is from my Goodreads account*

Read an ARC of this from Netgalley just in time for the release date today (March 8th 2018), and adored this book.

This book is a hilarious and witty YA contemporary that had me hooked from beginning to end. It's been a while since I read a book that was this funny, and if you've read it, I would liken the humour in this book to Louise Rennison's Confessions of Georgia Nicholson series (which is a staple for children growing up in the UK).

Given the synopsis of this book, it's pretty obvious that it explores topics very relevant to society today, and I love how themes of privilege, slut-shaming, class, friendship, family and gender were explored without being clunky or preachy. Izzy was a wonderful character, and I loved how unapologetic she was in the face of adversity, even as she struggled with all the accusations that the world threw at her. I think that the author did a great job of balancing out Izzy being the unapologetic protagonist we all want her to be, while at the same time showing that it was difficult for her to keep her chin up.

I also loved the (mostly) supportive relationships that Izzy had with her friends and remaining family. Oftentimes my biggest critique of YA novels is that they ignore the role that family plays in everyday life, and I loved the rapport that Izzy and her grandmother had, and the other family relationships we saw of Izzy's friends and their parents that clearly had a large influence on them growing up.

Some things that I think detracted from my enjoyment of the book was firstly, that the majority of it was fairly predictable, and secondly, that the story was clearly one that had been written by a British author and pulled from British culture, but had been supplanted into an American high school setting.

Predictability isn't a huge problem for me when I read, but if you are a fan of good suspense and not having cliches, then this book might not be for you. Without posting any spoilers, from the very beginning, it's pretty clear who created the malicious website about Izzy, and for the longest time it frustrated me that Izzy didn't bother trying to find who had posted the incriminating photos of her. It made sense because Izzy was clearly in shock, but the predictability of the plot was a little annoying.

It was also frustrating to me that this book had been written by a British author, and drew from British culture and slang, but was supplanted into an American high school setting. When I first started reading this, I assumed that the book had been written about a British teen because the slang that was used throughout the book is so typical of British youth i.e. (shut the front door, taking the piss), and also some word choices throughout the book (i.e. corridor instead of hallway). For reference, I grew up in the UK and studied at a university in the USA for four years, and reading this, I was just immediately brought back to my secondary/high school experience in England and the way all my friends from England speak.

As I progressed through the book, I got confused because I remembered that the synopsis mentioned a "Republican senator's son", and that alongside other American political references prompted me to think that the story was set in America. At that point, I did some research, and realised that although the story was set in America, the author was British. To me, all of the characters felt British and I was frustrated that this story wasn't set in Britain because pretty much all of the same themes could have been explored without setting the story in the US. (Yes, some of the politics would have been different, but the premise would have been the same).

Thank you to Egmont/Electric Monkey for providing me with a copy of "The Exact Opposite of Okay" via NetGalley! 
For the most part I enjoyed this book, because it reminded me of the books I grew up on for their wit, sharp humour and access to a 'normal' teenage girl's brain (i.e. not superpowered, not in an alternate reality etc. Just, you know. A person who lives in my world.) It was also so refreshing to see what I loved in the past completely revamped in this book, confronting issues relevant to our time, or at least more visible, such as slut-shaming and feminism. This is all due of course to the affects of the internet and smartphones, live journo coverage etc which adds a whole new dimension to growing up as a teenage girl today, and this book handles it with grace, humour and sensitivity. It brings up to date all the amazing teen fiction books of the past, such as Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging, etc. 
Also, it was refreshing to see a character perform skits for YouTube. Many characters have a love of writing but this set Izzy apart from other characters I've seen in books and goes back to what I've already said about the book being an update on previous teen fiction revolving around strong-willed "normal" teenage girls. 
The 'jokes' and similes/metaphors etc. were brilliant. They didn't necessarily always make me laugh but I appreciated the originality and the time it must have taken for the author to come up with so many without it being too much, you know? 

However, there were a few things that bothered me, which I'm sure can be ironed out pretty easily:
- some of the humour was pretty risky, such as "... my docile demeanor often encourage conversation from strangers at bus stops, which sounds quite pleasant, but has in fact made me consider an acid attack on myself on more than one occasion." I get that Izzy likes risky humour, but this to me seemed to go a bit too far and made me lose respect for the character in that moment. 
-The humour, sentence structure etc. had a very british vibe, which was weird in an American character. I get that for the "scandal" to have a far-reaching impact, America was the best place to situate it as politics are a lot more pronounced there (at least those which surround women's rights) than in the UK but Izzy's general personality was very reminiscent of a UK teenager rather than an American one. For example: "Imagine being able to hold a coherent and logical conversation! What larks!" --> very British vernacular. "Get all the goss so they can sell it to the Daily Mail" --> "goss" I believe is a British slang word which hasn't taken off across the pond, and the Daily Mail is a British tabloid. An American tabloid would have been more suitable here. Again; "the cemetery... which is generally as flat as the Netherlands" I don't think an American would have thought of Holland when they thought "flat". A British person would because it's close to home, European, and we know it. Some Americans don't even know the Netherlands is a place.
-Sometimes there was a bit too much effort to be "woke". I definitely appreciated the feminism and victim-blaming awfulness acknowledgements, but stuff like "as many of the most vile insults are, these comments are disguised as concern, like when fat-shamers preach to the obese about their health when really they're just judgmental reptiles..." I'm not saying these people aren't judgmental, but this isn't the best comparison to make as obesity IS bad and the second highest cause of cancer. Being concerned about it doesn't make you a fat-shamer or vile person.
-General character inconsistencies. Izzy says "It's probably quite clear that I have not watched many Bond movies..." why not? Doesn't she love movies and want to be a screenwriter? Bond is a trailblazer in its genre... but that's just nitpicking on my part now isn't it really ;) 

4/5 stars!!!! Will defo read next book.

* Thank you NetGalley and Egmont Publishers for my eARC in exchange for an honest review. *

Meet Izzy, our narrator. She is a typical high school teenager, doing typical teenager stuff. She has a lovely friendship group and dreams of a life a screenplay writer.

Izzy’s world is turned upside down when explicit pictures of her and the son of a senator are shared on a website where she is called a world-class whore. From that moment it all goes downhill, and Izzy is not only slut-shamed by her peers at school, but also by one of her teachers.

But Izzy is brave and strong. Much braver and stronger than she thinks she is. She keeps showing up for school regardless of the slut-shaming and laughs a lot of it off with her friend. 

When she realises she has done nothing wrong at all, she gets angry, because slut-shaming (or any form of -online- bullying) is not okay. The exact opposite of okay!

Izzy tells us her story through all her blog posts, which are basically her brain-dumps without any filter. This is why Izzy is so easy to connect with. I loved her witty remarks and her sarcasm.

I loved how this book touches an important subject as sexist double standards between boys/men and girls/women and how social media’s influence plays a part in that. How boys are 'legends' and 'lads' and girls are 'a whore' or 'a slut', and how your peers think it is okay to call you whatever they want. But it is not, and I hope this book will start that conversation. Especially in this day and age of social media.

Calling all fans of equal pay, Holly Bourne and women having the vote, this is the newest feminist YA book that you need in your life. Not only is this cover stunning, but the book inside is too and one that has made quite a large impact on me.

I love reading feminist YA, from Moxie to The Nowhere Girls and It Only Happens In The Movies, these books are empowering examples of why teenage girls (and everyone else) needs to stand up for equality. It's for all of those people out there who say feminism "isn't needed anymore". For those who don't realise their own sexist behaviour because it's so normalised.

That's where The Exact Opposite of Okay comes in. Welcome to the witty world of Izzy O'Neill. She's a self-labelled "tragic orphan" with an interests in screen-writing, partying and living with her grandma, Betty (legend).

Izzy's not ashamed to be a teenager that has one night stands. Why should she? If the guys at her school are practically worshipped for their sexual endeavours, why can't she have a little fun? It's not something she thought too much about before that night. 

When a photo leaks and a website launches, Izzy's life changes. She might joke about it on every page of the blog she's turning into a book but, understandably, it's an incredibly hard thing to go through. 

The thing that makes this book so great is that it doesn't just deal with nude photos, sex scandals, and objectification. It also covers the friendzone and nice guy complex too and I don't think I've ever read about that in YA before. Izzy's voice is powerful and distinctive so if you're a fan of character-led YA, this one's for you.

I absolutely loved how, right from the offset, Izzy stood up for herself. She recognised the shit she was being put through and tried to verbalise that to those around her. The worse it got, the more she dug her heels in. There was no learning curve, Izzy knew herself from the beginning and that made this book even more incredible.