This books starts off like a conventional chick lit, and in the beginning it might seem like it doesn't have anything new to offer. This could lead a few readers to abandon the book. However, if one is patient, then after the halfway mark the narrative does pick up and really gets into the meat of what it means to be a young teenage girl in current times. The insecurities, the lack of self-confidence, the need to fit in are narrated with sensitivity. The book also touches upon issues of anxiety and depression, and emphasises the need of a supportive environment in dealing with them.

I really enjoyed this book. This coming of age story really hit home talking about mental health and feminism and I think all young people should be taught about it as it affects everyone not just women.

Cute and funny. Loved the voice, the constant questioning about feminism and what it means to be not just a feminist in today's world, but also a girl/woman and all that life entails. The high school set up felt very 'Mean Girls' and had a lot of flair so as to almost come alive as a character in its own.

Quite funny at first but gets a bit Sandy very quickly so I didn't really enjoy it,but bear in mind I am not the target reader for this so your opinion may well be different.

A nice and easy read that follows 15-year old Kat and her friends as they navigate being a teenager in modern society whilst upholding feminist values.
I thought this was a cute book and enjoyed how it included so many issues that aren’t necessarily always raised in literature for young people. Mental health issues, social media, period poverty, casual sexism - this book tackled them all!
It definitely does read very young as it is obviously aimed at a younger audience but I was still able to appreciate the take home messages.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

This lost me on the first page as a reader. Seriously, some people need to think about adulting before they think about feminism, a bit like walking before you can run. This fails at that first hurdle.

This book is intended for teenage readers but I wouldn't give it to my daughter to read. It is intended to be funny but it manages to appear misogynistic and I got the impression that the writer really doesn't like teenagers at all. As I read it, I began to think that Kate Weston might be a nom de plume for some bitter, choleric old male teacher but I'm sure she's a perfectly genuine author and this book just misses the targets.

The central characters are three girls just starting in year eleven so around sixteen years of age. One of them, Kat, is the narrator and her best friends are Sam and Millie. The book opens with them making a feeble allegedly feminist protest at school then they have long discussions about menstruation and a series of supposedly jokey situations ensure, while all the while agonising about whether boys fancy them. Much of the plot revolves around their bête noire, Trudy, who is having some kind of relationship with Josh who Kat desperately fancies.

Kat is permanently embarrassed and can't seem to have a sensible meeting or conversation with anyone because she is obviously a 'confused' adolescent. She is obsessed with her body, periods, menstrual cups and these things are always getting her into amusing scrapes, if you find that kind of thing funny. At the end, Josh gets involved in the scandal sending pictures of his penis to people and so Kat gets her own back on Trudy and, allegedly, suddenly finds a little more self-confidence.

And, that's about it. The book ends with Kat providing a few semi-humorous tips presumably intended for younger female readers who have previously been denigrated for a couple of hundred pages about the impossibility of them thinking politically while encouraged to be anxious about their bodies, and made to think that periods are a guilty secret or comic!

I don't think that the book intends to be thought of like this. It is meant to be comic and fun and, in its own way, to encourage young women to be more confident. However, it misses its target when so many young people are active politically about climate change, and most of them go to schools which are co-educational and where they can have much more normal relationships with boys than perhaps their parents did and can resist drooling girly conversations in the toilets. Maybe, the world is moving on at last.

I really, really struggled to enjoy this novel. I was particularly excited for Diary of a Confused Feminist as it sounded just like something my teenage self would have appreciated and adored but somehow it seemed to miss the mark a bit.
This novel reminded me of the Georgia Nicholson books but almost more extreme which doesn't seem possible! There was a little too much unbelievable clumsiness and it started to feel quite repetitive early on.
There were definitely some interesting facts and I loved how Kat found out the answers for herself rather than just living in ignorance. It might provide an example to teenage girls that feel embarrassed about any burning questions they have.
One issue I had as well was the lack of diversity, the main three girls all chasing three hot guys was a bit disheartening to read as not all teen girls will be able to connect with this.
I wish I had managed to enjoy this novel more but mostly it just felt too cringy however I hope that's due to my age and that teenagers will like it more.

I came across Diary of a Confused Feminist by Kate Weston via other reviewers on NetGalley and I was immediately intrigued. Whilst it is more of a teenage read, I immediately could relate to different parts of the book and how my teen years had gone. As a debut book, Weston really has got it nailed. The way that the book went through mental health issues and then covered more light hearted
moments too. One moment I'd be laughing along with the author and then feeling totally 'wow' at what I was reading. It's an important read for teens, for parents of teens and for women of any age. I'm really happy I had seen the reviews on this one.

I had seen a lot of reviews calling this the Georgia Nichols book of our generation. It gave me a little trepidation as I went in to read this book, but I was for sure not disappointed.

Kat is a fantastic main character, and I loved her exploits with Hot Josh in mind. She's definitely earned the title of Georgia Nichols of our generation.

I also loved how it portrays mental health. It's done in a very compassionate and realistic way.

I can't recommend this book more. It's a shoe in for Book of the Year.

This is the diary of a 15 year old who navigates all the issues of the teenage years while trying to be a feminist and coping with her anxiety. She asks herself what it means to be a woman and a feminist and I found it very relatable. The style is fun, bright and engaging, even when touching the more serious topics, I'm 40 and I enjoyed reading it, I'd have loved it at 15. I recommend it for teenagers and as a light read for their parents.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I will start with the things I didn't like about this book, as they are minor. I did feel like the author couldn't completely encapsulate the voice of teenagers here, nobody says "babe" at that age (or at least not so much as these characters did) and it actually got incredibly annoying, and wasn't true to their age at all. Secondly, I am not sure if this was a proofing error, but the capitilisation every time the word "He" was used seemed vastly unnecessary, and there is definitely a gender mix up towards the end regarding the doctor.

However, this book was very easy to read, and something I would have lapped up as a teenager. The cultural references were up to date and relevant, and went down beautifully. I think we have all seen ourselves as a Kat at some point. It really touched on some hard issues, and did this delicately and well. Age range aside, I think we can all take something positive from this book.

I wasnt expecting much tbh, it seemed like the usual young girl fancies a boy at school & then goes on to make a show of herself. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The writing is great, it really brings to life some important issues, what it's like being a teenage girl, mental health & issues many people are dealing with day to day. My only negative was it ended kind of abruptly.

The subject matter brought to the pages of this book is certainly dealt with in a lighthearted manner, which should help put it in the hands of those readers for whom it is intended.
I liked the characters and the friendships, and I enjoyed the situations explored, (although I was not always convinced of the teen voice).
Thanks to NetGalley and Hodder Children's Books for providing this advance copy.

Not quite what I was expecting or my type of book, but well written and enticing enough to keep me going to the end

I think I’m a little old for this story and not in the age category this book is aimed at. I read a couple of chapters, which were well written, but didn’t finish it as it was really not for me. In the genre of women’s fiction but definitely younger women.

3.5 stars, so I rounded up to 4. I think I struggled with this one because I’m not the target audience; I haven’t been a teenage girl for a while now (sob) and I think they might enjoy this more than I did. It raises some valid points, but seems very forceful with its message/s. It had me rolling my eyes at points, and I find it hard to believe that in this day and age teenagers have the kinds of opinions that the protagonist struggles with. However, as I’ve said, I’m not a teenage girl right now. It did have some ‘Angus, Thongs...’ vibes, which I really enjoyed, and I appreciated that the author was realistic when dealing with the treatment of mental health issues.

I wish this book had been around when I was younger. It deals with mental health, what it feels like to be a teenager, and friendships. it describes really well what anxiety can feel like. For anyone struggling with compulsions or intrusive thoughts, this book will help you feel more 'normal' and understood. There's also plenty of feminism, and it's very funny!

This author and book is a first for me and I didn't really know what to expect.This book centres around a teenage girl and her friends and basically trying to navigate being teenagers and the challenges that comes with it.

Kat is a young teenage girl and at 16 years old thinks she knows everything like they all do.
She wants to be a writer and has an amazing supportive circle of people around her.
She has decided that she wants to be a feminist just as soon as she's sure she knows what one is and what it entails.

As all her friends start dating she's left wondering why she's not too. Sam and Millie are her best friends and they are so real, supportive and all round goodens.

This book had alot of humour and some really hilarious parts really laugh out loud and real cringe moments. I feel the author written this book great and this book has alot in it and even touches on the mental health side of things.

This author writes all the characters really good and even her parents felt very real. This author did a fantastic job at writing about feminism and also being a teenager both difficult, but this author does perfectly.

This book is a must read for any teenager because it's extremely relatable and very funny.

Thank You to the author and publishers for allowing me to read a copy of this book.

ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

This book is out now.

#netgally

I don't think I'm the intended audience for this book, as I found it quite vapid and childish. It wasn't particularly funny, and I didn't really enjoy it. However, it did improve as it changed from teenage rambling to a window into the struggles of mental illness. That part was very well done, and I think an important message for young people!

I found Kat very irritating and really didn't enjoy reading her inner monologue. All of the other characters seemed significantly more like I remember teenagers being, whereas Kat came across as a bit of a caricature. As the book becomes more serious, she improves slightly - but I don't think I recognised much of my own experiences in her, which is why I didn't enjoy the book as much as others might.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.