This was fine -a simple and predictable modern YA novel about a teenage girl in modern times. Basic feminist leanings, unrealistic plot but a satisfying conclusion nevertheless. Reminded me a bit of a more ‘grown up’ (modern) version of the Girls series by Jacqueline Wilson - friendship and family relationships being the key and the nicest thing about the story.

Originally I mistook this one for a book of essays about feminism (don’t ask me why), but then, well… why not read it anyway?

Turns out the book had its good sides and a lot of less good sides. It does deal with themes that are familiar to a lot of teenagers (high school, stress, feeling left on the side while your friends get boy/girlfriends…) while also introducing “feminism” through Kat’s questioning and attempts at understanding what it is, what it entails, how to be a feminist, and so on. And I guess this can indeed lead a reader who’s interested in this to go and do their own research, using this basis as pointers. Not to mention that this novel also sends the message that it’s normal and OK to ask for help if you’re struggling with mental issues, which is something so many people need to hear. So not all is lost.

The problem(s) was that the story was both all over the place, trying to cram too much in too little space (feminism, boyfriends, problems with the Queen Bee, growing up, anxiety, depression) while at the same time being rather slow, with pretty much nothing noteworthy happening for at least half of it. Well, no, there -are- things that happen, but they’re slice-of-life things, not plot-things, and they’re also predictable and cliché. The most interesting ones, such as Kat’s anxiety and treatment, felt rushed in comparison, the same way the “activism” towards the end was rushed. It would’ve been more interesting to see more of this throughout the novel, rather than yet more boyfriend woes and teenager parties and the Mean Queen Bee we’ve seen so much we’ve stopped counting. Or maybe I’m just jaded after having read so many stories with the same plot elements in them?

Conclusion: Good messages when it comes to discovering feminism (for a girl, not for someone who already knows what it entails) and mental health awareness, but plot-wise, it’s nothing to write home about.

An enjoyable YA, with interesting characters. Was a bit of a slow burner to begin with but ones into it was thoughtly enjoyable.

I think I'm a bit older than the intended audience but I loved this! It is a book that addresses anxiety, feminism and the trials and traumas of wading through adolescence. A book I would love my daughter to read when she is older. Thank you netgalley!

Diary of a Confused Feminist is written as the diary of Kat Evans. A British teenager who alongside the challenges of GCSEs decides that she would like to improve on being a feminist - whilst juggling to determine quite what a feminist is.

Kate Weston very much presents this story as a comedy, very early on our heroine Kat and her friends fail to complete their #TimesUp campaign at the school, and only end up encouraging the attentions of the somewhat creepy class mate Tim, (aka #Tim). There are several further calamities that early on made a little worried that this story could end up being a little one note. (After all, a lot of comedic books/shows/films focus on the most clumsy of people who no matter what seem to worsen their own circumstances to a point that leaves me squirming with second hand embarrassment).

In reality I think the entry point to this novel is there to trick you (in the best way), into a false sense of "I've seen this clumsy girl before" until it hits you in the chest with quite some force the real message of this story. For which I will say, anyone picking this story, please be aware there may be some triggers for mental health.

SO, I will start with a few critiques I had with the story before I delve deep into why I gave this story such a high rating. It does fall into some tropes, there is the sworn enemy who goes out of their way to bully/bother Kat, the unbelievably stunning BFFS compared to our "unskilled, average looking" protagonist  (although I would argue this is probably how a lot of teenage girls feel about their friends, versus themselves. I know I felt like that as a teenager anyway). 

Also the diary format and text messages may not work for everyone as some sections are quite short or a little rambling - but again, I have been reading a bigger variety of formats recently so this didn't bother me personally.

Whilst I may agree with anyone saying elements of this story were a little predictable, it didn't bother me because I felt it was so well written, and the real winner for me? The mental health representation. I won't go too deeply into the ins and outs of that section of the plot, because it does come further along in the story. But it felt so well written and didn't shy from the isolation, the guilt and confusion that emerging mental health issues can cause.

As a now 27 year old adult, I have had a while now to make friends with my own anxiety and low mood disorder, I know how to spot it, I can in some ways manage it better. I have also worked with University students experiencing mental health challenges, so it is a topic I am familiar with now. But I remember being 15/16 years old and not understanding why I felt some of the ways I felt, and being terrified to talk to people about it, because it already makes your feel 'other'. Kate Weston actually made me cry a bit reading sections of this story, but in a cathartic way, it felt so good that this story was presenting a realistic image of something so many teens experience and often do not know how to deal with it. 

This wasn't the only topic that the story covered, and I appreciated it managed to bring some facts about various topics into the narrative. But for me personally, I know what part of this story really stuck with me, and I imagine it will do going forward.

This book felt a little too much of a copy of Angus Thongs & Full Frontal Snogging but without being as funny. I ended up DNF about 1/4 of the way through as it just felt to much like the same sort of thing that has been done before.

They're 15, about to turn 16, a tight group of friends, but boys are coming into the picture and it's all too easy to feel left behind. They're trying to be feminists and to work out their place in the world at a difficult time anyway.

While Kat's self-deprecating diary entries start off funny, they spiral into self-hatred and anxiety, and just when I was starting to find this a bit  distressing and depressing to read, we find out why, and it's all justified and cleverly done, as you almost don't see the gradual decline.

It's good on the pernicious influence of social media on especially teenagers and the need to check your phone constantly. It's also great at inserting interesting resources such as the "Girl Up" book and Instagram accounts and hashtags to follow and hopefully these will get followed up by readers who haven't come across them before.

Full review on my blog https://wp.me/p21YR4-3Jq

Funny but with an important message, this diary-style story is all about teenagers trying to navigate school, their friendships and relationships, and find their place in the world. And maybe even make an impact in the world, by understanding and living that perfect feminist life... only, Kat is really confused about what that actually means. A very good exploration of feminism, its history and its place in modern society, plus hilarious and heart-warming moments of balancing teenage live and upholding that feminist ideal.

Absolutely enjoyed from start to finish, u didn't want the book to end. Highly recommended, if you like books that brighten up your day!

This book explores what being a feminist actually means through the perspective of a 16 year old girl finding her place in the world. It was such a relatable read and I found myself getting really invested in the characters. A very informative but easily digestible YA book exploring feminism, mental health and coming-of-age. Highly recommended!

For the first 75% of this book absolutely nothing happened, I would liken this book to Louise Rennison's writing and I really just didn't enjoy this. The last 25% was an anxiety diagnosis, and what seemed to be a full recovery - nothing about this book felt even remotely realistic and I wouldn't recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for a copy of 'Diary of a confused feminist' to review.

Having been compared to the books of Louise Rennison, which I used to love when I was younger, I jumped at the chance to give this book a try.

Whilst I am perhaps not the intended audience, no longer a teenager, I still found the book entertaining and educational.

I found the book really funny and enjoyed the diary format. I also really appreciated the take on important mental health issues that are so prevalent in teenagers today. 

I would definitely be recommending this girls (and boys) of around 12 and up. Almost a Judy Blume of our time!

I often read YA books however this felt a bit too young to me. I think I would have enjoyed this as a teen but it missed the mark as a 28 year old. Definately a case of its me not the book. Great for the intended audience. 

It was a fun throwback to high school.

2.75, which feels kind of harsh since I did enjoy the book but I really couldn’t see past a couple of issues.
So this was a fun and engaging read that was very reminiscent of 15 year old me when I first started reading about feminism. And, unfortunately, it had the same issues that 15 year old me had when it comes to feminism. 
Whilst I loved the writing style, the plot and the friendships, this was very very very cis white feminism. It was all too much ‘vagina power!!’ energy for me and I would’ve been all for it at 15 but I know better now, and 15 year olds also deserve to know better. It wouldn’t have been hard to not include a lot of the quips and references that reinforced this throughout the book and make it far more inclusive and relevant.

Loved this book and wish it had of been around when I was a teenager. It was so funny and light hearted. Loved the style of writing and how the main character went about things. Very upbeat and uplifting

I wish I had had this book as an anxious teenager. It does a great job of explaining depression and anxiety as well as the shame that often comes with it. It also shows that you can get through it and it is more than okay to ask for help. 

It makes a lot of serious topics relatable and entertaining. It covers periods, friendships, crushes, bullying, anxiety around schoolwork, applying for uni and failure as well as touching on the Times Up movement and period poverty.

 It made me laugh as well as cry. Definitely recommend for young readers who are struggling with the pressure of being good feminists/fighting all the injustice in the world on top of school and being teenagers. 

I received a copy of the ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

This was such a funny book.  Wish I had been able to read this when I was a teenager.  I will be buying this for my teenage niece.  Immensely enjoyable.

One of those books that I wish had been around when I was a teen - this is definitely one for our school library. I thoroughly enjoyed, and was definitely thought provoking. 

Perhaps not as accessible as it could have been - maybe a little dry in places. Recommended for schools everywhere though.

Kat wants to do GOOD FEMINISM, although she's not always sure what that means. She also wants to be a writer, get together with Hot Josh (is this a feminist ambition?), win at her coursework and not make a TOTAL EMBARRASSMENT of herself at all times.  But the path to true feminism is filled with mortifying incidents and when everything at school starts to get a bit too much, Kat knows she's lost her way, and the only way forward is to ask for help . . .

Join Kat AKA the Confused Feminist as she navigates EVERYTHING from menstrual cups and mental health to Instagram likes and #TimesUp in her HILARIOUS, OUTRAGEOUS and VERY EMBARRASSING diary.

Firstly I would like to thank Hodder Children's Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to give a true and honest review on this YA title.

This book was not aimed at my age group however, I had hopes that the feminist message implied by it's title and blurb would offer an interesting insight for teenage girls who want to know more about feminist views and enable them to embrace those items that fitted to the direction they wanted their life to go.

Despite it briefly touching on menstrual cups and mental health (which is clearly not just a feminist issue), this read more like a teenage Bridget Jones's Diary of teenage angst.  Although Kat was a likeable character I did feel she was no different to any teenage girl being brought up with a middle class family with a strong support group of friends.

The main thread of the mental health story line was well detailed but more from the standpoint of the affects of bullying than anything else.  Despite the impact on her mental health however and the anxiety being caused by Kat's nemesis and her cringeworthy interaction with Tim (the masogonist) and Hot Josh.  I do feel the story would have been more rounded if more of a punishment had been experienced rather than just an equal reaction of humiliation.  The message of bullying not being acceptable clearly got lost in the melodrama.  

I did enjoy the solidarity showed by her two friends and to be honest would have been happy to have focused on them as a unit or at least seen more of the perspective of situations from all three characters rather than just Kat.  The gay best friend was a bit cliche however, it was nice to see an attempt at normalising LGBTQ+ characters in all ages of life.

Although I am not the target audience it was however a light and easy read so I have given it 3*.

I enjoyed reading 'Diary of a Confused Feminist'. I loved Kat's voice and her thoughts about 'how to be a feminist', what it means and how someone can achieve all the sometimes conflicting ideas around it. I especially loved the part about her visiting a psychologist. It explained how things work and that sometimes people need help from outside the even most understanding family. Mostly the book is utterly funny and hilarious but also thought-provoking and a really good read!