Thank you netgalley for this arc for the review.
I haven't read the first book in this series as I didn’t know there was one prior, however I was pleasantly surprised to realise while reading that this wasn’t a negative
It was very easy to pick up what was going on and although certain events in the first book were alluded to, they were not vital to the current story - also a bonus!
As someone who read all of the Georgia Nicholson books while growing up, this reminded me of Angus, Thong vibes, albeit for a younger reader than the millennial I am.
Genuinely funny, I did have moments of giggling to myself in bed as I was reading! While funny, this still contained plenty of food for thought: feminism, everyday sexism within school settings, a realistic and touching portrayal of many mental health issues and cyberbullying.

Unfortunately, this archived before I was able to download, therefore I was unable to read this. I have seen a lot of positive reviews though!

This was the kind of book I would've absolutely adored as I was a teen - the mental health rep, supportive friends and family, hilarious and relatably awkward teenage shenanigans and of course the feminism were all spot on. I love that attending therapy was shown in a positive light, I think it's really important to destigmatise mental illness and therapy particularly in books aimed at a young audience.

This second book from Kate Weston lived up to the first! If you love funny YA/teen reads, this series is one for you. Ideal for fans of Chloe Seager, Holly Bourne and Louise Rennison.

This is the second in a series, and I would recommend reading Diary of a Confused Feminist first to have the best context for this book. It really will help you.

This series has been compared to Georgia Nicholson's diaries and not without cause. Kat does get into similar scrapes and situations as Georgia does.

I liked the discussion of LGBT characters in this book, but the involuntary outing was not something I enjoyed reading.

Overall, I didn't enjoy this as much as the previous book.

I really couldn't wait to start this one after reading the first, Kat was such an intrigued character in the first one that I really was excited to get back into her life and see what has changed and what is going to happen next.

I really liked how open she was with her struggles including her sexuality and how bad some school environment can be for specific different groups of people.

PLEASE tell me there is a third because i couldn't get enough.

A funny, modern, young adult fiction. I worry that it would date quickly with how fast tech / social media moves, and this book is so "current". However it also made me feel nostalgic for the teen diary style novels I read in the 90s, and wished there were writers like this around then! I would definitely recommend for older teens and young adults, and even those clinging onto their youth (like me!)

This is book 2 in a series and I much preferred the first book, Diary of a Confused Feminist. That one seemed much more realistic and had more of a story. This book struggled to keep my interest and even though I knew this book is all about feminism in teens the word was mentioned in nearly every sentence. I do however think it is a great series for young teens to see that the things they face in their lives are normal. It covers anxiety and depression really well.

Let's write a diary novel and make it all about hashtag-feminism, with a minor accomplishment here or there that goes a bit further than just talking at each other about hashtag-feminism. Let's also then add a token character from different marginalised groups and only mention them or their marginalisation when the novel starts to feel too white and straight. And then let's fix that last problem permanently by making the main character bi or maybe a lesbian or let's just say queer because that encompasses pretty much everyone these days, right?

I wanted to like this. I think teenagers need novels about feminism and sexuality and mental health and all of the things talked about in this book. But this one just felt so incredibly basic.

Kat and best friends Sam and Millie, as well as Matt from next door and his boyfriend, Si, return for a new term determined to build the Feminist Society and keep pushing back against the school bully, Trudy. There's a new girl in the class who seems mean from the outset, so someone else to watch out for, and then a culture of toxic masculinity is revealed in the school; this is cleverly done and very timely, as there have been exposés of rape culture in schools over the last few years, and very believable. What do they do with their new knowledge of the upskirting, assault and shaming girls at the school have been inundated with? They expose it on the school feminist blog Kat was encouraged to start? What happens next: they get shut down. Here I really liked that the woman teacher supporting them was just as angered and seemingly powerless as Kat was.

Meanwhile, the normal things of teenage life go on: Sam and Millie have seemingly supportive boyfriends but then Sam's Dave goes vague; Millie has family problems and also needs support. Kat might have another chance to grab Sexy Sebastien from French Exchange, if she's allowed to go to France ... The trajectory of Kat's mental health issues continues; diagnosed with anxiety and depression in the first book, she continues to see her therapist and doesn't get better immediately but reaches understanding and some peace which, as she says in the book, is more realistic than in most books and films. I particularly liked the way some of the strategies Kat's therapist suggests to her are written out in the book, specifically one to help with a compulsion, and then she's seen trying it, giving a good, practical side to what is a novel of serious issues and also a fun novel.

Review coming on my blog on 02 March: https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/2022/03/02/book-review-kate-weston-must-do-better/

I never read a book out of the series order, so when I got accepted to review this #gifted copy from #netgally, I immediately went and read book one! I've only just come up for breath after finishing both books!!

Please tell me there is a third one coming our way @kateelizabethweston 🙏

These books are relatable not just to teens but to the rest of us trying to fit into an 'insta-perfect' world! Where Kat and her friends are just like us trying to get through school and life in general without being fat shamed, wolf whistled at, groped, and the list goes on. Although the author touched on some serious themes teens face today it was seriously LOL funny!!

The characters are so comical and it's easy to really like them and I kinda wished I had friends like that when I was at school!!! #welljealous.
Kat is #feministqueen

I have so much respect for the author for creating such a relevant set of books! #praisekateweston

Number 3 I'm waiting for ya!!!

I devoured this book so fast, the writing style was just to die for. it felt so easy and i could relate to my childhood a LOT!!

but the storyline, the characters, all of it could easily be made into a TV series that would be so exciting and young people would for sure love it!

i definitely want to read book 3 if there will be one, took me back to my teenage years:)

this book was incredible. i only intended to read it for ten minutes before bed but before i knew it, i'd read the whole book in one sitting! by the end of this book, i was sobbing with happiness, this was an amazing sequel to an amazing book and i wish i could read more books about kat & her friend's lives!! :))

https://www.instagram.com/p/CZubLQwLLIE/?utm_medium=copy_link

I must admit that I only saw the publisher’s claim that this book was reminiscent of Sex Education and grabbed the book, not realising it was the second part in a series. I decided to give it a try and see if I could get into without the context of the first book. Personally, I didn’t feel like it wasn’t an issue that I hadn’t read part one. The protagonist/narrator makes some reference to events from the first book, but they are explained well enough.

To keep this review short and sweet, I thought I’d simply make two lists – one of aspects I liked and one that details the room for improvement.

I enjoyed…
• The protagonist and that we follow her as she discovers “feminism”. I’m a older than the target group and obviously familiar with the different terminologies and the idea of intersectional feminism but I imagine most kids around the same age as the protagonists won’t be. I know that I wasn’t – I wish this book had been around when I was a teenager!
• The protagonist goes to therapy/counselling and a lot of her feelings around that felt very realistic. At the same time, I liked that this was explicitly in the book, hopefully helping break down some of the stereotypes that prevail about therapy.
• The plot includes some handling of what I would consider quite traumatic (***mild spoiler ahead***) including an involuntary public outing of a LGBTQ+ character. This might not be for everyone, so trigger warnings should be considered. However, the baseline is that this person receives support more than anything else.
• It’s a book for teenagers that (as far as I can judge) uses language that teenagers would use and does dance around words like penis or vagina the way some other books written by adults for teens (or even for other adults) would. That’s a good thing.


Room for improvement…
• Some of the minor characters that fill the plot here and there are extremely weird tropes. There is a group of mean girls that literally call themselves “Trudy and her bitches” and it seems that is what how they refer to themselves. Initially I thought this was a nickname that the protagonist had given them, which probably would not have been that much better as I would not consider calling someone a “bitch” a very feminist thing to do. Having said that, the protagonist obviously also realises she still has a lot to learn. There is also a scene in which two old women start battering a teenage boy with their handbags because he was holding up a tampon. I found this a bit bizarre and something I would probably imagine in a (bad!) slapstick sketch.
• The protagonist develops feelings for another character – I won’t say who for spoiler purposes. However, I find the crush happens super quickly. I get it, teenage hormones, and all. However, I would have liked the slow emergence of feelings developed in more depth as it was an interesting and quite important storyline. It seemed like there was no “time” for this.
• There’s a lot of use of all caps, which I personally found a little irritating to read. I understand this is supposed to read the way a teenager would think & write but this could have been conveyed in language alone.
• The vibe did not quite hit Sex Education for me. It’s set in a school in England, there is a trip to France and there is some LGBTQ+ representation. However, the book does not quite hit that quirkiness or the diversity of the show’s ensemble cast – but that is OK. It doesn’t have to be “like Sex Education” to be good.
• I remember there were one or two typos still in the book. Not the end of the world or something that would impact on my review but thought I should mention it (this comment is for my Netgalley review only and will be taken out of reviews that I publish elsewhere).
• At one point the books say “Character X was doing the international sign language for…” when it is clear is not actually using sign language but a (probably crude) gesture. Sign languages (including International Sign) are actual languages. A different wording would have sat better (this comment is for my Netgalley review only and will be taken out of reviews that I publish elsewhere).
Overall, I found this to be a really enjoyable read that covers some topics that are actually really valuable for young people to learn about. It’s an easy four stars to give but could have been even more if I hadn’t been for some of points I’ve criticised above.

Trigger warnings: extreme bullying, social anxiety and therapy, involuntary outing, divorce.

Must Do Better by Kate Weston.
Diary of a Confused Feminist Book 2.
16-year-old Kat has suffered through mortifying incidents, muddling moments and Instagram hell - but her extreme teenage confusion isn't over yet.
It's a new term, and Kat is determined to spread the word about DOING GOOD FEMINISM to all her fellow students. But her new Feminist Society does not exactly go to plan (why is everyone more confused than she is?!) and she's left feeling more of a failure than ever. And with best friends Millie and Sam both going through difficult times, Kat wants to be there for them.
But there's a class trip to France to look forward to, and a reunion with Kat's former fling and TOTAL DREAMBOAT Sébastien. This is exactly what they all need ... until Kat's plans begin to unravel.
If Kat is doing her best, why does she always feel as if she must do better?
An hilarious read. It did have its moments. There were good bits then slow. Good story and characters. 4*.

I haven't read the first book in this series, however I was pleasantly surprised to realise while reading that this was not a big drawback. It was very easy to pick up what was going on and although certain events in the first book were alluded to, they were not vital to the current story - big bonus! As someone who read all of the Georgia Nicholson books while growing up, this reminded me of those, albeit for the Gen Z reader. Genuinely funny, I did have moments of giggling to myself on the bus as I read! While funny, this still contained plenty of food for thought: feminism, everyday sexism within educational settings, a realistic and touching portrayal of mental health issues and cyberbullying.

It's a new term and Kat is ready to make the Feminist Society an epic success. But with an oblivious head teacher, toxic Instagram accounts and a secretive new girl, nothing will be as straightforward as she hopes. Is Kat helping, or hindering, progress with her society? And how can she support her friends when her own life so often feels like it's falling apart?

This novel is so funny! There are so many laugh out loud moments it would be impossible to list them all, or even pick a favourite.

And when I wasn't shaking with laughter, I was shaking with rage. Must Do Better covers so many important topics as it explores the culture of toxic masculinity in school and the double standards boys and girls are often held to in their behaviour. Kat shows that individuals can make a difference and that it's worth standing up for what you believe in and speaking out when you see something wrong. It's also clear throughout that equality, and feminism, are for everyone.

One of the reasons this novel is so good is that Kat is really relatable. She has such a clear idea of how she wants her day to go, but everything always ends up in comic disaster. I think the way she questions and doubts herself will resonate with lots of readers.

There's also a host of well rounded side characters in Kat's brilliant friendship group. Sam and Millie both go through their own problems, from family breakdowns to boyfriend betrayals, and Kat's desire to support them, even with her own issues to worry about, shows the strength and importance of teen friendships. I think most teen readers will relate to someone in this book - even the antagonists have complex motivations and have been well developed.

I know I said I could pick a favourite comedy moment, but the scenes in Nick's car definitely gave me flashbacks to being a teenager (and made me really pleased cars will probably all be autonomous by the time my kids are old enough to drive!)

Must Do Better also offers an honest insight into anxiety, depression and OCD. Kat's therapy sessions show there are no 'easy fixes' but talking and seeking help do make a huge impact.

Thank you so much BKMRK for letting me review an advanced copy of Must Do Better via NetGalley.

After loving the first Diary of a Confused Feminist, I was very excited to read this, and it did not disappoint at all. Truly excellent on teenage mental health, as well as being laugh out loud funny. I love Kat's voice, and would have absolutely devoured this as a teenager (and also it transpires as a 33 year old!) Serious but never preachy, fun but with real substance, I loved it. Highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

I have completely fallen in love with Kat Evans. She is the Gen Z version of Georgia Nicholson, and potentially even better because of the feminist education any reader of these books will get. The plot is engaging, the writing is warm and hilarious, and the characters are completely realistic. These books should be on the shelves of every school library and every teen girl (and boy!).

Kate Weston brings the further adventures of the confused feminist, Kat, in this second in the series.
What I like about this book and the previous one is the way in which it's not preaching to its audience. In some of these types of book, I find that inevitably the views of the author override the narrator's voice to the point where you step outside the fiction of the book and feel like you're reading the explicit views of the author.
In this, we go along with Kat as she discovers feminism, why it's important to her and her schoolmates and she makes mistakes as she goes. She's a teenager, only 15 and very much learning about things that a lot of adults haven't even caught up on. She's also dealing with anxiety as explored in the first book and I thought it was sensibly and sensitively dealt with here too.
Kat's friends Sam and Millie are a lovely pair of friends to have and are constantly supportive to Kat. Kat's voice is strong throughout and even though she doubts herself and obviously lives in her head a lot, it's interesting to hear her as she works through a difficult time for herself.
There are plenty of threads running through this book, including issues with Sam and Millie, adults having sexual lives while you're a teenager and gender and sexuality issues at school.
Kat is a character I like to read and I'd love to see more in the series.