Title: Girl Online (Girl Online #1)
Publisher: Atria / Keywords Press
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publication: November 25, 2014My Rating: 3/5
Source: Publisher on NetGalley
I had no idea GirlOnline would take off the way it has - I can't believe I now have 5432 followers, thanks so much! - and the thought of opening up to you all about this is terrifying, but here goes...
Penny has a secret.
Under the alias GirlOnline, she blogs about school dramas, boys, her mad, whirlwind family - and the panic attacks she's suffered from lately. When things go from bad to worse, her family whisks her away to New York, where she meets the gorgeous, guitar-strumming Noah. Suddenly Penny is falling in love - and capturing every moment of it on her blog.
But Noah has a secret too. One that threatens to ruin Penny's cover - and her closest friendship - forever.
**I received a free copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**
About a couple of years ago I used to watch Zoella's videos all the time, I really enjoyed them and looked up to her. I remember her mentioning this book back then when she was working on it, and I was really looking forward to it.
Now, we all know about the whole ghostwriter scandal and what not. Zoella didn't exactly write this, but she created the story and had someone actually write it for her, and I think that what made people mad was the fact that it wasn't really pointed out that this is how it all went.
But I don't care too much about that, it's all out in the open now and we can move on.
Now, like I mentioned before, I liked Zoella a lot back then, so I've seen a lot of her videos and, from what I read here, it seems like Penny, the main character, is pretty much her. I mean, I know a few things about Zoella, so it felt like the book was not new to me at all, you know? It felt like I had already read part of it or something, I don't know...
And Penny is actually very likeable, I think it's easy to relate to her. Who doesn't have a lot of embarrassing moments from their past? Or keeps having them every now and then...
Although at first I couldn't understand her choice of friends, it's like she liked to be mistreated by them, but I'm glad she starts to value herself more by the end of the book. Because seriously, who's so mean that they can share someone's (especially a "friend's") incredibly embarrassing moment caught on video on social media!! I could never do something like that, it's awful!
And Noah, Penny's love interest, is pretty adorable as well. I haven't liked the male heroes from the last books I've read, so this was definitely a nice change. Noah is hiding something from Penny though, which is obvious from the very beginning and it's not easy to figure out.
Even though there's this misunderstanding regarding Noah's secret, they make things work and they're great together.
Penny also has an amazing best friend named Elliot, who is very funny and, well, he does have his moments, but he is really cute in the end, and tries his best to be a good friend to Penny.
This book has many cute, inspiring messages as well, which I guess was to be expected coming from Zoella.
Are you a fan of Zoella? What did you think of her book?
Thank you for reading! ♥
Now, we all know about the whole ghostwriter scandal and what not. Zoella didn't exactly write this, but she created the story and had someone actually write it for her, and I think that what made people mad was the fact that it wasn't really pointed out that this is how it all went.
But I don't care too much about that, it's all out in the open now and we can move on.
And Penny is actually very likeable, I think it's easy to relate to her. Who doesn't have a lot of embarrassing moments from their past? Or keeps having them every now and then...
Although at first I couldn't understand her choice of friends, it's like she liked to be mistreated by them, but I'm glad she starts to value herself more by the end of the book. Because seriously, who's so mean that they can share someone's (especially a "friend's") incredibly embarrassing moment caught on video on social media!! I could never do something like that, it's awful!
And Noah, Penny's love interest, is pretty adorable as well. I haven't liked the male heroes from the last books I've read, so this was definitely a nice change. Noah is hiding something from Penny though, which is obvious from the very beginning and it's not easy to figure out.
Even though there's this misunderstanding regarding Noah's secret, they make things work and they're great together.
Penny also has an amazing best friend named Elliot, who is very funny and, well, he does have his moments, but he is really cute in the end, and tries his best to be a good friend to Penny.
This book has many cute, inspiring messages as well, which I guess was to be expected coming from Zoella.
Not my type though, really enjoyed your review!
ReplyDeletehttp://fetish-tokyo.blogspot.com/
Thanks, I'm glad you did!
Deleteugh >.< I dont understand sticking to awful friends either. Glad you enjoyed this anyway
ReplyDeleteYeah, good thing she comes to her senses later on!
DeleteThanks! :)
I don't really watch Zoella. When it comes to youtube, I'm mostly into the booktube side of things. It's a shame that there was so much controversy around this one, but I don't think I can read it. I know it was a while ago and it's all in the open, but as a writer myself I feel like the real writer should've been credited. However, that doesn't impact the story. I am glad this one was so sweet and cute and had some great messages in there for you to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteI used to watch a lot of beauty gurus back then, since I'm really into makeup and I wanted to learn more things about how to apply it and find tips :) but yeah, now I usually watch booktubers, people who do comedy and stuff like that.
DeleteYes, I understand what you mean, I think it's the reason why I didn't read this sooner, I think the author should've been given some credit as well. At least everybody knows about it now.