Friday, February 3, 2012

EvilEva Reviews... Not That Kind Of Girl

EvilEva reviews ...... Not That Kind Of Girl by Siobhan Vivian. 

Dissecting The Cover:

This cover makes me super uncomfortable. There's no way you can be taken seriously carrying this kissy-face book around. Which is kind of ironic given what the book is about. I mean, Ms. Bee would totally give you judgy eyes if she saw you reading this.

Let's Review:

It's senior year, and Natalie Sterling has all her ducks in a row. She's poised to become student council president, she spends her free time taking SAT practice exams with her best friend Autumn and she can expect a glowing college recommendation from her fave teacher Ms. Bee.
In her final year of high school, Natalie is doing everything right.
Because Natalie Sterling is A Good Girl.
She doesn't have time for silly freshmen shenanigans. Or raging parties. And she certainly doesn't have time for immature high school boys.
But senior year brings a lot of pressure. And what better way to relieve such pressure than by secretly hooking up with a hot guy?
Suddenly Natalie's best laid plans become uprooted. Her best friend is no longer talking to her, her advice to a struggling frosh goes unheeded, there's a chance she could get expelled AND, perhaps worst of all, she might actually have feelings for a certain jock.
Now Natalie is questioning everything she thought she knew about boys, about her friends, about herself.
So if Natalie isn't that kind of girl, what kind of girl is she?

Here's What I Think:

Ok, so Natalie is kind of a hard person to like. She's a perfectionist and a control freak and a bit of a raging goody goody. And I'm actually a teensy bit like her. I mean, when Natalie was hating on Spencer for being overtly sexual, there was a part of me that thought "Calm down, judgypants! Just because Spencer likes to flirt and dress in skimpy outfits, doesn't mean she's a whore."
But then my own goody goody side was like "Spencer, you're only 14! Mike Domski is so gross and totally not worth your time. You're better than that, boo. Now go put some pants on."
I get that Natalie means well but she's a little too overbearing and judgmental. Everything is either black or white. From Spencer to Connor, it was like Natalie was all too ready to believe the stereotypes (flirty freshman "Rosstitute" and jerky, dumb jock, respectively) even though throughout the book they both proved to her that she was totes wrong.
There were several times when I wanted to shake the shit out of her and say "You're being a bitch to Autumn... Connor... Spencer. Why can't you just accept them for who they are?! They've accepted your crazy ass."
Eventually Natalie loosens the fuck up and realizes what an uptight, no fun, judgmental harpy she's been.
I mean, I get it. It's senior year, you're last chance to make things as perfect as they're gonna get so that you can try to ensure your acceptance to a good college.
But even as a perfectionist, control freakish, slightly judgmental chick my damn self, I never really connected with Natalie. She was a little too type A for my taste. I'm more of a type A minus. ;) It made me kind of wish the book was told from the perspective of pretty much any of the other characters.

Swoony Times:

Not That Kind Of Girl is all about the covert swoon. Natalie doesn't want anyone to know that she could be "shallow" or "stupid" enough to be interested in a football player.
Because she's a smart cookie so she's better than that.
But lighten up, Nat cos Connor Hughes isn't your average, clichéd jock. He's actually pretty sweet. And smart. And he legitimately likes you. Plus he has that sweet hidden shed in which you can make all kinds of swoony magic!

Bonus Shizz:

Christmas Tree Farms!
I like the idea of a Christmas tree farm. I say the "idea" because I've never actually been to one. But the formula sounds like a winner.
I mean, fresh-scented trees being sawed down by a strapping young guy like Connor Hughes? Plus the possibility of sharing a cup of hot cocoa with him? Um, sign me up!

If You Liked That, Try This:

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart.

The Scale Of Judgment Says:

...... 3.
A little too judgy for me, dawg.

2 comments:

  1. I totally agree with you about this book (I know, shocker). I enjoyed it and I thought it raised such good questions, but I had such a hard time with Natalie. This is probably because I was quite uptight and judgey like her (only I did not have those sexy makeout sessions because I was at church all the time). It made me wonder what Connor saw in her (other than the obvious because he clearly could have gotten that anywhere). Good review, as always!

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  2. yacrush, i'm so glad that i'm not the only one that wasn't completely in love with this book.
    i've seen so many great reviews for it so i was wondering if i was the only person that thought Natalie was kind of hard to like.
    i liked the story but i liked pretty much all the other characters more than Natalie.

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