Tuesday 29 May 2012

Adorkable - Sarra Manning


Adorkable – Sarra Manning

Pages: 384
Publisher: Atom (Little, Brown)
Release Date: 24th May 2012
Edition: UK paperback, review copy

Other Titles by this Author: Diary of a Crush: French Kiss; Kiss and Make Up; Sealed with a Kiss, Guitar Girl, Let’s Get Lost, Pretty Things, Fashionistas: Laura; Hadley; Irina; Candy, Nobody’s Girl

Welcome to the dorkside. It’s going to be a bumpy ride...

Jeane Smith’s a blogger, a dreamer, a dare-to-dreamer, a jumble sale queen, CEO of her own lifestyle brand and has half a million followers on twitter.

Michael Lee’s a star of school, stage and playing field. A golden boy in a Jack Wills hoodie.

They have nothing in common but a pair of cheating exes. So why can’t they stop snogging?

As ever, Sarra Manning delivers a warm and life-affirming novel about a heroine and a message which girls can get behind with Adorkable.

After my post a few weeks ago about the way teenage girls are presented in most YA, Jeane Smith was a breath of fresh air. Firstly, Jeane does not have a traditional girly body shape – she’s short and stocky, but she’s completely comfortable with her body. She dresses exactly how she wants to; whether that’s old lady-style head to toe tweed or the poofy skirts of a fifties Prom Queen. Jeane is an unashamed dork who is surgically attached to Twitter and a blogging queen who likes jumble sales and Haribo and won’t apologise for it.

I was actually fully prepared to not really like Jeane because she’s rather harsh, to be honest, but I did. There’s a vulnerability and a desire to be loved just like any person underneath her snark that I found completely endearing. I loved how Sarra Manning turned her formula of a genuinely nice girl and a toxic boy around with Jeane and Michael. I wasn’t so sure at first, but it really worked. They are a couple that definitely can’t be accused of having fallen in instalove, more like instahate really. They are so, so different and on paper really shouldn’t work, but they do and I love them. There is also a fantastic cameo from Molly from Guitar Girl which I always love.

Underneath Jeane’s quest for world domination is Sarra Manning’s open way of dealing with teenage sex and sexual relationships without handing out judgments or opinions – it is how it is. She also discusses feminism in the same way. Manning is clearly keen  to empower girls to take chances on themselves and go for what they want. These were two of the things about Adorkable that surprised me the most and that I loved the most, other than the split narration of course, because you should all know by now how I feel about that.

I thoroughly enjoyed Adorkable and, as ever, I’ll be waiting with baited breath for Sarra Manning’s next YA tome. I hope I don't have to wait too long.  


Sophie  

6 comments:

  1. I really like the look of this one, great review! xXx

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  2. I have had mixed experiences with Sarra Manning's books, although I do think she writes great female main characters. Thanks for your great review - I think I'll give this one a go soon!

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  3. Brilliant review. I've nearly finished reading this and I'm loving it. I nearly cheered when Molly appeared!

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  4. I JUST finished this one and I adored it, I have never related to a character so much before… also I totally didnt realise that Molly was the same molly from Guitar Girl until you mentioned it… but in all fairness I last read Guitar Girl about 6-7 years ago!

    Awesome review as always Sophie! :)

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  5. Oh, I haven't read any of Manning's other books, so I didn't get the Molly thing, either. Good pick, though!

    I enjoyed this one and loved that it was so gruff and honest (oh, that awkward sex scene!). It did take me a while to get to like Jeane, though. She's just so frightening!

    Stephanie @ Read in a Single Sitting

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  6. I really need to get a copy of this one - it sounds fab!

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