Review: "Girl Online" by Zoe Sugg

Hello and welcome to another book review!

Let me just start off by saying that, for the longest time, I have been DYING to read this book ever since it was published. The reason being that Zoe Sugg (a.k.a Zoella) is one of my favorite YouTubers and when I heard it wasn't a memoir (like most books written by celebrities) but a novel, I just had to read it. And thanks to one of my best friends, I received this book as a birthday back in January and FINALLY had a chance to read it. Now, my dear Readers, I can tell you all just what I thought about it.

Let's start with the eye grabber. The cover! "Girl Online" is actually a Young Adult type of book so I think Zoe did very well fitting in YA elements with the cover. The background is a lovely shade of sky blue (anyone who knows me is well aware of my love for the sky) and it has a very tumblr-esque kind of look to it with the fairy lights around the sides and the label in a pink heart with a gold shimmer around the edges. A good mix of subtle and bright. And even more "tumblr" is the picture of a girl taking a photo with a classic camera. The font is perfect and the color scheme makes the whole thing very warm, loving, and inviting. This cover actually fits the personality of the book's author very well too, which is another reason why the cover draws you. It looks like its been given a personal touch, kinda like a gift. All-in-all, the cover is awesome so well done Zoe!

Next we move on to the story line. Now this book isn't just another love story like most YA books. The story includes so many elements that just kept my fingers glued to it. Romance, adventure, conquering fears, struggle, drama, etc, the whole shebang. And might I say all these elements were perfectly mixed in a proper ratio. What grabbed my attention the most was that the story was not focused on the romance between two teenagers, but it gave most of the spotlight to the struggles of every teenage girl and how the main character had to manage them along with more mentally strenuous issues. Not to mention that this story reveals how today's youth are expressing themselves using the internet and how it is both a wonderful and terrifying world to explore. But that's yet another adventure included in this story. Moreover, Zoe Sugg wrote this story in such a way that you actually feel like you're living in the character's shoes, seeing everything through her eyes and so vividly too. This story is what a novel is meant to be. A way to teleport your imagination to another world, another mind, another universe. She successfully achieved that with writing that wasn't too simple to sound monotonous but at the same time wouldn't make a teenager snooze 2 chapters in because the writing style was too complex or boring.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, I give you the piece de resistance, THE CHARACTERS.

First we will start with the heroine of this story. 15-year-old Penny Porter. Penny is much like myself actually. Apart from being a blogger, she also shares some of the same personality traits as I. A bit more on the shy side (I'm not as shy as I used to be though), has her insecurities as we all do, and shares a similar issue with panic attacks as myself. But deep down as I have discovered throughout reading this book, she is a super woman. Or "Ocean Strong" as she called herself in the book. Despite having panic issues, she dared herself to take a big risk and go on an adventure to the big bustling city that never sleeps, New York. And because she was brave enough to face her fears of riding cars and planes, she ended up having not just an adventure, but also finding true and honest love. All the while she dealt with very embarrassing situations, growing out of old friends, making new ones, and keeping her relationship with her current best friend in tact. Penny Porter, you have my utmost salutations, from panicky blogger to another.

Next we have Penny's love interest. Mr. Mystery himself, Noah Flynn. When I first encountered Noah in the book, he was acting very strange.Penny is a photographer as well as a blogger and she sees Noah on stage playing guitar to himself. She snaps a flashy photo and Noah starts acting like he's allergic to bright light, covering his face. But then, things took a turn for the romantic from there. They just start driving around New York together, talking about everything and nothing, actually getting to know each other, and slowly but surely falling in love. Noah, as a person, I felt was very open, vulnerable, and too sweet (like I went "Awwww" almost everytime he said or did something really cute for Penny). He's also very understanding since he also used to have issues with panic/anxiety and helped Penny deal with hers. Not to mention, he's just a bundle of goofy. He likes to ask the questions that make you go "Hmmmm. Never thought of that before." And his chemistry with Penny is off the charts.

Afterwards, we have Penny's best friend and next room neighbor (their houses are literally stuck to each other and they have adjacent rooms), Elliot. He's a very eccentric character. He likes to mix and match his clothes and actually makes it look cool (a talent we all wish we had) and he's basically Penny's go to panic button. Elliot makes Penny feel much more secure than when she's alone because she will tell him everything and he will listen. But also he tells her what she needs to hear, be that a difficult thing to hear for Penny or what she wanted to hear from him. He shares the trip to New York with Penny but not her adventure there. This, however, puts a bit of tension between the BFFs. Elliot seems very confident and sure of himself, but I came to find out he also bares the weight of insecurities on his shoulders. One of them being that he struggles for his parents to accept him as he is. But all the while he has to be a support system to Penny.

And lastly, there are some side characters in this book. Those include Penny's parents, who are a lovely pair and are very supportive of Penny; Megan, who is the ex-friend of Penny seeing as she had a hand in those few embarrassing and terrifying situations that happened to Penny; and Ollie, a snobbish "walking selfie" as Elliot so eloquently put it who maybe had a good side to him but made a huge mistake that ended up with him and Megan covered in chocolaty creamy shame.

If you want to know more, I highly recommend you read this book. Here's the link to all the information on it:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Girl-Online-Zoe-Zoella-Sugg/dp/0141364157

Time for some final thoughts! All in all, this book had everything I love in a story including my idea of romance. I would rate this book a perfect score of 10. I am super excited to read Zoe Sugg's second book "Girl Online: On Tour" which is already out and you can get it through the same link I previously mentioned.

That's all for me this week! Sorry about the delay in blogging as my laptop has once again malfunctioned and I had an ordeal with the business card of the repair shop I go to and bla bla bla...But I will try to maintain my Thursdays here and will continue giving it my 100%. Oh and no need to worry about my panic attacks. I can manage them quite well now since I found out what they were and as long as I avoid stressful or shocking situations as much as possible, I'll be just fine.

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Thank you so much for reading and I will see you next week!

Hue Mann, over and out!! ;)

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