Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

Girl Online by Zoe Sugg

Publication date: Nov 25th, 2014

My rating: 3.75/5 stars

Goodreads page

Summary:

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.

My thoughts:

Let's just get the controversy out of the way, shall we? Ever since this book released last year, many have claimed that this is ghostwritten, i.e. it's been written in part by someone else. Now, I don't know whether that is true but I do know it's been highly edited at least. Am I surprised? Of course not. We need to keep in mind that Zoe is a beauty vlogger and fashion guru. She wanted to write a book and so she did, with some help. Personally, I don't mind it. At the end of the day i got to read a good book and that's all that matters to me. Not everyone who has an idea can put it into words as beautifully as some great writers who have the knack for it. So should we not express our thoughts or publish our story? We should and we will. I don't condone what Zoe has done if the result has contributed a good piece of work to the field of literature.  So keep your controversy to yourself!

Let's get to the next fascinating thing that happened. I don't personally know any authors whose books i've read and whose personality i've noticed has reflected in their work. I don't know Zoe either but having followed her videos for quite some time now, I have a clear idea as to how she is. And her essence was visibly felt in this novel. In some places I literally went 'That's so Zoe!' and this really amazed me on some level.

This may seem like a light-hearted contemporary but it deals with some serious issues like anxiety and loss really well. I myself get anxious sometimes (nowhere as close to what Penny suffers) so I could see how the tips and tricks that Zoe has provided can help. Since she suffers herself, she has been able to capture it's true image and portray it remarkably. If you suffer too, this book may help to some extent.

One problem I had with this book was that the main character is fifteen years and falls in love with a guys in two days. And it's true love. HOWWW? At the age of fifteen I didn't even know the meaning of true love. I thought it was too early and she, too young. But that's just me. idk. Also, the writing is juvenile and Penny is toooooo clumsy; to the point where it's plain annoying.

There's always a twist in the tale. From the summary you know that Noah has a secret. I'm not gonna tell you what it is but i swear to God, I don't even consider it a plot twist since it is so damn predictable. I guessed it right away but still went along with it.

_('-')_

The thing is, i liked this book regardless. I probably wouldn't have picked this book up if not for Zoella but I'm sure glad I did. Pick it up at your discretion. Let me leave you with a beautiful picture of Zoe because why not? =P

Laters.