Hey guys, this is Abi here,
So, I finished the Exact Opposite of Okay duology and I had so many thoughts on it, I just had to do a series review on it!
Enjoy!
Titles: The Exact Opposite of Okay & A Girl Called Shameless
Author: Laura Steven
Genre: Contemporary
Status: Duology
Pages: 337 & 334 (671 altogether).
Blurb: (I'll only give the first books blurb for this, so as not to spoil those that haven't read these.)
"Izzy O' Neill
Impoverised orphan
Aspiring comedian
Slut extroadinare- apparently...
Izzy never expected to be eighteen and emotionally reviled.
But when photos involving her, a poilitian's son and a garden
bench emerge, the trolls set to take her apart.
Armed with best friend Ajita and a metric ton of nachos,
she must figure out who's behind the vicious website- while
keeping her sanity intact.
Izzy is about to find out that the way the world treats girls
is not okay.
It's the Exact Opposite of Okay."
My Thoughts
First of all, I will start with how proud I am of myself for actually following through and reading these after nearly four years of having the first book on my "Want to Read" shelf. I'm even more proud to say that this one actually turned out to be something that I absolutely loved, four years later.
Okay, surprise over. Now on to the actual thoughts.
*Happy sigh*. This book was wonderful.
I went through the full range of emotions. I laughed out loud in some parts, I felt the anger rage inside me like a storm of fire, I felt incredibly sad and sorry for these characters in a few places too. It discussed the themes in this book because of this, and make no mistake, there were plenty of serious issues in this duology, but because of how perfectly paced and structured everything was, I never felt like this book was a downer for me, and that was one of the things I loved most about this tale.
So, some background.
Izzy is your average eighteen-year-old. Goes to parties, drinks, has sex. Until photos of her and the senator's son doing the dirty on a park bench are revealed on a hate website. Not only does she have to figure out whose behind this horrible website, she has to keep her head above water while the whole world is calling her a slut and worse, which might just be the hardest thing she's ever done.
I knew I loved Izzy's character right from the first page. She never seemed anything less than 100% authentic to me. She was a teenager, who had suffered a lot in the past, with the death of her parents in a car accident when she was young, but she got through the day with her friends, and an outlet of humour and writing. Then something as disasterous as this happens to her, and obviously she has no way to know which way is up. That's her at the start. But the part that made this duology for me, is the insane amount of character growth I saw from her. She turns a horrific event into something inspiring, a website and a following, and an attempt to change a law about revenge porn.
Although she does a lot in these books, don't think for a second that it's all in hand. I read a quote the other day, not sure who said it, or when, but the saying was "Feel the fear and do it anyway", and that's Izzy to a tea. Over the two she's basically scared shitless of everything that's happening around her. I mean, I would be too, if nudes were leaked of my body, I was worrying about my career, how my one remaining family member will cope when I fly off to Uni, that's enough to stress anyone out, to be honest!
She doesn't do all of this alone though. Introducing Ajita and in book two, Meg! These girls are always there, in her corner, ready to knock out any privileged white boy that thinks he can say what they like. I love these characters so much, with their unique skills, and wits, and ready smiles. Honestly, a teenager's girlfriends are everything to you when you're that age, and I love that there was never any drama between any of them. It was girl love and support through and through.
I'm just going to add a quick note about the writing. Like nothing I've read before, most of the book was written through blog posts (written by Izzy), so in present tense, with the occasional footnote from Izzy in present day- looking back over past blogpost updates. At the start of the book I thought I might have a problem with this back and forth, but I was pleasantly surprised by how smooth the transition was.
Also, the pacing was just as good. It rarely felt like it stalled, very smooth in the subplot, even with jokes/ serious/ romantic chemisty sections- and there was a lot of back and forth to different subplots- so no complaints whatsoever on that!
Overall, such a wonderful duology. If you're looking for books that have a huge theme in feminism, then these are the books for you. Such a powerful, yet funny and light-hearted read. Is a solid contender for my favourite series of the year. I'm not kidding.
I'm so glad I finally got to this.
Fucking amazing. Well done Laura Steven.
Okay! That's my review on The Exact Opposite of Okay duology.
I hope you enjoyed it, and if you've read it, or even if not, let me know what you think in the comments below!
I hope you have a wonderful evening and I'll see you all soon!
Byeeeee!
-Abi xxxxx
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