Wednesday, November 16, 2016

It's Not Me, It's You by Stephanie Kate Strohm --Cuteness Wrapped In A Bow

It's Not You, It's Me

Avery gets dumped for the very first time a week before prom.  As head of the prom committee, how can she show up to prom without a date?  Not to mention she's been publicly humiliated in the process.

When her American history teacher gives an assignment to interview people about an event they've lived through (an oral history assignment), she decides to spice it up and make the "event" her dating history.

Will Avery find out why she hasn't been able to find a relationship that sticks?  Will interviewing all of her previous boyfriends give her a better self-perspective?











You know what this book was?  Cute, cute, and more cute.  It was silly, fun, adorable, and happy.  It was 288 pages of lightness.

The Format:  This book was written in an interview format, so basically the book was Avery's final history paper.  I love reading books in unique formats.  It's fun to mix it up.  Also, I loved all the sarcastic comments and Editor's Notes that came along with each person's perspective.

The Cuteness:  So Avery is a mega-popular girl who gets dumped right before prom.  To me, that's really no big deal, but I to someone like Avery-- it's something she's been looking forward to for years.  To her this is supposed to be one of the most important memory moments of her life.  Even though we have differing views on what is an "important moment", I liked Avery.  She wasn't the stereotypical mean girl or the dumb blonde.  She was smart and nice.  She wasn't conceited, she cared about people, and she had a kick-ass BFF.  Coco was one of my favorite parts of this book.  She quoted JFK constantly and always had her bestie's back.

I loved that this was a positive book.  It was Avery looking back on her failed love-life and she didn't have a bad thing to say about any of the dudes.  I give her credit for that, because I DEFINITELY can't say the same.

The 2 Things:  As much as I loved reading this super-fun book, there were 2 things I would change.  1st-- the ending.  I could see it coming by page 30.  I still LIKED the ending, but I wish it would've happened in a less Captain Obvious way.

The other thing is that I was wishing for less G-ratedness.  When I read YA, I expect a little bit of edginess.  Not over-the-top stuff, but this girl had 15 or so boyfriends and everything there was nicey-nice, nothingness.  She had a few serious boyfriends, and I would expect that some of those would progress beyond kissing (not that I need every detail, but teens are doing more than kissing), and I would expect some of those to have deeper issues than-- he said I love you and I didn't say it back.

I could never hate on this book though.  It would be like kicking a puppy.  It's adorable and fun-- totally do-able for Middle Grade readers, but also fun entertainment for older teens.

OVERALL: Loved this lightness and cuteness of this book.  Avery was popular and NOT a mean girl-- crazy isn't it??  I loved the format and the characters.  Lightness is needed, but I was wishing for a tad more edge or drama-- or maybe just a little less sweetness.  It's definitely a book that will give you a toothache.

Date Published: 10/25/2016
How I got this book: BEA- Thanks to Point/Scholastic for allowing me to read and honestly review this book
Publisher: Point/Scholastic


Add it to your To-Read List!!

This Book Contains:
  • California
  • Prom
  • The popular crew
  • The unpopular crew
  • A mean girl or 2
  • A popular non-mean girl
  • A male ballerina
  • A TV star
  • Little to no swearing
  • No sexual situations
  • Interview style format

My Rating: 4/5





Character: Hutch, aka James Hutcherson
Book: Learning to Swear in America by Katie Kennedy
  • As a future scientist, I feel like Hutch would enjoy reading about a child-prodigy who has hopes of winning the Nobel prize.




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8 comments:

  1. This one does sound really cute and fun! Not sure if it's my type of read but it's one that I think might make it on to next year's summer reading list. :)

    -Kimberly @ Turning the Pages

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  2. Glad you loved it. I have a copy from BEA, and I'm hoping to get to it soon. I am intrigued by the different writing style.

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  3. This sounds adorable! It's been awhile since I read something light and fun. I need to add this one to my TBR!

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    1. I SOOOO needed the lightness in this book! Fun, happy books always have a place in my TBR every few months.

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  4. This does sound like a cute, quick read. I think I'd get it from the library as opposed to buying it, but I LOVE unique formats.

    -Lauren

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    1. The format was my favorite part. It's cute and fun, but nothing Earth-shattering or MUST-READ material.

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