Laura Steven

Funnier. Ruder. Angrier. Izzy O'Neill is back in the hilarious sequel to The Exact Opposite of Okay. It's been two months since a leaked explicit photo got Izzy involved in a political sex scandal - and the aftershock is far from over. The Bitches Bite Back movement is gathering momentum as a forum for teenage feminists, and when a girl at another school has a sex tape shared online, once again Izzy leads the charge against the slut-shamers. This time she wants to change the state law on revenge porn. Izzy and her best friend Ajita are as hilarious as ever, using comedy to fight back against whatever the world throws at them, but Izzy is still reeling from her slut-shaming ordeal, feeling angry beyond belief and wondering - can they really make a change? For readers of The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, Doing It by Hannah Witton, Love Simon and Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli, and Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls by Elena Favilli and Francesca C avallo.

A Girl Called Shameless

Sofie

figured it was about time I read this, seeing as how I loved the first book. Not sure why it took me so long to get to it.

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Steven does it again.

I LOVED The Exact Opposite of Okay. I loved Izzy's voice as a narrator, I loved the casual tone of the book (makes sense, since it's written as if Izzy threw all her blog posts together to make a book), and most importantly, I loved the story. I loved the commentary on feminist issues like revenge porn, like double standards, like toxic masculinity, like the "friend zone". 

And I did enjoy this sequel. I had a big ol' smile on my face by the end. Once again, Steven impressed me with her unique style, the way she crafted Izzy's voice, full of sharp wit, humour, sarcasm, self-deprecation. 

Still, I will admit I wasn't as gripped by this story as I was the first book. Which is odd to me, because I loved the additions Steven added into this sequel, weaving in more intersectional issues like BLM and ableism. And it felt especially poignant, since this novel focused more on the political and legislative ramifications of these issues. So I can't quite put my finger on why A Girl Called Shameless didn't capture me as much as The Exact Opposite of Okay.

I will say, while I usually don't like things being introduced or touched on without conclusion, I was happy (view spoiler)[ there didn't end up being a love triangle (again?) between Carson and Zachary. I was glad we didn't see Izzy fully forgive Danny for his ATROCIOUS actions from the first book. (hide spoiler)]

Regardless, it was a strong sequel, and I look forward to reading more from Laura Steven!

A Girl Called Shameless

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