Ciara Smyth

Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Nina LaCour, this queer coming-of-age story from the author of The Falling in Love Montage is wry, multilayered, and unflinchingly honest. Aideen has plenty of problems she can't solve. But when she stumbles upon overachiever Meabh Kowalska having a full-blown meltdown, she sees one that she can actually fix. Meabh is desperate to escape her crushing pile of extracurriculars. Aideen volunteers to help--by pushing her down the stairs. Problem? Solved. Meabh's sprained ankle is the perfect excuse to ditch her overwhelming schedule. But when one of their classmates learns about their little scheme, more "clients" start asking for Aideen's "help"--kicking off a semester of traded favors, ill-advised hijinks, and even an unexpected chance at love. Fixing other people's problems won't fix her own. But it might be the push Aideen needs to start.

Not My Problem

faith hurren

Kavi and I pressed our ears against the door.

Now this is what I want to see at parties

"IT WASN'T A REAL KISS, IT'S A PARTY" Ronan shouted back

"OH RIGHT, RONAN, BECAUSE AT A PARTY YOUR TONGUE IS NO LONGER REAL AND HER MOUTH IS NO LONGER REAL AND I SUPPOSE IF YOU HAD SEX YOUR DICK WOULDN'T BE REAL EITHER."

Perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli and Nina LaCour, this queer coming-of-age story from the author of The Falling in Love Montage is wry, multilayered, and unflinchingly honest. Aideen has plenty of problems she can’t solve. But when she stumbles upon overachiever Meabh Kowalska having a full-blown meltdown, she sees one that she can actually fix. Meabh is desperate to escape her crushing pile of extracurriculars. Aideen volunteers to help—by pushing her down the stairs. Problem? Solved. Meabh’s sprained ankle is the perfect excuse to ditch her overwhelming schedule. But when one of their classmates learns about their little scheme, more “clients” start asking for Aideen’s “help”—kicking off a semester of traded favors, ill-advised hijinks, and even an unexpected chance at love. Fixing other people’s problems won’t fix her own. But it might be the push Aideen needs to start.

Ipshita Kanungo

Aideen is really annoying but she also became very dear to my heart

Tabea

grace richards

this is one of the only times where i’ve wished a book was longer, this book could’ve been 1,000 pages long and i would’ve devoured every single one. the comedy, the tension, the sarcasm; it was all just impeccable. also the absolute mastery of teenage humour and how they actually talk and act. god i could talk for hours about this book. but i digress, i’ll leave you in peace

Yasmin H

Aideen has many problems of her own to deal with, but all to big for a quick and easy fix. 
Meabh has a lot going on in her life - so much that she even has to schedule it showers and sleep! But when she decides to run for student council, it all becomes too much for her to handle.
Aideen cannot fix her own problems, but is there a way she can help Meabh? 

I loved this book. It was very fast paced and I loved the plot. I also liked that Aideen helped Meabh and gave her a chance, despite Meabh being know for being annoying and an overachiever.

Lily Brewer

** spoiler alert **
           (Actual rating 4 1/2 stars) 
I can safely say that I 100% enjoyed this book. This book felt like a even gayer derry girls and had me laughing throughout! 

Not my problem managed to meet all my expectations which where ridiculously high in the first place. I personally found the writing style hilarious and this kept me wanting to read more. The characters are delightful and well written and I did feel like I could feel them growing throughout the book.

 I am also very happy that even though they did have a lovely friendship at the start Aideen was able to stand up to Holly and tell her the things she had actual issues with and didn't instantly forgive her the second Holly started crying. As someone who is also a a people pleaser and will put up with a array of things just to avoid conflict I am very pleased they left a little unresolved conflict especially because at the start of the book Aideen herself said she couldn't leave a argument with Holly unresolved this especially helped me see Aideens growth.

Meabh is a overachiever scared of failure however she was adorable in a assortment of ways and I felt like even I was falling in love with her along with Aideen. Even though she had many a flaws I could feel her growing and getting out of her comfort zone a lot more throughout the book. You could tell she was privileged but I do felt like she tried to get through some biases she had and didn't realise and although I did wish she had one the school election I think it was realistic to let her loose. 

 I don't think i've read another book that's made me laugh so much in a while especially when Aideen asked Meabh out 'I dunno then maybe you'll flash me or something' actually had me crying with laughter I won't even lie. As a British person I don't think i've seen a book that has actual good humour every other book seems American and try hardey but Irish humour always seems to have me cry laughing not to mention I believe that this the first book i've seen with the word tits in it so that's definitely a win in my books! Would 100% recommend for anyone wanting to read!

i loved the cast of characters, they're authentic.

Ciara Smith

Raye Parker

enjoyed this book much more than I expected actually <3

Yunna Ducharme

Eliana Mor

I enjoyed reading this book. It was rather easy to read. I liked the characters, I liked how they all had flaws. I think the story and the plot progressed quite well and that was good. I feel like how Aideen was treated by Ms. Devlin wasn't super realistic, I'm not Irish so maybe that how things work in Ireland, but I don't think that Aideen would've been able to constantly get out of classes and homework without an actual teacher or principal intervention. Additionally, I found her to be really annoying at some times in the book. Of the things I liked, I loved how Aideen's and Meabh interacted and how their romance worked, I loved the favor for a favor plot, I think that was such an amazing concept and it was handled well. I'm not sure if teenagers a really that nice or desperate but maybe it's just an Ireland thing. I especially loved Aideen's character arc involving Holly, and how she realized that Holly wasn't such a good friend, and how she handled that maturely. All in all, the reason I probably don't find it realistic is that I call my mom mother instead of mam (joke).

vmknmy

very good
very funny
12/10 would read again

the writing is so nice and i love how she made fun of middle class people

Varnika Manral

As far as Sapphic books go, this was tame and lackluster but I appreciated the friendship and the bond that was organically grown.

Rose

It was sad but so sweet and I loved Aideen's narrating so much. I also loved how real it felt, like a real school and real people so you could really feel like a part of it. Also I'm now in their friend group.

Ian Brakspear

Ciara has once again managed to capture my love for her writing, and She is now definitely a must-read author for me with her honest and at time heart-breaking stories that I can’t help but fall in love with. Not My Problem is exactly this and once again pulls you in and makes you fall in love with a Character that you want to support and cheer them on from the side-lines. 
 
This is a coming-of-age novel that deals with a lot of hard-hitting issues alcoholism, loneliness, unexpected love, and emotional connections. Aideen can sort other people’s problems out, but can she sort her own out that’s the big question and along the way she will discover herself and discover her true friends and people she cares about. All while trying to look and support her Mum that is a lot riding on one Girls shoulders will she cope with it all? 
 
Overall I found the Writing style super engaging and addictive to read; It’s a book that I have not wanted to put down and fig I had to put it down then I just kept thinking about the character and wanting to pick it up to see what would happen next; Ciara has this way of drawing you and keeping your guesses coming with where the story is going to go next with some twists and turns that I didn’t see coming
 
I found the characters in this one super relatable and one of the reasons why I just love this book. Each character is raw and has emotional authenticity and runs throughout the entire book and I can find characters relatable and can resonate with them. I was just glad that Aideen had some amazing friends around her to help and support her. 
 
Overall, it was sometime a hilarious and sometime emotional, but throughout an amazing read that I enjoyed immensely.

WOAH. Ciara has such good sense of humour! Because of that, the main character Aideen, she's hilarious. Like the first half the book i was literally roaring with laughter some of the jokes, sarcastic comments and comebacks were that good. The second half was more plot focused and less jokes for obvious reason but it was good. Pretty likable characters, almost all of them were fun. And you can love them because you can either relate to them or you r one of em. A book about friendships, love, parents, insecurities, disappointments, over burdening one self, caring too much and then...not giving a fuck. Look i'll be honest here- there are times in YA novels where I skip or skim thr some descriptions & only read the dialogues. I mean come on, they do get boring! But this book prevented me from doing that coz the narration was so freaking funny, i was laughing almost all the time. 
My only problem was it become a TINY bit slow in the end and i rly wanted to see some more of Meabh-Aideen. In the end it did become a lot like generic YA novels but the reason y this scores is because it's FUNNY. And it was nice how in the end... everyone comes around but not in a 'forcefully done for happy ending sake' way. Pick this up, for the laughs atleast if not the plot (not much to the plot pretty basic, Aideen basically sets out to help people and almost does a pretty good job at it)

Nina Herder

Dilayra Verbrugh

Finished it in one day! It’s about a girl who always fixes everyone’s problem except her own. It all stars when she has to help her enemy. Sapphic enemies to lovers!

mia ¿

not much to say about this one, i'd probably give it a 4.5
i can't give it a 5 stars cuz the falling in love montage had a bit more of a spark and was overall more memorable than not my problem, but it was still really good and i didn't really have any problems with it. it was a pretty fun book and again had some cool high school/ya rom-com tropes which were all really fun to read. it also had some more serious topics but the overall story was still really light and cute. the only thing i thought was weird was that the best friend drama seemed to have no pretense, but then again sometimes friends just drift apart and act rude to each other for reasons you can't explain. see? it was basically all good. just nothing too memorable or completely my thing. but for sure read it!!!

Brinn Wolf

Loved it! It contains a slow love story and not the fast and can’t wait to get married one. The adventures and deals were things that teenagers can do and is makes it easier to read.

Catalina

Fue una lectura rápida y entretenida. No hubo un plot-twist gigante ni nada por el estilo así wow, pero igualmente me encantó que sea una novela estilo coming of age. Además de que me hizo reír, me sentí identificada con algunos personajes y los problemas a los que se enfrentaban y eso la sube mucho de un libro.

Alice

4.5 stars on The StoryGraph

I loved the characters (they have diverse personalities and abilities) but most of all how the author didn't try to "fix" their annoying traits and instead explained why they are the way they are and completely accepts them. It also called out toxic friendship without wanting to repair it, and this hit so close to home that I felt the physical pain of it.

The writing is light and fun, and I knew I could read the book when I needed a distraction or some relaxed time.

Rochelle Ferguson

This book was amazingly funny and the romance had me squealing. I was definitely suprised and so happy!

Arabella Mai Wallis

I knew I was going to love this book before I had even started reading it as I loved ‘The Falling In Love Montage’ and Ciara Smyth’s writing did not disappoint. I devoured this book and, even though I was and still am obsessed, I wish I had dragged it out a little longer so I could stay with these characters. The storylines, the friendships, and the real life issues throughout this book were so well written and I felt very emotional at times (and of course I did end up crying a few times). 
The ‘favour business’ side of things gave me Sex Education concept vibes which was fun (since I love that show) and I had such a fun (mostly) reading experience with this book, the same as I did with the Falling in Love montage and I definitely have found a new favourite author of mine. This book had me gripped from the start, falling in love with the characters and just wanting to protect them with all my might.

Not My Problem

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