52 Followers
57 Following
sunsetxcocktail

sunsetxcocktail

Currently reading

Ninth House
Leigh Bardugo
Progress: 299/480 pages
Ruin of Kings
Jenn Lyons
Progress: 308/560 pages
Contagion
Erin Bowman
Progress: 59 %

Review: Girlhood

Girlhood - Hachette Childrens Books, Cat Clarke

I received a copy from Netgalley. This was one I got with my Hatchette Children’s auto approvals. I had heard of the author before, but never read any of her books so I decided to take a chance on this one. 

 

Trigger warning - anorexia. 

 

Then between changing Kindles and changing iPhones I managed to loose the original review copy file and ended up buying a finished paperback (along with several others by the same author).

 

I have a weakness for boarding school stories, particularly ones that promise a mystery. I was sort of expecting one girl vs the mean girl gang. But the main character Harper seems to actually be friends with some of the girls who form one of the popular cliques. It’s a fancy private school where very rich people goes. Harper’s family recently came into a boat load of money. Also suffering from a terrible family tragedy where Harper’s twin sister died recently as well, Harper needed a change of scene so found the boarding school.  She’s made friends and just about coping. 

 

Harper was a likeable enough main character, though she had a few flaws and could do some crappy things and wasn’t always the brightest bulb in the box, but a decently rounded character that was well fleshed out. She’s also dealing with terrible guilt believing her sister’s death was her fault. The sister was anorexic.  They both started a post Christmas diet at the same time and one took it more seriously with tragic consequences.  Anorexia isn’t something I’ve come across in YA fiction before, and it’s not something I can even begin to wrap my head around. Harper’s grief and guilt are gut punch. The writing packs a punch and can be emotional without being flowery about it. 

 

When new girl Katie comes in Harper finds herself connecting with Katie, despite the issues her other friends seem to have with the girl. Katie is quiet and keeps to herself, she only seems to connect with Harper. Misunderstandings and misinformation start passing around and with any girls boarding school, the girls can be very nasty when things don’t go their way. Harper finds herself torn when things start going wrong, stick to her own group of friends, stand with Katie...disagreements and arguments start and its hard to tell the truths from the lies. 

 

It’s a very compelling read and at times quite tough to get through emotionally. Not the most complex book I’ve ever read but definitely interesting. All the characters were interesting, even the ones I didn’t like much. I was rather surprised at how it all turned out in the end, certainly not what I expected, and I’m actually quite pleased on reflection, that it was different to what I thought.

 

Definitely recommended if you like YA boarding school books.