What an absolutely spectacular range of charcters as well. This book is the perfect starting point for so many discussions with teens about these issues which are so goddamn important.
I particuarly enjoyed the introdution and development of the ‘nice guy’ syndrome – the age old truth that if you have to say you’re a nice guy, you really really aren’t. The discussions around the treatment of men and women (‘player’ vs ‘whore’) are nuanced and throughly feminist. And is obviously therefore vilified for it.
It’s an utterly captivating and wild comedic journey through the life of a teen girl who actually enjoys having sex. The humour really helps lighten the otherwise very heavy and topical subject matter which crosses revenge porn, feminism, gender equality, the friendzone, slut shaming, and ‘Nice Guy’ syndrome. I loved absolutely everything about this book – Laura Steven is one of the funniest writers I’ve ever read, and I am so excited for everything else she does. Izzy tries to ignore the constant calls of ‘Slut’ and ‘Whore’ with limited success as the situation spirals out of control. The Exact Opposite of Okay follows Izzy O’Neill, a sex positive and hilarious teen as pictures are released online and sent around her school of her having sex with a politician’s son. This book had me completely sold from around page 20 with “Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep and doesn’t know where to find them, largely because Little Bo Peep is fucking irresponsible and should not be in charge of livestock” which I could not stop laughing at for 5 minutes straight. It is so fucking funny and so topical and just utterly fantastic in every single way. So this book is now one of my all time favourites.
But keeping her head up will take everything she has… Izzy’s never been ashamed of herself before, and she’s not going to start now. Izzy can try all she wants to laugh it off – after all, her sex life, her terms – but when pictures emerge of her doing the dirty with a politician’s son, her life suddenly becomes the centre of a national scandal. Or at least, that’s what the malicious website flying round the school says. Goodreads blurb: Izzy O’Neill is an aspiring comic, an impoverished orphan, and a Slut Extraordinaire. Title: The Exact Opposite of Okay by Laura Steven
0 kommentar(er)
