Unfortunately, with every new collection of poetry Leav publishes, I feel more and more unimpressed. Maybe I've just outgrown her.

Lang Leav is one of those poets who can either get old for you, or remain eternally youthful and fresh. Unfortunately for me, she and her writing have gotten very old very fast.

Thank you to Lang Leav, Wednesday Books, Andrews McMeel Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me the extreme pleasure of access to an advanced reader copy of “Sad Girls” for an honest review.

I have loved every poetry collection Lang Leav has put out, and I was blown away by this first attempt at a novel. While the bio of it reads like it might be another young adult piece on first love and first heartbreak, it is so, so, so much more. It is a touching tale of mental health and all that impacts on love, during a young life.

You will not be able to put it down once you pick it up. I have purchased many copies for myself friends, the same as with all the poetry books.

Sad Girls was almost a DNF for me. It started with me hating Audrey. It is beyond my comprehension why she told that terrible lie. And to my dismay, it wasn’t really established why she tells it in the first place. What irks me is how all throughout the book, the author is trying to turn her into a likeable character which she’s not. And speaking of characters, all of them seemed flat and dull. Everything just comes so easy with them. Missed the final exam? It’s okay, you can still graduate. Need a place to stay? No problem, I know someone who’s looking for a house sitter and guess what, we can stay for as long as we’d like. No job? Don’t worry about it, there’s a company looking for an intern or maybe you can just start writing a book and be an instant bestseller author. The list goes on and it’s hard to take it seriously despite the serious topic the story is dealing with like suicide, drugs, and mental health.

I was hoping things will get better when she goes on a trip and it even came to a point that Audrey started to be tolerable. But then, she up and go back to her old life and be her annoying self again. So, the trip that I hoped would help with some character development is totally unnecessary. And it doesn’t help that the ending sucked. Unexpected but not surprising considering how both Audrey and Rad are messed up, I guess it fits. And if by chance I developed a slight sympathy towards Audrey somewhere in the story, by the time I hit the last page, it’s all gone. I just can’t grasp how her mind works and I find it hard to even try to understand her. The writing is okay, poetic most of the times as I’ve already expected, but far from engaging. Sad Girls, unfortunately, is not for me.

While it deals with emotionally charged issues that we all face growing up, Sad Girls has a darker side that compels you to keep reading. Through the protagonist, Audrey, we face the typical growing pains of experiencing love for the first time and coping with mistakes that have all-too-real consequences as well as the darker, deeper pains of anxiety, the agony of keeping secrets, and the unintended consequences of lies that go too far. In the words of Lang Leav, “Your first love isn’t the first person you give your heart to; it’s the first one who breaks it.” You will fall in love with Sad Girls, and it will break your heart in the most beautiful and poignant ways, but you won’t be able to put it down.

Sad Girls is the much anticipated debut novel from international best-selling author Lang Leav. A beautifully written and emotionally charged coming of age story, where young love, dark secrets, and tragedy collide.

Unable to review - title archived

this book was very interesting and I really enjoyed it. I would highly recommend this to friends

I have absolutely no idea how I went through the pain of reading this book. Period.

This debut novel felt like it was written by someone much younger and inexperienced - the details were there but they were hardly something you would expect from an established poet. Hard to follow, clunky long dialogues used that made it sound like someone was reading a script rather than having a natural conversation. At various points, very odd cliché lines were used instead of something creative and I had no idea why. The writing felt wattpad-ish because of the tiny things like the author describing how every character looked in the first two chapters rather than defining their actions in a way that the readers would understand the characters themselves, so much telling no showing - they did this, than that, than that and so on. Major scenes weren't executed properly especially the one in which Rad gets to know the truth - so out of the blue, unplanned and just something that didn't quite right fit in.

Also what's a stack of piercings and tattoos? Grammar errors, editing mistakes, description disasters; there was just too much wrong with the writing in this book.

The author tries to create suspense but fails so miserably, you almost feel bad for her. Even the romance in the book was cringe-worthy and senseless. The character development was non-existent - the author tried to have a separate part in which supposedly Audrey's character develops but really she just learnt how to drive and led on yet another guy. Development where are you? I CANNOT SEE YOU. The author also tried to create a large character arc but missed the part in which to make it successful you have to give each character a good chance to be out there in the plot. I felt especially bad for Duck who had no proper introduction and was left out just like that, as well as Candela who had several cameos to add some bland action in the extremely slow-paced plot.

Why this book still got more than one star?
The unrealistic plot twist which I was unable to see because of how uninterested I was in this book and the unexpected death of one character as well as Audrey's interactions with Ida.

I really wanted to read this. Sorry for the convenience, but the title expired before I could read it.

I am really sorry but I think this book gets 1.5/5 sad faces.

This is my first time to read a Lang Leav. I have heard that previous books of poetry were a hit. I was so thrilled when I was approved by Netgalley to review this book. This is her first novel. Finally, I will be able to experience her writing prowess.

Which do you want to hear first? Good news or the bad news?

I will start with the good news because I think the bad ones would likely overpower the good ones. Yes, a have few good reactions to this book. I also want you all to read this whole review, so starting with the bad things will likely lead you to not read through the rest of this post.

The one thing that I could clearly remember was painstakingly rooted to the pages. I was, in some bizarre way, unexpectedly, wanted to finish the whole book. I wanted to get to the end. I wanted to know how all this turned out. And I am giving myself a pat in the back for making it through the last page, even if my subconscious was telling me to just let the book go. I ended up finishing this at 3am. I get an "A" for patience and perseverance.

I also like the concept of a "toolbox". It means we are all like a toolbox. We add in stuff and build on it. The more tools you have, the more you fare in life. This made a lot of sense to me and I am actually thinking of applying this school of thought.

I'm trying to wrack my brain for some other positive things to say.
...
...
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Sorry, I can't find anything more. Let's just go ahead to the not so positive things I have for this book. First, the emotional connection. That's the most important think for me. For the author to be able to reach out and touch the readers. To make me feel like I am an active participant in the story. That I have a stake in the outcome of the events and how the characters were changed or evolve in the story. I kept trying to locate that elusive string that tugs my heart in this but unfortunately, could not find a single thread. I am not sure why. The main character, Audrey, went through something tragic and traumatic, but I just can't seem to empathize with her. In some way, her character even feels disconnected to her own experiences. And until now, I can't seem to fathom why.

Second, how the story ended. I think it was not right. Audrey and Rad, didn't feel like two main characters in a story worthy of emulation or inspiring at all. These two did not make amends for all the hurt and pain they have caused. Yes, they never intended everything to turn out so badly and for lives to be lost resulting from their actions or omissions, but I can't seem to swallow that they just let everything be. There was no resolution. I don't think they deserve to be together. Rad should have paid the price for what he did or or failed to do. And Audrey should have been the one to move Rad to do the right thing. Audrey should have also owned up to her part in all of it. I think their characters have both been tainted because of what happened and the lack of redemption at the end of the story was just so frustrating and horrible. I can't accept it.

Third, I don't know how the characters came to be created but I think they were the worst I have encountered ever. Main characters are supposed to be inspiring and models of transformation and survival. No matter how flawed and how bad they were at the start, in the end there should at least be some kind of "Eureka" moment where one of them inspired the other to be selfless and even offer him/herself up as the sacrificial lamb just to make amends for all the wrong done. I think, there was only one "Eureka" moment in this story and it was for Audrey which turned out to be a false-alarm. In Audrey's moment of clarity, she came to realize the impact and the magnitude of what they had done but then it evaporated just as swiftly as it appeared. She resolved that she could not ignore her and Rad's love and their idea of moving on and starting over is just so twisted. Bury everything and just move on. Do these two have a conscience?

Fourth, this story repeatedly talked about love. The real, all-encompassing, forgiving and great love but it portrayed it in such a distorted way that I hope no one will ever mistake it as a good example. I think there are a lot of ways this book could have ended which would have resolved all the questions of morality and all other factors. A better ending could have saved this and I would have at least feel that all is not totally lost.

And lastly, I simply do not want to comment on the rest of the characters. I think they should have been given more interesting personalities and more exposure. In some ways, some of them were bad examples and simply did not help in the formation of the two main characters' well-being and outlook in life.

I am really sorry but I think this book gets 1.5/5 sad faces. I am so distraught to give this rating. It's just sad how this book turned out. I did hear a lot of disappointed reviews about this but I assure you I was not in anyway influenced by them. I tried to be as objective as possible, even though it was easier to just not write a review at all. I think, this book failed me. Maybe like everyone else, I will favor her poetry books better. I have about two of them lined up in my TBR.

You are a toolbox, and you have to add stuff to it and build on it. I think the more tools you have, the better life gets.

- Lang Leav, Sad Girls -

Thank you again, Netgalley for the review copy.

I will not be reading this based on other reviews I've seen and excerpts that make me not want to pick up this story at all.

Much more than I anticipated. Well-written story with great character development and a nice twist.

Lang Leav has poetry in her veins. There's no question about it. Words and phrases flow, they're like this tinkle, a chime, in the wind. The novel is beautiful and lyrical, but at times it was too much. Nonetheless, I'll definitely reread and recommend to fans of Lang Leav and for poetry readers looking for novels.

I do want to say that I did enjoy this book. The premise seemed very interesting and that's what originally drew me in, however I have come away from it feeling a little underwhelmed.

The story takes place after Ana's death and from there seems a mishmash of each characters coping mechanisms (or lack thereof), time jumps and honestly too many things going on to fit into one book.

Some of the time jumps seemed to come out of nowhere, and you wondered whether they were always necessary. Some situations seemed a bit unrealistic too and I just can't see it working. It sort of took you out of the world instead of keeping your attention within it and wanting to know more. You almost step back like "really?"

Also, the writing was a bit wobbly in places. Sometimes there would be sprawling, beautiful prose and it would be perfect. At others, it would almost seem like someone else had written it and the sentences, paragraphs and sometimes whole situations ended very abruptly and it just didn't work.

Despite that, I didn't see the end or epilogue coming. It was an interesting addition although I didn't see it as enough of a twist. Still interesting though.

All in all, I did enjoy it but I think personally I just wanted a bit more.

I have been a huge fan of this authors poetry so i was so pleased to read this and it was everything i hoped it would be. Absolutely brilliant, i was hooked from the first page and finished it in one go. Just the way it was meant to be read.

First and foremost, trigger warnings should be mentioned and noted before reading this book/this review. TW: drug abuse, self-harm, suicide. I decided to sit on this review and think about it but in doing so, I've nearly forgotten about the whole thing because it was just so awful to me. I think I've pretty much blocked it out of my brain.

Okay, so I will tell you some things about it.
The book starts out with our protagonist, Audrey, who is in high school. Audrey has a panic attack one day and decides to tell a DISGUSTING lie about a classmate to her two best friends. What they don't know is that one of her friend's sister is outside of the door and decides to tell their mom who tells someone else who tells someone else and becomes a full-blown gossip story. Which everyone immediately accepts as absolute truth. The lie ends up being the downfall of this classmate. So, Audrey has to live with the fact that her lie caused so much tragedy and altered the lives of people she both knows and doesn't know. I don't know... sounds a little familiar to 13 Reasons Why, doesn't it? It's not the same but similar. And I haven't read 13 Reasons Why and I won't because of the very problematic aspects. Well, I see the same problematic aspects here.

Look, I know that some books are morally grey (I just wrote a review about one that did it well!), but this is something I couldn't get on board with.

Besides the awful plot, two characters were used as absolute filler for drama (Candela) and to promote another relationship (Duck), and many of the other characters just fell flat and didn't feel real at all. Audrey's decisions made me really angry and her self-loathing over creating so much calamity also made me roll my eyes. Because YEAH WHO DOES THAT. Even with the panic attacks and anxiety (hello I've dealt with this all my life), I just couldn't relate. None of it felt very realistic. There's just no redeeming qualities to her.

But I will say that the book ended very fittingly. Especially for such deeply unlikable characters. Wolves in sheep's clothing, like in the blurb. At least Leav seems to be aware of that fact.

This book just wasn't my cup of tea. At all. I need something to root for. I don't think there are good messages in this book, and I don't really think it's appropriate (or healthy) for teenagers to read. WOW I SOUND OLD. I'm just looking out. I think a lot of what's written in here is dangerous territory.

I will say that some of the writing is beautiful and I can see why Leav is beloved in her poetry. However, it doesn't hold up here at all.

Sad Girls was such a great story. It really sucked you in and was so well written.

I haven't read Lang Leav's poetry, but lots of people recommend her books, so I was very excited to read her first novel. However, "Sad girls" has been a huge disappointment for me.

At the beginning I was enjoying it. I mean, it is not a happy book, but I like that it focuses on the friendship between three girls, how it talks about grief and loss, how it faces anxiety and panic attacks, and I also appreciate the diversity of the characters.

I find really interesting, too, that this story talks about the need of finding yourself and knowing who you are before you start a relationship (self love before romantic love). Even though this is not the final message...

There's a lot of drama in this book but I could deal with it. Let's face it, the book is called "Sad girls" so it wasn't unexpected. And I wouldn't mind all this drama, not at all, if the things were wrapped different in the end. But to me the story feels unresolved, and there are two things that bothered me a lot:

*SPOILERS*

1) When the rumors about Ana and her father spread, everybody blames, criticises, or confronts her, but no one defends a young girl who might be sexually assaulted by her father, and it infuriates me.

2) The fact that Rad is condoned for faking Ana's suicide "because it was everybody's fault" is bullshit.

TRIGGER WARNING: suicide, drug use.