I received a copy of WHAT KIND OF GIRL from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you to the author and publisher.

FIVE STARS and here’s why:

This book really opened my eyes to the world of drug use, domestic abuse, and mental health. Not only is this a story grounded in realism, which I appreciate immensely, but it also helped me understand what it is like to be struggling with these hard issues as a teen. There are no guarantees in life; there’s only hope. The story teaches us that no one should assume anything at face value and that no one is safe from prejudice or misunderstanding or judgment. All that glitters is never just gold. Each character is well written, the dialogue realistic, and the plot kept me up all night to learn what happens next. Highly recommend this story as required reading in schools.

This book was okay but the pacing was so slow. It was a chore to finish. I normally devour this type of book, but I just did not care enough.

I thought there were a lot of real strengths in this novel. There’s a lot of great authenticity about how a teen might react to someone they love being hit. I think most of the time Maya’s thoughts also feel authentic, but perhaps less so than Juniper’s.
I felt torn about the format of the novel. I like the point being made—that inside each person there are many layers of identity, sometimes conflicting—but I didn’t like the application. It distracted from what I see as the more relevant threads: the abuse, the self doubt, the mental illness. I would’ve rather seen less gimmick and more of the realistic, clean writing style.

While I was excited to read this book and still find the topics and themes not only important, but essential to teenagers today, I didn’t find this book to be at an actual teenage level. It was a bit juvenile and just skimmed the surface of topics that need real books and real conversations.

I loved this story! This is a tough topic and I think it's very important for readers to be provided a different insight. Dating violence is a important topic. Mike is a likable guy that no one thinks would ever hurt his girlfriend. That's what some people think at least. Then there is the other side who think he should be expelled. This is a great read that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Happy Reading!

What Kind of Girl gives a gritty and poignant insight into the mental health of two girls as they navigate the fallout from a shocking accusation of abuse that divides their school and leaves everyone looking for an answer that is easier to stomach than the truth. One day, a girl walks into school with a bruise (growing more noticeable by the minute) and confides to the principal that her beloved school athlete boyfriend is abusive. Now, the whole school is wondering...What kind of girl finds herself in an abusive relationship? What kind of girl stays in one? What kind of girl hides the truth from her best friend?
Junie is The Cool Girl. The one that always knows what to say and never appears too attached. Her best friend Maya is The Popular Girl. The one who is always impeccably dressed and liked by everyone. Both girls prove that labels only describe what is on the outside. Inside each is struggling with dark secrets that threaten to tear them apart. Meanwhile, family, friends and love interests unwittingly add to the pressure by expecting Maya and Junie to represent the labels that have been placed upon them.

A rather timely novel about the struggle for young women to be believed, What Kind of Girl follows Maya as she deals with a relationship punctuated with domestic violence, as well as perspectives from multiple characters as the school and community grapple with whether or not to believe that such a serious topic could rest so close to home. The author does a great job exploring themes such as abuse, self harm, and drug use in a mature way. However, I found the "voices" of the characters to be significantly younger/more naive than what I know of modern high school aged people to sound like, which makes the characters seem dumbed down to its audience.

A special thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

The subject matter was mature, but it was beautifully done by giving each character a specific voice and viewpoint. I will be putting a hard copy of this in my classroom library for my students to enjoy.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
DNF at about 100 pages in. And that was only because I skimmed through the start of Part 2. The author tried to create suspense and mystery by using descriptions like “The popular girl” or “The Bulimic” instead of character names, but it really did not keep me in suspense or intrigue me. I didn’t enjoy the writing style – often something was said just for it to be repeated in a slightly different way. I was so disappointed that this book wasn’t good enough to keep me hooked because I think it deals with an important topic.

What Kind of Girl by author Alyssa Sheinmel is a fast paced, head on book for teens and young adults. This book did not disappoint and I loved how real life it was. School (especially high school and college) can be a crazy hectic and shine or not time in ones life!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Releases in February 2020!

** The formatting for this ARC is a little wonky; I didn't take it into account while reviewing, but you may want to fix that! **

At the onset I had a bit of a rough time getting into this, but it all started to come together by the end of part one. As part two unfolded, I found myself reevaluating the situation and my initial impressions; part three went straight for my heart/feels and had me literally tearing up. So it's not at all an exaggeration to say that this book is An Experience in the best possible way.

The prose is very stream-of-consciousness, which won't appeal to all readers but which I found perfectly fitting. It's a messy, confusing situation, and that hits home through the narrators' struggle with what to think and how to react to everything going on. (Some of the parentheticals are a bit much, but otherwise the writing flows almost effortlessly.)

All the portrayed relationships are nuanced and relatable, but I want to point out the parent/child relationships in particular because I so rarely see them done this well. YA lit is full of abusive and absent adults, so it was especially poignant to see flawed but well-meaning parents in this novel. Adolescence is a time when you're in between depending on and wanting to be free of your parents, which makes for a tricky dynamic; and yet each of the parents is a complex, distinct character with a complex, distinct relationship with their child.

Some of the social justice themes are pretty blunt, but it <i>is</i> an integral part of the narrative. Apparently sensitivity and thoughtfulness is "practically in the school catalog", and it shows: the students pride themselves on believing the victim, though they're conflicted on whether that's Mike or his girlfriend. They're not perfect. It's frustrating, and it's completely true to life.

Finally, this really isn't all that important (especially compared to the weightier topics in this book), but the NorCal representation made me so happy! California isn't all beaches and sunshine, especially in the northern part, yet I so rarely see books that acknowledge this.

Omg! Ok first of all this book made me so angry. Angrier to the point that I wanted to smash my Kindle but not because of the author or because of the story. I was angry at Mike. I was angry at Maya's situation. I was angry at the school and everything that happen after Maya spoke to the principal. I been there, I know how it feels but unlike Maya I never found my voice, I just let things go. This is an excellent story, and I'm proud of Maya for finding her voice.

The Quick Cut: A high school goes into anarchy after a girl accuses her popular track star boyfriend of abuse.

A Real Review:
Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

In today's hyper aware society, everything is up for social commentary and far too often the public opinion is the one that takes primary position. So when that type of social setup grapples with as sensitive a situation as abuse from a partner, how does the truth come to the surface and the victim get the care they need? This is the topic at the heart of this novel.

A girl goes to her Principal's office first thing in the morning and tells her that her popular track star boyfriend has been hitting her. With a newly darkened eye and a seriously uncomfortable feeling, her honesty about what happened the night before starts a trail of school meltdowns and everyone weighing in on where they stand. Who should they trust: they girl with the bruised eye or the star athlete? Is there more going on?

It's so hard to talk about this book without spilling too many details! The chapters are devilishly genius in the way that they're narrated by different people, but for the first two parts the names aren't given. Rather than names, labels are used and many are a little... Controversial shall we say? It's a smart writing technique in this situation even if it did confuse me at first.

There are many complex topics battled in this book, including bulimia, anxiety disorders, and OCD. The teens in this book go through between relationships, school pressure, and social expectations is intense. To be average isn't acceptable, they have to exceed expectations. Although it provides interesting insight and was clearly carefully written, it still deserves a warning as the content is sensitive in nature.

With multiple difficult topics, this book expertly navigates the struggles of abuse in relationships.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

What Kind of Girl by Alyssa B. Sheinmel is a YA contemporary novel that touches on the topics of mental health and physical abuse and shows how a person can have many different personality traits and roles in society. The way the author handles and, overall, portrays those serious subjects alongside the multi-dimensional spectrum of one’s character is as honest and raw as it can get for a book in this genre.

The story follows our teenage protagonist who goes to the Principal’s office and claims that her famous and well-beloved boyfriend hit her, and it is not the first time. After the news spread out, she and her best friend are trying to cope with the fact itself and with all the doubts and suspicions surrounding it. Their feelings, actions and past are explained thoroughly and we dive into their mentality quite from the start, sympathizing with them as the story progresses.

While I formed a connection with the two main characters, I can’t say the same happened with the book as a whole. My main issue was with the writing which I found repetitive and monotonous: we are being told about the girls’ thoughts and feelings over and over again in a similar fashion and, as a result, the plot moves forward very slowly and the pacing feels off for the majority of the book.

This novel is ok but it could be more engaging and impactful.

I received an e-arc from NetGalley for review purposes. All opinions are my own.

This book is important because of all the big issues it covers, including dating violence, bulimia, OCD, drug use, and cutting. It’s very heavy, but there are some light hearted moments. What this book boils down to is being true to one’s self, standing up for beliefs, and being a good friend.

3.5 stars

Hey, you!
You reading this book's reviews!
Stop it! Stop it immediately!
Okay, you can read mine, now that you're here, because I promise I'll keep it clean and spoiler-free.
Which is quite hard, considering even telling you the characters' names is a spoiler.
Basically, this books tells the story through the eyes of the abused girlfriend, the most popular girl in school, the pothead and the bulimic girl.
The writer leaves it up to you to figure their connection out. That's why I recommend diving into this book without previous plot knowledge.
It's a well-written story dealing with important topics.
Reasons I'm not rating it higher is that I felt it dragged towards the end, made me very angry and I didn't get a satisfying ending.

I found this title hard to get into, and slow to start.
The protagonist really grated on my last nerve, it was as though she was trying to be cooler than she really is?
I enjoyed the writing style and the pacing, once the book got going.
The characters (other than the protagonist) are well rounded, they really feel like real people.

Really special book about dating violence as a teen, and how quickly backs turn on the victim instead of the aggressor. Lots of mixed perspectives here, even though there are only two main characters. Queer MC, MC with OCD, MC with Bulimia.

Difficult story but written so beautifully and with sensitivity. Mia suffers with bulimia and her boyfriend has been physically abusing her for months. Her best friend Junie, suffers with anxiety and cuts herself. One morning Mia goes to the high school principal’s office and tells that her boyfriend has been hitting her. But her boyfriend, Mike, is a golden boy, loved by everyone. So, will Mia be believed, and, if not, would it matter. The story is told from the POV of Mia and Junie. Beautifully done.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

It's about time we realize.mental illness is real. And it was portrayed perfectly by the author in this book.
'What kind of girl' teaches that a person can have contradicting personality traits. A girl can be popular and still insecure about her looks. It is a book that our generation needs desperately, I think a lot of us are facing things similar to Maya's and Junie's situations and reading this book might help a lot of people. Thabk you for writing this book.