Not My Problem is a book I would suggest to both teens and adults who love a good book. Ciarra Smyth did a great job of weaving marginalized populations into one story while avoiding stereotypes. She kept the writing light when the topics were heavy. She added a touch of romance without stealing the importance Aideen's character growth. Overall, this was a great read that should be enjoyed by many.

Click the link below for my full review.

A smashing sophomore novel about a teen who's struggling to hide the difficulties of her home life, who accidentally ends up running a social enterprise to solve her classmates' problems. Both the romance and friendship sub-plots were masterfully developed.

I loved The Falling in Love Montage so I was very excited to read this book and it did not disappoint whatsoever. The writing was very funny and also very serious when it needed to be. I really liked Aideen's character arc and how she dealt with her feelings around her mother and Holly.

Thank you, NetGalley for a digital ARC of Not My Problem.

Wow, wow, wow was this book such a pleasant surprise! I've heard a lot of good things about The Falling in Love Montage, although I haven't read it myself yet, and of course I'm always down for queer literature so I felt compelled to request this book. I went into this book without any expectations but I was totally hooked by the first chapter.
I related hard to a lot of the themes. As someone who grew up in a somewhat impoverished area, Smyth hit the nail on the head when it comes to Aideen's struggle with poverty and how it doesn't just affect her home life, but her education and social life as well. As a chronic overachiever, I also related to Meahab's struggle with taking on too much just to feel adequate.
I really just fell in love with all the characters. I'm a sucker for "people who seemingly have nothing in common accidentally become best friends" and this definitely delivered on that aspect. Also, Kavi will forever be a comfort character.
The problems Aideen helped her peers with felt true to real life. They didn't have super crazy or dangerous problems like a lot of teen dramas tend to portray nowadays. Smyth really brought to life what it means to be a teenager while avoiding some of the cliches and tropes other YA novels tend to indulge.
One of the things I think I liked most about this book is how the romance developed. I'm not a huge romance fan, especially when it comes to YA, but I do like romance when it develops naturally and isn't always the forefront of the story. I found myself rooting for the romance in this case and I think wasn't oversexualized like some wlw romances are. I'm also SO glad the characters falling in love were already "out" as queer. Don't get me wrong, coming-out stories are super important, but I think it's just as impactful to see two queer characters fall in love without that tacked on as well.
This has been one of my favorite reads so far this year, and that's saying a lot because I've read some pretty good stuff lately. I'm excited for it to be released so I can buy myself a copy!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3940903566

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).

I really loved this one. It wasn't a romance, in my opinion, but it was great. I felt like the romance wasn't the most important part of this book, it was a great bonus but to me this book really was about how to stop avoiding your problems and learning to ask for help and how that's not so easy.
I had a really good time reading this. I mean, I cried some and raged from time to time but I also laughed. A lot.

4/5 stars

Not My Problem is a story about a girl named Aideen, who feels as though her best friend doesn't care for her anymore and is struggling. She barely attends class and is getting low marks across the board. Aideen absolutely despises Meabh, who is an overachieving and annoying person. But one day, she finds Meabh on a brink of a total meltdown and together they pitch a plan for Aideen to push Meabh down the stairs so that she can get a break from everything going on in her life. But when a person overhears this entire encounter and starts to bring in more "clients" for Aideen to help, it starts Aideen's new project.

This book was super fun, I loved Meabh and related to her on a personal level. I absolutely adore the friendship dynamics in this book and how they interacted with each other. This was an easy and quick read that had me wanting more. There were a tons of raw discussions of alcoholism and how a child is forced to deal with the actions of their parent.

The romance in this book is to die for. It is a slowburn and they do not get together until the very end, but it was nice to see their interactions and see their feelings develop. It didn't feel rushed or too slow and everything happened within reason.

But, I had one major problem with this book. The ending. It felt rushed and unfulfilling. It left me with more questions than answers. I wished the book did a better job of wrapping up the alcoholism aspect of this book. There were also a couple of pop culture references that I know will not age well and in a few years will not make sense.

I would recommend this book. Anyone who loves a good coming of age queer book will love this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperTeen for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

“Not My Problem” by Ciara Smyth was such a joy to read. This book made me laugh out loud more than once and I found myself grinning like a fool more throughout most of it.

Smyth did a fantastic job of developing all of the characters in the book. The reader really gets the sense of everyone’s personality and their purpose in the story.

The buildup of the romance—though I wouldn’t classify this book as a YA romance—was a real slow burn. It wasn’t the central plot in the novel and I know that many will find that to be a breath of fresh air.

My only real issue was that it wrapped up very quickly. The problems that Aideen dealt with throughout the book resolved in a way that felt unsatisfying. But, that could just be a me thing.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves to read YA, especially books centered around LGBTQ+ characters where the issues in the book aren’t surrounding coming out or coming to terms with one’s sexuality.

What an absolute delight of a book. Heartfelt & funny. It was such an enjoyable read. The characters were so interesting and dynamic. I felt the same about Ciara Smyth’s debut The Falling In Love Montage. She writes incredible YA characters and couples. It feels very authentic to how teenagers are. I enjoyed this so much.

This book was amazing. I loved every bit of it. The story had so many levels of problems. Personal, family and friend problems. The author was brilliant with bringing the issues to the personal level. I loved how everyone and I mean everyone had stuff to deal with. No one is exempt from issues. We are all struggling with something. We need to remember that.
Enjoy!

A fun and fast YA LGBTQ read. I wish there was an epilogue or something to wrap the story up a bit more. I would also have liked a pronunciation guide for some of the character’s names as they were unfamiliar to me.

This book follows Aideen who is struggling with her relationship with her mother who struggles with alcohol use, struggling with her grades at school, and struggling with her best friend who seems to be the queen of passive aggressive comments. Aideen is also queer, hysterically sarcastic, and somehow falls into a new scheme at school of helping her classmates get out of trouble. And that all starts with Meabh, her 'enemy.' We love an enemies to lovers trope, and this book is absolutely laugh out loud funny. It didn't fully work for me but fans of Smyth are going to LOVE this book as much as TFILM (which I still need to read). Definitely a great sapphic novel with so many deeper themes!

"Not My Problem" was entertaining, with a spunky protagonist, and a lot of heart. The first few chapters took a little while for me to get into, only because the school terminology is so different from what I experienced growing up in the United States. Once I got learned all the terms and slang, I got to know Aideen and really enjoyed the relationship grow between her, Meabh, and Kavi. She may think she is a misfit at her school but, after a whole host of shenanigans, it turns out she has a squad of people she can call on in her time of need. I can't wait to see what Smyth writes next.

4.5 stars rounded up.

In Not My Problem, sixteen year old Aideen makes it her mission to fix everyone else's problems; all except her own, that is. It starts with Aideen pushing her nemesis, Meabh, down the stairs. When others start finding out what she did, they come to her for help. Soon, Aideen is fixing problems for everyone else, and making her own problems that much more glaringly obvious. With a chance of new friends, and new love, on the horizon, Aideen has to wonder that if she can help others, maybe it's time she starts helping herself.

Let me start by saying I absolutely ADORED this book. This book is full of diverse characters and great lgbt representation. Ciara Smyth is definitely one of my new favorite authors after reading this!

I related to Aideen so much. All the struggles she has with trying to keep herself and her family together all while trying to cling on to the one friend she has, meanwhile battling the little voice in her head trying to put her down with every chance it has. I can't relate to Aideen's high school experience in the form of pushing anyone down the stairs, but I can definitely relate to having to battle all your inner demons while trying - and failing - to make it through math class.

This book is so full of feelings and emotions. I think a lot of people will be able to see themselves in Aideen, especially a lot of gay readers. All the characters in this book are so full of life, and I loved getting to watch Aideen grow throughout the pages, and see how all her friends influenced that growth in her.

The romance in this book was so sweet and fun. I loved the buildup to it and getting to read Aideen's thoughts. The plot itself was great from beginning to end. I love how neatly the ending wrapped everything up - I just wish it was longer so we'd get to find out more about what happened!

I definitely recommend this to every YA reader. And I'll totally be buying a copy of my own for my bookshelf.

You know how sometimes you try something for the first time and while it is fun, it doesn't quite hit the way you thought it would? But then you try again, and suddenly you can't stop thinking about it? That is me currently with Ciara Smyth and NOT MY PROBLEM. This novel is a fun romp in sapphic romance and high school hijinks, with a dash of reality to bring the reader back down to earth. You gotta read it.

A thoroughly engaging YA book full of humour and drama.

The book opens with Aideen Cleary’s views and thoughts of Meabh Kolwaski, the polar opposite of Aideen; Meabh the overachiever and Aideen, generally going nowhere.

When Meabh had an unprecedented meltdown, Aideen agreed to “fix” Meabh’s problem which subsequently led her to be the “fixer” of other students’ problems. However, underneath the resourcefulness and quick wits, Aideen had been keeping a secret, one that is diminishing her brightness and consuming her whole.

4.5 stars. There is so much to the character of Aideen that readers would enjoy. She is quirky, bright, sarcastic but really funny. I enjoyed watching her manoeuvre and twist under trying circumstances and in the midst learn and grow through her bumps.

I just reviewed Not My Problem by Ciara Smyth. Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publisher for the ARC.

Excellent book. It successfully created a strong female character who is complex and a real person. All the character were really well developed and Smyth successfully wrote dialogue that sounds like what actual teenagers would sound like. It’s realistic, funny, and full of heart. #NetGalley #NotMyProblem

This book wasn't for me, but I could see how people would enjoy it. Well written and the story seemed okay, but I just couldn't get into it.

This was a incredible read from start to finish.
I truly loved how well layered and fleshed out the characters were. The book follows its main character Aideen. Aideen is sharp, sympathetic, loyal to a fault and funny as hell. Plus she's great at texting and PE(Meabh and Ms. Delvin can attest). There wasn't a dull moment in the book thanks to her and her layered personality. She uses sarcasm as a coping mechanism. When the story begins, she only has two people, her mom and her best friend, Holly. Both, damaging her self worth in different ways and her, always making excuses for them. By the end she goes through incredible character development and finally decides to work on 'her own problems' and has the most endearing group of friends.

Meabh, the love interest, on the outside is a annoying know-it-all but once you get a closer look, she is still a annoying know-it-all but she is also super passionate, adorably nerdy and in most things the complete opposite of Aideen. Which is one of the reasons why their relationship worked so well, others are their snappy banter and wonderful chemistry.

My favourite aspect of the entire book were the relationship dynamics. I can't describe how genuinely real the relationships felt, especially between Aideen and her toxic best friend Holly. I really like how this storyline was concluded as well. In fact I really liked the ending overall. It was refreshing to see that not everything got resolved with a magic wand within the last 50 pages and the characters will actually have to work on themselves.

Overall, It was sometime a hilarious and sometime emotional, but throughout an amazing read that I enjoyed immensely.

Copy provided by the publisher, via NetGalley.

Ciara Smyth is one of the funniest writers I have ever read. What truly makes her stand out is her ability to be extraordinarily funny while also tackling difficult subjects, in this case poverty and a parent with alcoholism. Those anchors into the real, messy, difficult world of Aideen make her humorous voice all the more potent.

Smyth manages to surround Aideen with well-drawn, lovable friends who push her with love, humor, and the occasional kick in the butt. I absolutely loved this book as much as Smyth's first and will be recommending it to everyone. Smyth is truly a must-buy author for me.