I'm about 50% into this book and I'm having an honestly great time. I love the main character and her voice and thought the story was really well written. Sadly, I decided to put it down for now because I'm not in the right headspace for it.
I would totally recommend you give this title a chance! If it ever gets published in North America, I will definitely recommend it to customers.

The first thing that struck me about this books was that there is no guide, and isn't that the truth?!

In our contemporary YA set in Australia, Sadie (16) has just spent her last summer with her best friend, Daniel. "We slid into our friendship like a T-shirt you didn't realise you were wearing every day until it's already become your favourite." Sadie has moved to a new neighbourhood and new school and it is an opportunity for her to rebrand and make new friends.

This book also deals with the responsibility that comes with social activism in an accessible way (especially when there are so many, and it's never a simple right or wrong situation because there's always nuance and emotions to consider) can see how even good intentions in that space can be distorted.

When does advocating for a cause turn into bullying those who don't jump on the bandwagon? It's a slippery slope and I loved how the book tackles it.

At it's core is a girl, figuring out who she is and who she wants to be in a new environment, while missing her old one and I think anyone who has had to start over can identify with the struggle.

I enjoyed Sadie's story and if you liked books like Furia by Yamile Saied Mèndez or By the Book by AmandaSellet, then I think you might enjoy this one too.

This book came to me at the perfect time in my life <3
It is a brilliant story about self-discovery (my favorite!) and standing up for what you believe in.
Inspiring - will be an understatement.

I loved all the characters in this story, they felt very human and very relatable with all their flaws and imperfections.

The book deals with major and important issues like eating disorder and body image. And I think it dealt with them in an honest way!
Pushy parents - they are everywhere, even in my own life.
So I kinda related to what Sadie had to go through throughout the story.

Neat unfolding and a satisfying ending.
An inspiring, light and fluffy read!!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. If you like YA, you'll definitely like this one. But I wish it had a trigger warning about mental health issues, etc as I was not expecting it.

It is easy to read and follow and I think teenagers would enjoy this book as it relates to them, dealing with social media, etc.

I give this ⭐⭐⭐⭐.

Thank you to NetGalley and Text Publishing for the opportunity to read this prior to being published on 2 August 2022.

As others have said, this book could really use a content warning for disordered eating as this is the main premise of the book. Aside from that, this book is well paced and definitely a YA. What initially drew my interest was the cover and title because honestly, I think at some point we have all really felt like we needed to start over. Loz was by far my favorite character and I wish Sadie had more interactions with her. She really tried to be a friend to Sadie despite how badly she was treated. This book kind of gave me "Mean Girls" vibes, but loved the twists. The only thing that really bothered me with this book is that I didn't feel like there was any definite closure among any of the characters. And the closure that was given was rushed.

This book failed to stand out from other books. The plot line was cliched and all the characters were walking stereotypes. I also felt like there was too much dialogue, and no proper descriptions. Not to mention the pop culture references that just straight up annoyed me. There were so many, and they did nothing to further the story.
Not to mention the main character. Sadie was obsessed with starting over, which I get, but she was just SO ANNOYING. I found it so hard to like the story, with her as the protagonist. It was so hard to envision the actual characters, as there was barely any descriptions in this book. Despite that, writing itself, was decent; but plain. It really doesn’t stand out from other ya books.

5.5 /10 wouldn’t recommend

TW: Binge eating disorder; bullying; controlling tendencies; perfectionism; sexual harassment; misogyny; victim shaming. OCD representation.

To be honest, much of this book was worrisome to me - I couldn't see how the mostly dislikable characters would find resolution to even one of the myriad issues going on at Sadie's new High School. To make matters worse, Sadie has deleted all of her social media profiles, and alienated her old BFF for life who is also her big crush.

She's trying to bring a blank slate to her her high school and is quickly adopted by the popular, attractive, sporty, feminist crowd, and directed away from two oddball. But as life, things are not what they seem.

The situations become more and more dire, with the inevitable happening where Sadie becomes the school pariah. She finds support for her self needs as well as the truth that was out there all along before the book finishes.

Set in Australia so TWs use their terms.
I won't recommend for my HS library in the US solely because of that concern.

3.4/5

There should have really been a trigger warning for the main characters eating disorder as well as other series topics - especially as this is YA.

Overall, I found the book fine. There wasn’t much remarkable or that made it stand out from other similar books available. The writing though was strong so I’d be interested in reading future books from her

Rating: 4/5 stars

Favorite quotes:
"Freedom of expression comes with a responsibility to understand how that expression could cause harm to others."

"You can't run away when things get messy. Which I think really sucks."

"..the bigger we think a problem is, the less himans tend to be able to do about it. We get overwhelmed if we feel like it's out of our control and we end up doing nothing, or making it worse, even when doing something small would help. Going to one protest. Signing one petition. It all adds up."

Review: I was first drawn to this book by it's cover and title. But let me tell you, this book is so freaking good. I thoroughly enjoyed it and was incredibly moved. I could see my teenage self in each character: Sadie, Jack, Loz, Alexa. I found myself rooting for them all. Jack's story completely broke my heart and I found myself devouring every chapter waiting to make sure he was going to be okay. Each experience presented for the teens in this book are things that are very real and that teens go through in real life every day. So many kids/teens will be able to see themselves in this book and hopefully feel a sense of hope that things can change and get better. It really only takes small acts. I laughed, teared up a little, and found myself truly invested in these character's stories. This one will be a hit.

I only have one complaint and that is the use of "reckon" by the kids. I know the setting is Australia, so it may be a thing. But as an American, whenever I hear that word, I picture a 70 year old man on the back of a horse in the wild wild west.

I DNF'd this book at 35% not because I wasn't enjoying it, but because there wasn't a trigger warning for Sadie's eating disorder at the start of the book and it was causing me some mental health damage. However, this aside, I can review what I did read, as I was actually enjoying the book!

I really liked where this book was headed. It felt a bit like mean girls' vibes. Sadie was annoying to me as a protagonist, but I enjoyed her as a character, and seeing her trying to find herself but failing as she gets lost in high school cliques, drama and her own personal struggles. I think the rest of the book would be really interesting to see how her relationships develop with the other characters, to see how the plot unfolds. Had I had pre-warning of the eating disorder content before, I probably could have prepared myself better for it or at least been made more aware how in-depth the eating disorder was going to be, because the detail we read about Sadie, her struggles and habits - it was a lot.

I found the writing style nice and easy to read which meant I did fly through the book at a quick pace; I think this has the potential to be a really good character-led book about finding yourself, and I'm sure others in a better headspace than me would love it all. I definitely enjoyed the first part that I did read!

I think most teenagers go through a phase where they would like to be someone else, so when Sadie’s family move interstate, she can do just that, create a whole new persona, leaving her old self behind. In this new life Sadie not only has to figure out who she is, but figure out who are the people she wants in her life. When you’re only looking at the outside, or listening to what other people have to tell you, that’s not always easy. This is a more serious novel than I was expecting, it deals with a family too busy to really notice what is happening with their daughter, and their daughter is not just changing the way she looks, Sadie develops an eating disorder, which comes to light in the most humiliating way.

Thank you to NetGalley and Text Publishing for the opportunity to review this title.

I found the story very realistic and the characters are well written. It's the perfect book to read as a teenager. If you are slightly older but still like to read young adult novels, you might find it too childish.
Sadie is a teenager living a teenager's life with teenager's problems. Her character is easy to relate to and overall I had a great time reading the book.
I would however recommend checking the content warnings before reading this book, especially if you're sensitive to content related to eating disorders.

This book is a memorable one. It made me think about eating habits, and just how food can be thought of in general. Sadie is going through ALOT I just wanted to climb into the book and hug her. It also made me think about toxic feminism or being feminist to be cool or to be popular.

It also reminded me of the movie mean girls. (Not to say they’re the same because they aren’t, writing style and where the story goes are VERY different) The similarities that I couldn’t stop thinking of were; moving to a new school, a seemingly nice group of popular girls (with an ominous vibe) befriending you immediately, trying to change your social image and what people think of you, an ‘uncool’ friend being one of your only real friends but the popular girls can’t know that you’re friends with her, the pink social statuses or markers that you’re cool pink shirts… pink badges. I’m assuming the author probably saw mean girls because it is a big movie but I’d be curious if she was influenced by the movie while writing it. Realistically she probably wasn’t even thinking of it, and if she was it was probably just an ‘oh that’s funny it has a lot in common with mean girls’.

I know this is very irrelevant but as someone who has seen the movie for the first time this year, it was on my mind the entire time I was reading.

I would 100% recommend this book to someone who would not be triggered easily by food or eating disorders or anything like that. Looking forward to hopefully reading more from this author in the future. This being her debut book is wild to me.

Thank you to Netgalley and Text Publishing for an ARC (advanced reader copy) of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read and review your titles. I really not the opportunity!

I do appreciate it and continue to review books that I get the chance to read.
Thanks again!

This book was a lot deeper than I thought it would be based on the description. I would definitely recommend checking trigger warnings before reading (the major ones being eating disorders, body image issues, and bullying).

Sadie Starr is dealing with a rather consuming eating disorder, as well as some self worth issues and the constant cyclical need to "start over" for a chance at becoming someone better. As a result, she often finds herself acting out in ways she hates; shutting out her friends, lashing out at peers, and lying to anyone who may suspect her of being imperfect.

As a character, Sadie is dynamic, lovable, and very easy to empathize with, and many of the other characters in this book end up being surprisingly multifaceted as well. The book itself is well written, though its pop culture references are a weird mashup of early 2010s internet culture (taco cat, laser cats, etc.) and current internet culture (mostly TikTok). Thankfully there weren't enough of these references to take me away from the story.

Thank you to Miranda Luby, Text Publishing, and NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to review an advance reader copy of Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over.

I think we’ve all struggled with our self-image and aim to be a more confident, more attractive version of ourselves. However, for Sadie Starr, nothing short of perfect will do.

As Sadie finds herself faced with a new school and a new social scene, she is challenged to find a place for herself and ends up joining the popular clique, led by a low-key mean girl, Alexa. The group promotes feminist values, but Sadie soon learns that their actions do not fully align with their words, and she wrestles with how to make things right.

The book tackles important mental health issues, such as OCD, Binge Eating Disorder, intrusive thoughts, and grief. The portrayal of how it feels to have an eating disorder especially resonated with me. The longing for any kind of control, combined with the reinforcement of diet culture ideals from a parent was all too familiar. I genuinely believe that books like this can save lives by showing young people what these issues surrounding food look like so that they can recognize problems with themselves or their friends before serious damage is done. Kudos to Miranda Luby for shining light on a very common but less talked about disorder.

Review contains talking about triggering subjects, read paragraph below for these!
Thank you to Miranda Luby and Netgalley for this ARC. Please do check TW going into this book some of which include: Binge Eating Disorder, OCD mentioned, body shaming, drug and alcohol use, bullying etc.
This book was really enlightening into Binge Eating Disorder, which is an eating disorder I knew less about until I read this book. Hearing the thoughts of Sadie and how it personally contributed to her eating disorder was informative to read. From someone who has OCD herself (but not the type of OCD mentioned in the book), I would say the representation of the OCD was handled well and showed that OCD isn't an adjective of 'I'm so OCD' and is a noun.
Overall, I will be reading a lot more from Miranda Luby in the future. Her work is stunning.

i found the story telling to be weak. the events happened in quick succession with little to no time spent delving deeper into their impact on Sadie. i would’ve preferred a slower pace but, as a positive, this made for an easy, quick read.

the characters are ok, neither good nor bad. the side characters felt like stand-ins for highschool stereotypes (the jock, the mean girl, the outcast, etc) and had no voice of their own. however, i did appreciate the ending with Alexa. i really thought Alexa would turn out to be a mean girl/fake friend, reminiscent of Regina George, but it's clear she appreciates Sadie and their friendship.

this would be a great read for teens and pre-teens. the themes of disordered eating, female struggles, and bullying are discussed on a surface level, just enough to start the conversation on pressures put on oneself and right vs. wrong when wanting to fit in.

CW: body image issues, disordered eating, binge eating disorder, stalking, bullying, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), recreational drug and alcohol use, running away

I would like to thank NetGalley and Text Publishing for providing me with a free e-ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Sadie Starr finds her dad’s job relocation to be the thing she needs to completely reinvent herself. After ruining her friendship with best friend and sort-of crush Daniel, Sadie is ready to become a new, popular version of herself at Morebrae Academy.

Once she arrives, Sadie is quickly ushered in by Alexa and her group of followers in their pursuit to support women at their school. Soon enough, she finds herself hearing both ends of a prominent stalking case between school outcasts Jack and Loz, and now Sadie has to decide about where she stands amongst the mess she’s gotten herself into.

I personally think that Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over is an interesting YA book coming out in August. Luby provides multifaceted characters amongst a unique plot in this book. You can definitely relate to the characters that Luby created and I thought that it was really interesting to see how the so-called mean girls in the book were active feminists who want to create a safe space for other girls in their school.

This book can be a quick and easy read. All of the chapters are not too long, the pacing is good, and one could go through this book in a reading session or two if they really want to. Though, I did feel that some of the chapters weren’t really necessary and that the only reason they’re there was to serve as a filler. I think this could be improved by either eliminating said chapters or combining them with others.

If you’re looking for a twist on the mean girl(s) meet new girl tropes or a book about teens coping through an image-obsessed culture, Sadie Starr’s Guide to Starting Over is for you.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Text Publishing and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are my own.

Absolutely wonderful. I can’t say much more than that. This was a beautiful story.