This would be a great book club pick. The overriding mystery falls short, but it's just a vehicle to talk about privilege, slut shaming, the failings of adults, and the long road to healing. Gives strong Veronica Mars vibes.

When I picked this book up, I did not expect it to be the emotional sucker punch it ended up being. I definitely didn't think that when I first started it either. In all honestly the first 50 pages or so I wasn't even sure whether I liked it. But once the mystery properly picked up and everything else started becoming apparent I was completely sucked in. 

This book covers some heavy topics, and I would definitely recommend looking at the trigger warnings if you are considering reading this. But I think they were handled in such a truthful way, it's fiction but it could very well have been true. Jo is not a character I am going to forget very quickly. 

I certainly enjoyed the reading experience, any book that can bring out any kind of true emotion in me is always going to get a high rating. I'm very interested to see what Adamo does next. 

“I’ve never been very good at describing Not Like Other Girls. Seriously, my go-to line used to be, “oh, yeah, it’s a fun little mystery with fake dating,” which is technically true but not totally accurate…This is a book about a friend breakup between two teenage girls and how navigating that loss is so distinctly devastating. This is a book about first love. It’s a book about being seventeen and restless in your hometown. It’s a book about privilege and power and entitlement. It’s a book about sexual assault”

I did not enjoy the language in this book. There was so many swear words. The author really has a jaded view of teens these days. Not every teen is cheating, swearing, drinking, smoking, partying, or having sex. The author normalizes this behaviour as normal teenage behaviour. Thus setting a poor example or standard for today’s teens. This book was marketed very poorly. It should NOT be marketed as a YA book. The one good thing this book did was going through the proper channels of handling sexual assault. Additionally the narrator did a great job with a New Yorker/ bronx accent. I received an ARC for my unbiased opinion.

I loved this so much more than I expected to, pls check TWs!!!

This was phenomenal, a reminder that good YA is a powerful thing. In her author's note, Adamo writes that this is really a book about a friendship break-up, and she showcases the complicated mix of grief, anger, and sadness that follows (and that we rarely discuss!) beautifully.

Handing this to my students and friends alike, as I think we'd all do well to read it.

I enjoyed the story, however I was really looking forward to it being focused on Maddie being missing where as instead that was a side plot to the main character. 

I felt like it took a little bit long to get into the juicy stuff about the main character investigating her friend’s disappearance and then it all came to conclusion resolved rather quickly towards the end of the book, it almost felt a little bit rushed. 

Thank you to Netgalley and Bloomsbury Audio for early access to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review!

This was a 5 star listen with twists and turns every moment and a powerful message of sovereignty and self worth! I am shocked that this is Meredith Adamo's debut novel, and I really hope we get to see more from her. 

"Not Like Other Girls" is a story about Jo-Lynn Kirby. I almost continued there, but, truly, this story, at heart, is about Jo - who she's always thought she was and who she's realizing she is and deserves to be. Jo-Lynn had been friends with Maddie Price, one of her only female friendships, until a falling out that neither will share the details of. Jo stays friends and "friends" with guys, and the other girls at school, along with Maddie, slut shame her and treat her like a pariah. Her parents don't see how Jo's changed, and she has lost her top grades to the point of landing on probation. And then Maddie goes missing. Jo feels like something isn't quite right with the explanation given, and she keeps digging until she discovers something big. 

Throughout the story, Jo's current/past relationships with people, including the grief she feels at the loss of her friendship with Maddie, are juxtaposed with the new relationships she makes as she starts to uncover secrets and schemes at her school. Adamo brilliantly captures what it feels like to lose a best friend - the lack of closure that comes from that, and the secret hope that maybe, just maybe it will get better. I've never felt that so honestly captured in a book before, and it is a testament to Adamo. 

Something I want to make sure to highlight is the pushback against the slut-shaming and the realization of the sexual assault that Jo has been put through - this is really important both narratively and as a message to society. If those are triggers for you, you may want to sit those out, but as a survivor myself, I felt very seen and proud of Jo. Adamo's note at the end of the audiobook in her own voice about her own experiences and why she felt she needed to tell Jo's story had me in tears. 

"Not Like Other Girls" comes out TOMORROW, April 30th! Get your copy wherever books are sold, and then come back and chat with me! I can't wait to be able to talk more about the twists and characters with someone!

Y'all aren't ready for this book, holy honk. I want to scream for so many reasons. The emotional roller coaster this had me on - one moment I'm laughing, the next I'm crying, the next I'm fueled by righteous rage. The fact that this is a debut novel had me absolutely floored, because it didn't feel like that for a second. Anyways, it's 1:30AM, so full RTC.

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This book is about broken and toxic friendships, the "not like other girls" moniker and all it's connotations, a girl disappearing, sexual assault (including rape, revenge porn, and more), and how those we love can let us down. Though these are all hard subjects to read about, Meredith Adamo makes it easy.

Jo is a firecracker of an MC. She's an outcast, at odds with her old friends, but doing the best she can with what she has. She's one of those characters you like from the start - her witty inner dialogue, her strong and distinct voice, her growth as she starts to better understand and reframed her narrative, everything about her draws you in from the start. She had true main character energy, to the point where it felt like other characters were trying to strip her of it and make her secondary to their story, and yet they never succeed.

Though Maddie goes missing, the story is really centered around Jo. We get to see Jo grow as a character, both through her inner narrative and her healthier relationship with friends, family, and Hudson. Despite the darker side of her story, I found her new friendships wholesome; the banter sweet, funny, and realistic; and her own voice a great way of adding levity to the whole situation. It's all done in a way that's tasteful, but I also laughed way more than expected.

At the end of the day though, I feel like I got sucker punched by this book. Some parts just felt like such a dose of reality, or felt so poignant, that I would literally gasp. There's one line especially (taken from the ARC, but if it's removed from the final copy, I will cry) where Jo asks someone, "When did I stop being a person to you?" I felt all the air leave my lungs cause oof. It makes more sense in context, but even on its own it packs a punch.

This book will make you laugh, cry, get mad, and scream in righteous fury, but you'll be glued to the pages throughout. Once I met Jo, I couldn't leave her story or her world. An absolutely amazing debut, Meredith Adamo is one to watch!

TW: rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, sexual content, bullying, kidnapping, drug use, alcohol consumption, injury detail, violence, adult/minor relationship; mentions infidelity, death of a parent, death via car accident

ARC gifted by Bloomsbury US via BookInfluencerDotCom in exchange for an honest review.