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. 

This gut-wrenching YA novel spotlights how teen girls are so often used, manipulated, exploited, and disregarded by society. Jo-Lynn Kirby is learning how to navigate her world after facing cruelty and rejection by her peers along with disappointment and dismissal by the adults in her world. Her confusion is exacerbated by the sudden disappearance of her former best friend. Did she run away, or did something bad happen to her? Jo refuses to follow the community in writing her off, which leads to a suspenseful mystery. But the real story is in how Jo-Lynn learns to accept responsibility for her own actions, and to place blame on those who have hurt and abused her. 

4.5⭐️

Holy sh!t..
I loved this book.

I got the (really well narrated) audio ARC from Netgalley 🫶 and was hesitant at first because of the title, I couldn't figure out if this was an ironic "not like other girls" or a serious one and I was still pretty confused on that point until about 40% through the book.

What I didn't expect was the insane emotional impact that this book would have on me. This feels like the kind of book that's important. 

This feels like the book you get assigned in class or find on your own when you're like 15 that changes the trajectory of your life. This feels like something I wish I had read when I was in high school. I'm honestly kind of mad that she didn't go back in time and give me that chance.

When trying to explain this feeling to people, I compared it to reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower or 13 Reasons Why or The Outsiders. Not to say that this book is on par or above or below those, but just in the way of how impactful, I think it could be on the YA scene.

Even when Jo was annoying the crap out of me with her "not like other girls" vibe, I never disliked her. There was always something about her that made me care for her or feel sympathy for her. Watching her change and come into herself throughout the novel was everything to me.

The mystery and the fake dating plot were really fun, too! They gave the story so many more layers.

The only reason I can't give it a 5⭐️ is because I got a little confused and a little "over it" by the end. The mystery plot kinda went wild, and I doudn myself forgeting who was who and who did what to whom and why this person was mad at that person and just gernally got a little lost. It felt a bit rushed, and by that point in the book, I barely cared about the mystery anymore as I was so invested in Jo herself. 

I was so proud of myself (a notoriously easy crier)for not crying at all throughout the read, but then she had to go and hit me with that authors note😭. 

I hope this book gets the love it deserves! 

One of the best young adult novels I've read in years, this debut novel focuses on Jo, aka Jo-hyphen-Lynn Kirby, as she searches for her former best friend. Maddie disappeared unexpectedly and no one seems to know why. The simplest answer is that she ran away...but did she? And if so, why? Jo and Hudson hatch a fake dating scheme to get Jo back into the circle of friends that she needs access to in order to figure out what happened to Maddie, and the dramatic twists and turns take off from there. 

This book is about consent, trauma, misogyny, the struggles of being a young girl in today's world, the beauty and heartbreak of female friendships, and finding yourself amidst all of it. The main characters in this book are seniors in high school, on the cusp of the next chapter in their lives. It's exciting and terrifying, and we all remember what that feels like. 

There is so much in this novel. It's a mystery, a romance, and a coming-of-age novel. There are a lot of places where it could go wrong, where some aspect could have been underdeveloped, where a character could have been swept under the rug -- but it never happens. Meredith Adamo writes an absolute gem that is unputdownable. 

Do not even think about skipping the Author's Note at the end, but don't you dare read it before you finish the book. 

This book left me in beautiful agony. It's not the kind of pretty you see in a curated insta post. This book is raw and emotional, leaving me bleeding. It was an absolute heart-wrenching and transformative experience to envision how stories told by others and by ourselves can be twisted and contrived, manipulated into a new narrative that fits a box. Fills the gap. Eases others around us. But it is not our true story.