Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Not My Problem

The first word that came to mind to describe this book was funny, second was enemies-to-lovers, which is not one word, but it was my second thought. Aideen was an absolutely hysterical main character, and I loved the development of the enemies to friends to lovers of the main characters and all the shenanigans that they got in throughout the book. This is a very lighthearted and funny read that is worth the read.

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deadgirlwalking23's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

OK, before I start this review, I've got a small confession to make: Ms Devlin is a sarcastic badass of a woman and every kid should have a teacher like her.

Confession over. Actually, no it's not, because I have to confess something else - I really, really enjoyed reading Not My Problem.

It's about facing your fears. Realising people can be so much more than the first impressions you have of them if you just dig a little deeper. And finally - in my view - it's about realising the value of kindness and compassion.

Aideen Cleary is probably the most well-rounded, three-dimensional main character I have read for some time. She leapt off the page. Even though I sometimes felt frustrated with the decisions she made and the way she treated others, I could understand why she did so.

All the other characters were well-drawn too - aside from the lovely Ms Devlin, we were also introduced to Aideen's friends Meabh, Kavi, Holly, and Aideen's mum - Lisa, I think her name was? I really appreciated how Ciara Smyth wrote about the relationship between mother and daughter, it was beautiful and felt realistic.

The one thing I felt could have been developed more was why

Aideen felt attracted to Meabh

. But it might have been because I had a very stop-start relationship with reading this book so maybe there was something I missed.

Overall, Not My Problem is a beautifully, intelligently written book and I'm looking forward to reading more from Ciara Smyth.

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fangirlashley1's review against another edition

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funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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kelsreadsthings's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

cw: neglectful parent

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smarty007's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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emily_reads_2021's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Seeing this book on booktok only a handful of times, I didn't expect it to be as good as it was. The storytelling is amazing and each character had their own mini backstory which we get to hear about. 389 pages that are worth a read, with political outlets and real life struggles in teenagers are explored.

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