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mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
This was a delightful, funny, real book about a funny, smart girl, her vlog, her cat, her friends, about boys, weird family, and much more.
Our MC Millie is a wonderful girl, hilarious as well. At times I could relate with her. Her anxiety levels are through the roof at times, and I can understand the feeling of things just spiralling down. Not knowing how to stop thinking those thoughts, not knowing how to stop worrying about things. The mind is a weird thing and at times you just want to shut it off.
I also loved that Millie was quite smart, she knew a ton of things from just normal school stuff to plants. It gave her a bit of maturity.
This book has a whole lot. From a best friend whose parents fight constantly (why don't they divorce already?), a mom who just can't understand her daughter at times (but then at other times is really kick-ass), a dad who tries his best but well... still lives with his own dad, an aunt who is totally cray cray (but in a good way), Erin the bitchy popular girl, the internet and its comments, 2 boys that are interested in her, feminism, a cat named Dave (and it is a girl), vlogging, how to handle a body that just decides it is cool to flop over. Her life is a roller coaster and we aren't getting off until the end of the book.
The vlogging was really fun, and I just adored her vlog. Not make-up, not clothes, no instead this girl went for a blog about advice. She wants to help people with problems, and I really love the way she brought the advices. In a fun way, but with enough seriousness too.
The love triangle with Danny and Bradley? Eh, I never really cared for Danny, he was just a bit too flashy for me + I was annoyed with him instantly going for Erin instead of having a look around for someone different + add to that he suddenly wanted to be with Milly while still with Erin... eh, bleh.
Bradley however... I just loved that guy from the start. He was sweet, cute. Plus I loved that he loved lifts, cosplay, and other nerdy things. I was shipping him with Millie from the moment we saw him, and I could just see the sparks flying. Sadly, Millie is a tad blind in regards to her feelings, and I just wanted to shake her at times. Yes, girl, you can have friendship with boys (I had quite a few of them), but this clearly isn't a friendship. You don't see him as a friend friend, and he doesn't see you as a friend friend. :P
I am just disappointed with how the love triangle was eventually solved. I didn't expect this ending. :( *sighs*
-0.5 star for the unnecessary drama nearing the end. Lauren went from best friend to OMG Jealousy and stupidity. Yes, her life isn't fun with her parents, but really, you could have just told your best friend instead of saying nothing about it getting worse... And yes, maybe Millie is a bit centred on her own things these days, but is that truly that bad? She is exploring something new, there is also a lot happening in her life at the moment that is new and fairly scary (also bullying). Also in the end she still cares about you, and she is still calling/messaging/talking to you almost all the time. She still knows you exist, so pulease girl get your drama queen mode off. :|
+lots of love to the title and cover of the book!
But I loved this book! I loved the characters (well except Erin and Danny). The vlogging was so much fun (I still want to vlog one day, but I am still too shy/private + worried about trolls to do it). It had cats! It had friendship! I laughed so many times while reading this.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
madmaxine's review against another edition
1.0
Ughh…where do I begin with this one? Before I go into babbling about what I thought was wrong with this, I want to let you know that I’m one of those people who think every book has to offer you something (a lesson or a new perspective on life or simply sheer entertainment) in order to be considered a good read. Now that was the problem with this novel for me… it didn’t offer me anything. Unless you want to take into consideration some “lessons” I received while reading it, such as:
1. Grandparents (and adults in general) don’t understand how social media platforms work.
2. It’s totally ok to do whatever you want when you are in 8th grade. (because duuh…you’re an adult)
3. Life it’s all about how many likes or views you have on Instagram/Youtube.
First of all, this book is full of tropes. Now let’s be honest, tropes can be really entertaining when they are written well which unfortunately was not the case here. We have Millie, the main character, whose parents are divorced. Millie has a best friend, Lauren, whose parents, shockingly, don’t get along either. Then we have a new handsome boy in town and the “popular and perfect, but mean” girl. And on top of all these we have the bad guy’s Instagram account which, of course, is followed by everyone. So original, right?
Second of all, what kind of 8th grader can actually leave her mom’s house and go live with her dad just by telling her mother she has no right to control her life? From what I know, until you are 18 years old, your mom can pretty much tell you what to do because….she’s your mom and you are a minor. Nope, in this novel we are showed that parents can’t force their kids to do anything. What’s more, parents should beg their kids to do something (in our case Millie’s mom begs her to come home). Also, after Millie moves to her father she posts a picture on Instagram and gets lots of likes and new followers which determines her to say that going living with her dad was the right decision. Umm, am I the only one who founds this utterly stupid?
Furthermore, there is a lot of telling instead of showing in this book. We are told Millie and her mother are close like sisters, but throughout the entire novel they are constantly arguing. We don’t get to see neither why her parents got a divorce, nor why her mother actually likes Gary, her new boyfriend. There are also A LOT of words written with capital letters and there is no use for that…at all, apart from maybe annoying the reader. And speaking of annoying aspects, in the first few pages there are so many repetitions that I had to start skipping parts (sorry, I guess).
Moreover, let’s have a look over two actual scenes from this book:
Dad comes upstairs, hugs me and says, “Mills, do you want me to go up to the school and sort this out?”
I show him the photo. “Here’s the problem. I posted the photo. I shared it first. She’s just shared it again, credited me like she should have done, but basically said I’m tragic. She’s done nothing wrong. Really. Well, she has but she’s – Dad she is EXTREMELY clever. You can’t beat her.”
Dad stares at me intensely and says, “You’re right, Millie. Keep away from her. She’s clearly a bit of a genius. Focus on your friends.”
Ummm, I’m sorry….WHAT? And there’s more:
“Oh, Millie…” Mum sounds a bit sad now. “I’m missing out on what you do. Come home. I know I can’t make you. Please just remember I AM HERE. ALWAYS. ALWAYS.”
Ok so what kind of parents act that way?
This book is aimed at young adults, but the characters act as if they are in kindergarten. And yes you could say that perhaps this novel should have had children as target but I think that won’t work either owing to how feminism is presented here. Millie and the other girls in the book are feminists, but apart from judging everyone who is against females, they don’t explain what feminism really is, or at least not from the start.
All in all, I sadly do not recommend this book. I do think I would have enjoyed it a little if I were 13 years old, but even then it wouldn’t have been one of my favorites.
kieraisreading's review against another edition
4.0
My life uploaded was a fun read. I really enjoyed my I'm reading it and I couldn't put it down. I really liked the characters and Dave, the cat. Millie's relationship with her Grandfather was a bit Strange but overall I enjoyed the story it was a quick, fun, humorous read.
3.75 stars.
thebookishlibrarian's review against another edition
Thanks to Netgalley for a review copy of this book.
suzannedix's review against another edition
4.0
Grades 7 and up.
britneyfan19's review against another edition
1.0
So only giving a half A star and that's just for the first three pages. Because after that it started to lose me and become boring. I thought this book was going to be fun and it was starting out like it was going to be great but nope.
susanreadstheworld's review against another edition
1.0
Millie Porter is unbearable. Millie Porter is an incognito narcissist. She can’t help it.
I truly hated the narrator, Millie. We are supposed to watch her grow and have a come-to-sanity moment, but that moment never really comes. She’s intolerable.
And the way the rest of the characters are portrayed is cringy, at best. There’s the “freak” who likes a tidy home. The pathetically lost adults who aren’t cookie-cutter versions of adults, so they must be pathetic losers. There’s the hopeless geek the narrator can use to advance her needs and then ignore after leading him on. It’s a gross collection of cliches and questionable decisions.
It’s really just another YA book about a boy-crazy girl who neglects and mistreats everyone around her as she pursues her dream boy, a fantasy she doesn’t really have any great connection to. She’s in love with an idea, not a real person. Oh, but wait, he’s SOOOO dreamy and cute so that makes it OK, right? Because love is all about looks, right? *gagging sounds*
I wouldn’t recommend this to any young adults in my life. It doesn’t have a clear message and the messages it does send out are outdated and gross.
The book is advertised as a “fresh, funny, and clean younger YA novel" about social media with an "accessible heroine and a memorable cast of characters” but this misrepresentation of the book is the funniest thing about it.
#helpyourselfbynotreadingit
jenception's review against another edition
samwlabb's review
4.0
Millie had always had her head on straight, but when her mother's clean freak boyfriend drove her to live with her dad, she made some decisions, which were sort of out of character. Her vlog began as an accident, but when resident queen bee and mean girl, Erin, took endless digs at her, Millie decided to seriously vlog. But Millie became some obsessed with the vlog, views, likes, and comments, that she neglected her off-line life.
I thought this book was really fun and cute. Millie was delightful, and seemed like an authentic 14 year old, which I really liked. Millie had a pretty quirky family. From the story of how her parents met to the ghost tours, they kept me throughly entertained. They were odd and a little out there, but they loved Millie a lot.
I especially loved her relationship with her grandfather. Grandfather was a little bit old school, but he obviously adored Millie, and she felt the same way about him. He showed his affection in his own way, and I sort of fell for the big grump.
Dave the cat was sort of a scene stealer. There were a ton of hilarious moments starring Dave, which delighted me, because you know, if there's anything I associate with my online browsing, it's cats.
I was a los a big Bradley fan. Bradley was a classmate and fellow vlogger, who Millie enlists to help her with her vlog. His love of lifts was a little strange, but Bradley was terribly sweet, and I sort of loved him.
Lots of fun, lots of follies, lots of ideas about not abandoning your real life for a life online and about being real. These were all great. I was little disappointed in the ending. It felt a little rushed, and Millie made some choices I found not happy about, but since I see there is a sequel in the works, I can hope that these things are not permanent.
*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.
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