jena_33's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ginnikin's review against another edition
3.0
A couple of the reviewers liked the beginning and found the end disappointing. I actually found the beginning kind of cardboard and … well, just boring. The last third earned it another star. It's still deeply flawed, but …
yalihameed's review against another edition
3.0
3.5/5 ✨
This is what I spent my time doing when I did have wifi.
Sterling could be so annoying sometimes, ugh! The usual high school cliché tbh. Deserves a 3, but giving it a .5 for the cuteness involved.
This is what I spent my time doing when I did have wifi.
Sterling could be so annoying sometimes, ugh! The usual high school cliché tbh. Deserves a 3, but giving it a .5 for the cuteness involved.
pikasqueaks's review against another edition
3.0
It took too long to get to the pay-off. After sitting through 270 pages of slut-shaming and good girl vs. bad girl dichotomy, I'm not even sure what this book's angle is.
But there's an analogy in there about drunk driving and boys, right near the beginning. That alone probably made it three stars for me.
But there's an analogy in there about drunk driving and boys, right near the beginning. That alone probably made it three stars for me.
woodmonsters's review against another edition
2.0
This book was in my recommendations and the summary made it sound like something I could like. I was wrong. Natalie was a bitch. Not even confident badass bitch I could look up to. No, she's the typical YA character who thinks she's better than everybody because she likes weird things and only has one friend. Plus she's aN awful feminazi who's part of the reason feminism get so much shit. She was terribly unlikable and I'm thinking the author was aiming towards that. Honestly her redemption at the the end left me unsatisfied. Besides, I don't think I can enjoy reading a book where the POV enrages me so much. That said, supporting characters really made me rate it two stars instead of 1. Connor Hughes was dreamy; he screwed up a bit but I think that made him human instead of a cardboard cutout of a perfect YA love interest. Why Connor would even want to be with such a negative antipathetic girl like Natalie is beyond me. Autumn was a very interesting character and I would have preferred a book from her perspective. A book about a girl who breaks free of her friendship with a crazy self righteous bitch who controls her and berates her with her internalized misogyny. Spencer was also awesome. She was the confident badass bitch. I wonder why YA books are never about girls like this. I'm tired of reading the same shit over and over. While I thought Spencer was a little precocious, she still had a better idea on feminism than Natalie or even that old hag Ms. Bee. I mean the stupid teacher has the audacity to bring up Simone de Beauvoir who iconically posed for naked pictures and then she shames Spencer for something similar. Either the teacher or the author has no clue what classical feminism truly stands for.
I had to endure 40 chapters of slut shaming and self righteousness for the character to finally sort of realize a woman can be more than just a virgin or a slut. I wouldn't recommend this book.
I had to endure 40 chapters of slut shaming and self righteousness for the character to finally sort of realize a woman can be more than just a virgin or a slut. I wouldn't recommend this book.
mrs_george's review against another edition
3.0
The MC, Natalie Sterling, was really well developed even though I disliked her for most of the book. I wish some of the supporting characters would've had more care as I wanted to know more about them. It was an interesting storyline, although I probably would've enjoyed it more if I was in high school.
merlin_reads's review against another edition
2.5
So, this book is going to be hard for me to rate. I've been thinking about it since I finished it last Friday and still am unclear so I'm, hoping that by the end of this review I will have some clarity of sorts. Not That Kind of Girl follows a girl named Natalie who strives for perfection in everything that she does. She's on student council (president actually), she volunteers for everything, excellent grades, SAT prep and studying every free minute...you know the type. And she has no time for boys and for girls who want to get boys. In Natalie's mind, girls should not be dating in high school and should definitely not be sexualizing themselves that early.
Now here's where it gets gray for me. I can totally get behind Natalie's view on oversexualization in high schools because, let's face it, this is an issue. There's a 14-year old girl here who wears a shirt with Rosstitute (school name + prostitute) across her chest and when told it's inappropriate, whips it off in the hallway. A little much? Yes. Agreed with Natalie here. But what I didn't agree with was how she dealt with it. It's like she had a good message and then took that message and ran with it. Like ran all the way to China with it. For someone who thinks women should be empowered, Natalie did a lot of slut shaming herself. She was also quick on the hate men wagon. And that, I could not get behind.
Most of the side characters were one-dimensional: mean girls, crude jocks. The only shining character to me in this book was Connor- the one guy, who for some reason, likes Natalie. I don't think I will ever understand why he liked her. She was HORRIBLE to him. Basically everything she was criticizing other people for, she was doing. Only in her mind, it was okay because it was in secret and no one would ever find out about it. She was basically treating Connor the way she always said guys treated girls. Her was her dirty little secret and when he tried to fight back, she belittled him.
The ending seemed a little rushed and everything wrapped up perfectly even thought they seemed unresolved to me. I guess overall I get what the author was trying to convey, I just think that the character of Natalie was a little much and had me more annoyed then going "yeah girl power!".
Now here's where it gets gray for me. I can totally get behind Natalie's view on oversexualization in high schools because, let's face it, this is an issue. There's a 14-year old girl here who wears a shirt with Rosstitute (school name + prostitute) across her chest and when told it's inappropriate, whips it off in the hallway. A little much? Yes. Agreed with Natalie here. But what I didn't agree with was how she dealt with it. It's like she had a good message and then took that message and ran with it. Like ran all the way to China with it. For someone who thinks women should be empowered, Natalie did a lot of slut shaming herself. She was also quick on the hate men wagon. And that, I could not get behind.
Most of the side characters were one-dimensional: mean girls, crude jocks. The only shining character to me in this book was Connor- the one guy, who for some reason, likes Natalie. I don't think I will ever understand why he liked her. She was HORRIBLE to him. Basically everything she was criticizing other people for, she was doing. Only in her mind, it was okay because it was in secret and no one would ever find out about it. She was basically treating Connor the way she always said guys treated girls. Her was her dirty little secret and when he tried to fight back, she belittled him.
The ending seemed a little rushed and everything wrapped up perfectly even thought they seemed unresolved to me. I guess overall I get what the author was trying to convey, I just think that the character of Natalie was a little much and had me more annoyed then going "yeah girl power!".
rissaluvs2read's review against another edition
4.0
This was a re-read for me and I enjoyed it. It's a cute little rom com book that is light, cute and consistently interesting. This book takes place in a high school setting and the characters are written very realistically. It never seemed like a corny cliche high school plot. Connor and Natalie are so cute together and their secret little meetups show such vulnerability and romance. The fight with Autumn who is bffs with Nat, is real especially with someone controlling like Nat. Since this isn't my first time reading, 'Not that Kind of Girl" it was nice to just relax and familiarize myself with Siobhan's work again. Love her work so much. Would def recommend and def would re read again!